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Revision as of 01:02, 15 February 2004 by Everyking (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Americo-Liberians are the relatively wealthy elite of Liberia.
The were descended from free blacks who immigrated in the 1800s to Liberia from the America. Some 13,000 were settled in Liberia between 1817 and 1867 by the American Colonization Society. They adopted a Christian lifestyle and lived on the coast. They based their society on U.S. culture and political organization. Governing through the True Whig party, Americo-Liberians controlled the country from its foundation in 1847 until the coup of Samuel Doe in 1980.
Under their rule the economy of Liberia rapidly developed, but their power rested largely on the repression and exploitation of the native African majority.