Monrovia

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Monrovia

For alternate meanings, see Monrovia (disambiguation)
Monrovia (disambiguation)

Monrovia is the name of several places*Monrovia, Liberia*Monrovia, Alabama, USA*Monrovia, California, USA*Monrovia, Indiana, USA*Monrovia, Maryland, USA...
.

Monrovia is the capital city

Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:...
n nation of Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, C?te d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean....
.

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Encyclopedia

Monrovia is the capital city

Capital City

West Africa

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, C?te d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean....
. Located on the Atlantic Coast

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
at Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado is a headland on the coast of Liberia near the capital Monrovia and the mouth of the Saint Paul River. It was named Cape Mesurado by Portugal sailors in the 1560s....
, it lies within Montserrado County

Montserrado County

Montserrado County is a Counties of Liberia in the northwestern portion of the West Africa nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the Administrative division in the nation, it has four Districts of Liberia....
, the most populous county in Liberia. The metropolitan area, with a population of 1,010,970 in the Greater Monrovia District as of the 2008 census, contains 29% of the total population of Liberia and is the country's most populous city.

Founded in 1822, Monrovia is named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States . His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida ; the Missouri Compromise , in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine , declaring U.S....
. Monrovia was founded thirty years after Freetown, Sierra Leone, the first permanent African American settlement in Africa. The city's economy is dominated by its harbor

Harbor

A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural....
, and government offices. Monrovia's harbor was significantly expanded by U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
forces during the Second World War and the main exports include latex

LaTeX

LaTeX is a document markup language and Word processor for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as ....
and iron ore

Iron ore

Iron ores are Rock and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red....
. Materials are also manufactured on-site, such as cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together....
, refined petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
, food products, brick

Brick

A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using mortar ....
s and tile

Tile

A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock , metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops....
s, furniture

Furniture

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body , provide storage, or hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground....
and chemicals

Chemical industry

The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. It is central to modern world economy, converting raw materials into more than 70,000 different products....
. Located near the confluence of the Mesurado

Mesurado River

Mesurado River is a river of Liberia. It flows through the capital of Monrovia and is crossed by the People?s Bridge, built in the 1970s.....
and Saint Paul

Saint Paul River

The Saint Paul River is a river of western Africa. Its headwaters are in southeastern Guinea. Its upper portion in Guinea is known as the Diani or Niandi River, and forms part of the boundary between Guinea and Liberia....
rivers, the harbor also has facilities for storing and repairing vessels.

History

The area was already inhabited when it was named Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado is a headland on the coast of Liberia near the capital Monrovia and the mouth of the Saint Paul River. It was named Cape Mesurado by Portugal sailors in the 1560s....
by Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
sailor

Sailor

A sailor or mariner is a person who navigates ships or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses....
s in the 1560s. With the aim of establishing a self-sufficient colony for emancipated American survivors of slavery, something that had already been accomplished in Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the Capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of Sierra Leone and with a population of 1,070,200 ....
, the first settlers from the United States under the auspices of the American Colonization Society

American Colonization Society

The American Colonization Society was an organization that helped in founding Liberia, a colony on the coast of West Africa. In 1821 Black Americans traveled there from the United States....
arrived in Africa in 1821. They landed at Sherbro Island

Sherbro Island

Sherbro Island, is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, located in Bonthe District off the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The Sherbro people make up by far the largest ethnic group in the island....
in present-day Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the northeast, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest....
. The undertaking was a shambles and many settlers died. In 1822, a second ship rescued the settlers and took them to Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado

James Monroe

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
. It is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President.

In 1845, Monrovia was the site of the constitutional convention held by the American Colonization Society which drafted the constitution that would two years later be the constitution of an independent and sovereign Republic of Liberia .

At the beginning of the 20th century, Monrovia was divided into two parts: (1) Monrovia proper, where the city's Americo-Liberian

Americo-Liberian

Americo-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who were of African American, West Indian, and Liberated African descent....
population resided and was reminiscent of the Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
in architecture; and (2) Krutown, which was mainly inhabited by ethnic Kru

Kru

The Kru are an ethnic group who live in interior of Liberia. Their history is one marked by a strong sense of ethnicity and resistance to occupation....
s but also Bassa

Bassa

Bassa may refer to:*Three unrelated ethnic groups of West Africa:** Bassa ** Bassa *** Bassa language is a member of the Kru languages family....
s, Grebo

Grebo

Grebo was a United Kingdom subculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely based in the Midlands#The_English_Midlands.Influential bands in the scene were Pop Will Eat Itself , The Wonder Stuff, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Leicester bands Crazyhead, The Bomb Party, The Hunters Club, Scum Pups and Gaye Bykers on Acid....
s and other tribes. Of the 4,000 residents, 2,500 were Americo-Liberian. By 1926, ethnic groups from Liberia's interior began migrating to Monrovia in search of jobs.

In 1979, the Organisation of African Unity

Organisation of African Unity

The Organisation of African Unity or Organisation de l'Unit? Africaine was established on 25 May 1963. It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last Chairman of the Organization of African Unity, South African President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union ....
held their conference in the Monrovia area, with then president William R. Tolbert as chairman. During his term, Tolbert improved public housing

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by not-for-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providi...
in Monrovia and decreased by 50% the tuition fees at the University of Liberia

University of Liberia

The University of Liberia is a Public school institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the school opened in 1863 as Liberia College and became a university in 1951....
. A military coup led by Samuel Doe

Samuel Doe

Samuel Kanyon Doe was the President of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. His regime was characterized by ethnically-based dictatorship and the suppression of political opposition....
ousted the Tolbert government in 1980, with many members being executed.

The city was severely damaged in the Liberian Civil War

Liberian Civil War

The First Liberian Civil War was a conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1996....
, notably during the siege of Monrovia

Siege of Monrovia

The Siege of Monrovia, which occurred in Monrovia, Liberia between July 18 and August 14 2003, was a major military confrontation between the Armed Forces of Liberia and LURD rebels during the Second Liberian Civil War....
, with many buildings damaged and nearly all the infrastructure destroyed. Major battles occurred between Samuel Doe's government and Prince Johnson

Prince Johnson

Prince Yormie Johnson is a Liberian political and former military figure. He was elected to serve as a Senate of Liberia in the Liberian congress in the historic 2005 election....
's forces in 1990 and with the NPFL's assault on the city in 1992. A legacy of the war is a large population of homeless children and youths, either having been involved in the fighting or denied an education by it.

Economy

The city's economy is dominated by its harbour. Monrovia is Liberia's financial centre

Financial Centre

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. The Central Bank of Liberia

Central Bank of Liberia

The Central Bank of Liberia is Liberia's central bank. Its current governor is J Mills Jones.The offices of the bank are located in Monrovia, the Capital of Liberia....
is based in Monrovia.

Government

The city is home to the Monrovia City Corporation, which runs many services inside the city.

Geography

Monrovia lies on a peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
, between the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Mesurado River

Mesurado River is a river of Liberia. It flows through the capital of Monrovia and is crossed by the People?s Bridge, built in the 1970s.....
and is a major port

Port

||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
. The Saint Paul River

Saint Paul River

The Saint Paul River is a river of western Africa. Its headwaters are in southeastern Guinea. Its upper portion in Guinea is known as the Diani or Niandi River, and forms part of the boundary between Guinea and Liberia....
lies directly North of the city. Monrovia is located at . Monrovia is Liberia's largest city and its administrative, commercial and financial centre.

The city is located in Montserrado County

Montserrado County

Bensonville

Bensonville is the capital city of Montserrado County, Liberia. The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, is also located in Montserrado County. Bensonville is located 20 miles from Monrovia....
is actually the capital of Montserrado County.

Culture and media

Attractions in Monrovia include the Liberian National Museum

Liberian National Museum

The National Museum of Liberia is a national museum in Monrovia, Liberia. Initially housed in the First Executive Mansion on Ashmond Street of the city which is now used as a library, it was established by an Act of the Legislature of Liberia in 1958 under the administration of Liberia's 18th President, Dr William V.S....
, the now ruined Masonic Temple, the Waterside Market (currently closed), cultural centre on Providence Island and several beaches

Beach

File:MiamiSouthBeachPanoramaEdit.jpgA beach is a geology landform along the shoreline of a body of water. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of Rock , such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, pebbles, or cobble....
. It is also home to a zoo

Zoo

A Zoology garden, abbreviated to zoo, is an institution in which living animals are exhibited in captivity. In addition to their status as tourist attractions and recreational facilities, modern zoos may engage in captive breeding programs, conservation study, and educational outreach....
. The city also houses Antoinette Tubman Stadium

Antoinette Tubman Stadium

Antoinette Tubman Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Monrovia, Liberia. It is used mostly for football matches. It has a capacity of 10,000 people...
and the National Complex

National Complex (Liberia)

Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex is a multi-use stadium in Paynesville, Liberia built in 1986. It is used mostly for association football matches and it also has an athletics track....
sports stadiums. The National Complex is one of the largest stadiums in Africa, with seats

Stadium seating

Stadium seating is a technique used in performing-arts venues, educational facilities, religious institutions , and movie theaters to allow more guests to see an event with less blockage than traditional seating....
for 40,000.

Numerous tabloid

Tabloid

A tabloid is an industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread; to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest stories and entertainment, often distributed free of charge ; or to a newspaper that tends to emphasize sensationalism crime stories, gossip columns repeating scandalous innuend...
style newspapers are printed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, most of which are no more than 20 pages. Radio and TV stations are available, with radio being a more prominent source of news as problems with the electric grid

Grid (electricity)

An electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers....
make watching television more difficult. UNMIL Radio has been broadcasting since October 1, 2003. It is the first radio station in Liberia to broadcast 24 hours a day, and reaches an estimated 2/3rds of the population. STAR radio

STAR radio

STAR radio is a FM radio station in the West Africa nation of Liberia. Founded in 1997, it is independent of the country?s government. Headquartered in Monrovia, it broadcasts at the 104 FM frequency and via shortwave radio....
broadcasts at 104 FM.

The Daily Talk is a compilation of news items and Bible quotations

Bible quotations

This list includes famous biblical quotations that are now used in popular culture throughout the world....
written up daily on a roadside blackboard

Blackboard

The word Blackboard may refer to:* Chalkboard, a reusable writing surface* Blackboard system, an area of shared memory, or workspace, in Computer Science...
in the Sinkor

Sinkor

Sinkor is a section of the Monrovia metropolitan area in Liberia. It is the location of the Spriggs Payne Airport. United Nations Mission in Liberia has its headquarters in Sinkor....
region of Monrovia.

Education

Monrovia is home to the University of Liberia

University of Liberia

Infrastructure

Boats link the city's Freeport of Monrovia

Freeport of Monrovia

Freeport of Monrovia is the main commercial port facility in the West African nation of Liberia. The port was artificially created on Bushrod Island near Monrovia in 1948....
, the country's busiest port, with Greenville

Greenville, Liberia

Greenville, also known as Sinoe, is the capital of Sinoe County in southeastern Liberia and lies on a lagoon near the Sinoe River and the Atlantic Ocean....
and Harper

Harper, Liberia

Harper, situated on Cape Palmas, is the capital of Maryland County in Liberia. It is a coastal town situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Hoffman River....
. The nearest airport is Roberts International Airport

Roberts International Airport

Roberts International Airport is an airport in the West African nation of Liberia. Located in near the town of Harbel, the single runway airport is about 35 miles outside of the nation's capital of Monrovia, and as an origin and destination point is referred to as "Monrovia" in popular usage....
(the only international airport in Liberia), 60 km (40 mi) away at Robertsfield. The city is connected with the rest of the country via a network of roads and railways. Monrovia is listed as the home port by between ten and fifteen percent of the world's merchant shipping, registered in Liberia under Flag of Convenience

Flag of convenience

A flag of convenience vessel or ship is one where the nationality of the owner is different from the country of registration. The term has been used since the 1950s and comes from the flag ships fly to show their country of registration....
arrangements. Both private taxis and minibuses run in the city, and are supplemented by larger buses run by the Monrovia Transit Authority

Monrovia Transit Authority

The Monrovia Transit Authority is a public ownership company started in Monrovia, Liberia, to provide timetabled bus services in the capital city....
. Prior to the wars, the Mount Coffee Hydropower Project

Mount Coffee Hydropower Project

The Mount Coffee Hydropower Project is a hydroelectric project in the West African nation of Liberia on the Saint Paul River. Built in 1966 with additional phases completed later, the project had a maximum generating capacity of 64 Megawatt....
provided electricity and drinking water to the city.

Sister Cities

Taipei
Taipei

Taipei has been the de facto capital of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and the capital of Taiwan since Japanese rule that began in 1895....
, Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
Various cities in Minnesota
Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
, USA
Newark
Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest City in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it not only List of Municipalities in New Jersey but also the 65th List of United States cities by population Newark is also home to major corporations, such as Prudential Financial....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, USA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, USA
Staten Island
Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, situated almost entirely on the island of the same name in the extreme southwest part of the city....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, USA
East Orange
East Orange, New Jersey

East Orange is a City in Essex County, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 69,824....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, USA
Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring is an urbanized, unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. After Baltimore, Maryland and Columbia, Maryland, the Silver Spring Census-designated place is the third most populous place in Maryland....
, Maryland
Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
, USA
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the Capital and most populous city in Georgia , as well as the 33rd largest city in the United States of America with a population of 519,145....
, USA
North Trenton
North Trenton

North Trenton is a ward within Trenton, New Jersey, the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, USA
Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
, USA
Dayton
Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the United States Census, 2000....
, Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
, USA

Monrovia

History

Economy

Government

Geography

Culture and media

Education

Infrastructure

Sister Cities

See also

External links