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to enable them to leave. Notably the people belonging to the
last-mentioned group were reported to be unenterprising and
unmotivated colonists. (These figures do not include the 1,227
settlers who came to Liberia through the Maryland Colonization
Society) (6).
During the U.S. Civil War the emigration from the U.S.A. came
virtually to a standstill. After the war many black and coloured
people in the U.S.A. were reluctant to leave that country as they
hoped that with the victory of the Abolitionists they would be
allowed the full exercise of their civil rights. (In July 1868
the black population of the U.S.A. was granted civil rights, two
years later they obtained political rights as well (7). As a
result the black and coloured people from the U.S.A. who
emigrated to Liberia prior to July 1868 could be considered
stateless persons (8). To appraise the role these colonists
played in the developments which were to take place in Liberia
during the nineteenth century it should be noted that they shared
many of the white Americans' views about Africans, notably the
idea that Africa was inhabited by savages and barbarians (9).
Of equal importance is the fact that considerable number of these
emigrants were the (illegitimate) off-spring of inter-racial
relations. This feature was to have an important impact on
internal Liberian politics. The emigrants from the U.S.A. liked
to refer to themselves as "America-LiLerians" .
As during the U.S. Civil War immigration from the U.S.A. had
ceased the Liberian Government engaged in the "re-patriation" of
blacks from the West-Indies. This was particularly encouraged by
the then Secretary of State, Edward Wilmot Blyden, born on one
of the Virgin Islands and emigrated to Liberia in 1850 (see
below). In 1865 an important group of colonists from the West
Indies, most of them from Barbados, arrived in Liberia, Among the
approximately 350 new colonists were trained artisans, farmers,
teachers and small traders. Most of them were literates. They and
their descendants played - and are still playing - a very
significant role in Liberia's history. The most well-known
families of this group include the Barclay, Grimes, Weeks,
Padmore, Holder, Goodridge, Clarke, Cox, Porte, Thorpe and Wiles.
The majority of these colonists settled in Montserrado County
where they built the town of Crozierville, Some returned to
Barbados after a while, others went to Sierra Leone, and a few
settled in other counties of the Republic (10).
Upon arrival in Liberia every male immigrant from overseas was
granted 10 and in some cases 25 acres of land by the Liberian
Government. If he was accompanied by his family the new colonist
would receive even more. Furthermore, he was able to buy as much
land as he wanted for one dollar an acre. Thus, in view of
Article V, Section 12th of the Liberian Constitution, these
emigrants from the U.S.A. and the West Indies were upon arrival
in Liberia immediately eligible for citizenship of the new
Republic.