The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. The area was first settled in 1834 by freed

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

slaves and freeborn African Americans primarily from the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, under the auspices of the

Maryland State Colonization Society The Maryland State Colonization Society was the Maryland branch of the American Colonization Society, an organization founded in 1816 with the purpose of returning free African Americans to what many Southern United States, Southerners considere ...

.''The African Repository'', Volume 14, p.42
Retrieved March 13, 2010 The larger

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

was founded in 1816. It supported the settlement of thousands of free people of color to its colony of

, in West Africa. There were also initially separate settlements founded by state colonization societies of Mississippi ( Mississippi-in-Africa), Kentucky (

Kentucky in Africa Kentucky in Africa was a colony in present-day Montserrado County, Liberia, founded in 1828 and settled by American free people of color, many of them former slaves. A state affiliate of the American Colonization Society, the Kentucky State Colo ...

), Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. A New Jersey colony was planned. In 1838, these African-American settlements were united into the

Commonwealth of Liberia Liberia, officially the Colony of Liberia, later the Commonwealth of Liberia, was a Colony, private colony of the American Colonization Society between 1821, before becoming the self-proclaimed independent nation of the Liberia, Republic of Liberi ...

, which declared independence from the American Colonization Society on July 26, 1847. The Maryland colony remained separate from the Commonwealth of Liberia, as the colonization society wished to maintain its trade monopoly in the area. On February 2, 1841, Maryland-in-Africa became the Independent State of Maryland. Following an independence referendum in 1853, the state declared its independence on May 29, 1854, under the name Maryland in Liberia,''Constitution and Laws of Maryland in Liberia'', p.1
Retrieved March 13, 2010 with its capital at

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut. Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut * Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name ...

History

The American Colonization Society was founded in 1816, in part due to alarms over the violence of the Haitian slave revolution and its aftermath, which resulted in independence for that country in 1804. Fears were raised about the effects of emancipation of slaves in the United States. In this period, both slaveholders and abolitionists collaborated on the project to transport free blacks to Africa, though for different reasons. They suggested it was "

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

," but by this time most African Americans were native-born in the United States, and said they were no more African than white Americans are British. Slaveholders believed that free blacks threatened the stability of their slave societies.

Nat Turner Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831. Nat Turner's Rebellion res ...

's rebellion of 1831 panicked Southerners, who feared another slave uprising and seizure of the country, as had recently happened in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. Abolitionists, many of them ministers, hoped to persuade slaveholders through their religion to

manumit Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...

(free) their slaves and also worried about the discrimination faced by free blacks in the United States. Those who supported relocation to West Africa believed (or said they believed) that the African Americans would create there better polities; first as some vague type of colonies, then countries, away from white prejudice, discrimination, and economic exploitation. While thousands of free blacks did relocate to the colonies, most free African Americans opposed this project, claiming the right of their birth in the United States and wanting to improve their lives there. The U.S. state of Maryland had an increasing proportion of free blacks among its African-American population. During the first two decades after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, about 25% of blacks were freed, in part because slaveholders were inspired by the war's ideals. Practically, changing labor needs meant that fewer slaves were required. By 1810 some 30% of northern Maryland's blacks were free, in what was a more urbanized region, but so were 20% of blacks in the southern part of the state. In the next two decades the number of free blacks increased markedly in the northern part of the state, and many congregated in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, the state's and the South's largest city. By 1830 Maryland had a total of 52,938 free blacks: 51.3% of blacks in northern Maryland were free, and the black population of Baltimore was 75% free. In southern Maryland, free blacks made up 24.7% of the black population. The

was originally a branch of the American Colonization Society, which had founded the colony of Liberia at

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

on January 7, 1822. The Maryland Society decided to establish a new settlement of its own to accommodate its emigrants and with the intention of controlling trade to its colony. In December 1831, the Maryland state legislature in the United States appropriated US$10,000 for 26 years to transport 10,000 free blacks and ex-slaves, and 400 Caribbean slaves from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the Caribbean islands, respectively, to Africa. It founded the Maryland State Colonization Society for this purpose. Nowhere near that number were actually transported.

Settlement of Cape Palmas

The first area in the future Republic of Maryland to be settled by the Maryland Colonization Society was

Cape Palmas Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a san ...

, in 1834, somewhat south of the rest of the American colony. The Cape is a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus. Immediately to the west of the peninsula is the estuary of the Hoffman River. Approximately 21 km (15 mi) along the coast to the east, the

Cavalla River The Cavalla River (also known as the Cavally, the Youbou and the Diougou) is a river in West Africa, originating from north of Mont Nimba in Guinea, through Ivory Coast, to Zwedru in Liberia, and back to the border with Ivory Coast. It ends in ...

empties into the sea, marking the border between Liberia and the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. It marks the western limit of the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

, according to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). Cape Palmas etch

Most of the settlers were freed

slaves and freeborn African Americans primarily from the

. The Colonization Society organizers thought they could establish new trading ties by relocating African Americans to West Africa. The colony was named Maryland in Africa (also known as Maryland in Liberia) on February 12, 1834.

John Brown Russwurm

In 1836 the Colonization Society appointed its first mixed-race governor,

John Brown Russwurm John Brown Russwurm (October 1, 1799 – June 9, 1851) was a Jamaican-born American abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and colonist of Liberia, where he moved from the United States. He was born in Jamaica to an English father and enslaved mothe ...

(1799–1851), who served as governor for more than a dozen years, until his death. Russwurm encouraged the immigration of

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

to Maryland in Africa, and supported agriculture and trade. He had begun his career working as the colonial secretary for the

between 1830 and 1834. He also worked as the editor of the ''

Liberia Herald The ''Liberia Herald'', founded in 1826 is the first newspaper ever published in Liberia which at the time was a colony. It was founded by Charles Force who died shortly after the first issue was published. In March 1827 Samuel Cornish and John B ...

.'' He resigned this post in 1835 to protest America's colonization policies. In 1838, a number of other

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

settlements on the west coast of Africa united to form the

, which declared its independence on July 26, 1847. Two American visitors in 1851 reported the population of "Maryland in Liberia" to be between 900 and 1,000, with four churches and six schools. The colony of Maryland in Liberia remained independent, as the Maryland State Colonization Society wished to maintain its trade monopoly in the area. On February 2, 1841, Maryland-in-Africa declared its statehood and became the State of Maryland. In 1847 the Maryland State Colonization Society published the ''Constitution and Laws of Maryland in Liberia'', based on the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

Declaration of Independence, and annexation by Liberia

On May 29, 1854, the State of Maryland declared its independence, naming itself Maryland in Liberia, with its capital at

. It was also known as the Republic of Maryland. It held the land along the coast between the

Grand Cess Grand Cess is a town in Grand Kru County, Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberi ...

and San Pedro rivers. It lasted three years as an independent state. Soon afterward, local tribes, including the Grebo and the

Kru KRU are a Malaysian pop boy band formed in 1992. The group comprises three Abdul Halim brothers, namely Datuk Norman Abdul Halim, Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim'. Apart from revolutionising the Malaysian music scene with their b ...

, attacked the State of Maryland. Unable to maintain its own defense, Maryland appealed for help to Liberia, its more powerful neighbor. President Roberts sent military assistance, and an alliance of Marylanders and Liberian militia troops successfully repelled the local tribesmen. The Republic of Maryland recognized that it could not survive as an independent state, and following a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, Maryland was annexed by Liberia on April 6, 1857, becoming known as

Maryland County Maryland County is a county in the southeastern portion of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has two districts. Harper serves as the capital with the area of the county meas ...

Legacy

A statue of

was erected near his burial site at

. Retrieved March 13, 2010

Governors of Maryland-in-Africa

(Dates in italics indicate ''de facto ''continuation of office)

History

Settlement of Cape Palmas

John Brown Russwurm

Declaration of Independence, and annexation by Liberia

Legacy

Governors of Maryland-in-Africa

See also

Notes

Further reading