Liberia

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Liberia is an African country founded in one of the most bizarre cases of colonization ever. The United States created Liberia as a colony with the intention of making it independent immediately, as a way of getting rid of all the blacks nicely ending slavery. Wealthy donors bought up all the slaves they could, and helped pay for as many African-Americans to move there as possible. Not many did, but its ties to the US were enough to keep it from being conquered during the scramble for Africa in the 19th century. The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, was named after the 5th president of the United States, James Monroe.

The country's name derives from the Latin word for "freedom."

In recent years, it has been known more for its horrible dictators, and for now having a functional government headed by an actual economist.

Liberia is notorious for being one of the countries that provide "flags of convenience": As the regulations applying to a ship and its crew depend on the country its registered in, Liberia's lax ship registry allows (allowed?) ship owners to get away with things that would be impossible in more developed countries. The tanker that caused the first major tanker-caused oil spill in 1967, Torrey Canyon, was sailing under a Liberian flag.

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