Bushrod Island

Bushrod Island is an island near Monrovia, Liberia surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Saint Paul River, the Mesurado River and Stockton Creek (a tidal channel that connects the two rivers). It contains the Freeport of Monrovia, the major national port of Liberia and a variety of businesses. It also contains numerous residential areas and government buildings. There are three towns on the island, New Kru Town, Logan Town and Clara Town.

Bushrod Island
Geography
LocationAtlantic Ocean
Coordinates6°21′27″N 10°47′8″W
Area13.64 km2 (5.27 sq mi)
Administration
Liberia
CountyMontserrado
Demographics
Population234,596 (1996)
Pop. density17,200/km2 (44500/sq mi)

Its proximity to the capital and industrial base make it an important commercial area for the country. End Point is a geographical feature on north end of Bushrod Island.

History

Mostly a low-lying mangrove swamp, Bushrod Island was occupied by the Dei people from the 16th century until the early 19th century. Gawulun was the chief town of the Dei on the island, and served as the capital of the Dei when "King Peter" was selected as the chief spokesman for his fellow Dei chiefs in 1819.[1]

In the late 1820s the community of New Georgia was established on Bushrod Island by people who had been freed from a slave ship in 1820, and kept in Georgia in the United States until 1827.[2] New Georgia is now located on the mainland directly to the east of Bushrod Island.

The island is named after Bushrod Washington, a nephew of George Washington and first president of the American Colonization Society (ACS).[3] The ACS, which was active during the first part of the 19th century, advocated the emigration to Africa of free and enslaved African Americans.

In 1878 a community of Vai people (called "Vai Town" by Williams) was located on Bushrod Island across the Mesurado River from Monrovia, while a few miles up the river on the island the community of New Georgia had about 500 residents.[4]

Notes
  1. Clegg:104
  2. Clegg:93
    Swanson:106-08
  3. Starr, Frederick (1913). Liberia: description, history, problems. Chicago: Frederick Starr. p. 9. OCLC 6791808. At Google Books.
  4. Williams:38-40

References
  • Clegg, Claude Andrew. (2004) The price of liberty: African Americans and the making of Liberia. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2845-9 Found at Internet Archive
  • Swanson, Gail. (2005) Slave Ship Guerrero. West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Infinity Publishing. ISBN 0-7414-2765-6
  • Williams, Alfred Brockenbrough. (1878) The Liberian Exodus. An Account of Voyage of the First Emigrants in the Bark "Azor," and Their Reception at Monrovia, with a Description of Liberia--Its Customs and Civilization, Romances and Prospects. Charleston, South Carolina: The News and Courier Book Presses. Found at University of North Carolina - Documenting the American South
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