Before 1816, the area around
Cape Mesurado and the mouth of the
Mesurado River was called Ducor. It had long been established as a crossroads and a place of trade inhabited by fishing, trading and farming communities of various ethnicities, including the
Dey,
Kru,
Bassa,
Gola, and
Vai. The French cartographer and slave trader
Chevalier des Marchais visited Ducor and the Cape in 1723, conducted business there and later published a map of the area. In 1821, with the aim of establishing a self-sufficient colony for free people of color from the United States, something that had already been accomplished with British
Black Loyalists in
Freetown, the first group of
African American settlers arrived in West Africa from the United States under the auspices of the
American Colonization Society and with the support of the U.S. government. They landed on
Sherbro Island, part of modern-day
Sierra Leone. On 7 January 1822, a ship took these settlers to Dazoe Island (now called Providence Island) at the mouth of the Mesurado River. They subsequently went ashore at
Cape Mesurado, and established a settlement they called
Christopolis. In 1824, the city was renamed
Monrovia after
James Monroe, president of the United States at the time. Monroe was a prominent supporter of plans to create a colony of some sort as a place to relocate African Americans from the
United States of America and combat the
Atlantic Slave Trade. He likewise signed into law the Anti-Slave Trading Act of 1819, which funded the ACS's mission to create such a colony in West Africa. In 1845 there was a constitutional convention in Monrovia. At this convention a document was drafted that would be adopted two years later as the constitution of the newly independent and sovereign
Republic of Liberia. During
World War I the city was affected by the
German bombing of Monrovia. At the beginning of the 20th century 2,500 of Monrovia's 4,000 residents were
Americo-Liberian. At that time Monrovia consisted of two sectors: Monrovia proper and Krutown. The city's Americo-Liberian population resided in the former sector. Because of American settlers' influence the architectural style of its buildings was reminiscent of that of the
southern United States. Krutown was inhabited mainly by ethnic
Krus, but also by
Bassas,
Grebos and members of other ethnic groups. By 1926 ethnic groups from Liberia's interior began to migrate outwards toward Monrovia in search of jobs. and Liberian President
William Tolbert wave from their motorcade, 1978. In 1979, the
Organisation of African Unity, chaired by the then president of Liberia,
William Tolbert, held its conference near Monrovia. During his term, Tolbert improved
public housing in Monrovia and slashed
tuition fees at the
University of Liberia in half. In 1980 a military coup led by
Samuel Doe overthrew the Tolbert government and executed many of its members. Tolbert, and others who were killed in the coup, were buried in a mass grave in Palm Grove Cemetery. The
First Liberian Civil War (1989 to 1997) and
Second Liberian Civil War (1999 to 2003) severely damaged the infrastructure of the city. Much of the damage occurred during the
siege of Monrovia. Major battles included clashes between Samuel Doe's government forces and
Prince Johnson's forces in 1990 and the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia's assault on the city in 1992. During these wars young children and youth, deprived of resources and schooling, were forced to involve themselves in the fighting. Afterwards, many of them were left homeless. In 2002
Leymah Gbowee organized the
Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, a group consisting of local Monrovian women, who gathered in a fish market to pray and sing. This movement helped to end the war the following year and to bring about the election of
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president of Liberia, which made it the first African nation to have a
female president. In 2014 Monrovia was affected by the
2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak.{{Cite web| title = The terrifying mathematics of Ebola == Geography ==