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1200 A.D.: Arrival of Spanish explorers
1364: Arrival of the Normans from France
1461: Arrival of Portuguese explorers, who name the country the Grain Coast
The name "Grain Coast" derived from the abundance of melegueta pepper ("grains of paradise") the Portuguese found upon their arrival in present-day Liberia. The melegueta pepper was an extremely valuable trade commodity, having both culinary and medicinal qualities.
1500s: Portuguese and British traders participate in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
1611: Arrival of Dutch traders
1700s: Arrival of first French, then Swedish traders
1791: Toussaint L'Ouverture leads an uprising of Black slaves on the island of Santo Domingo, today's Haiti.
The uprising raises fears among American slaveholders of a similar rebellion in America, and contributes to the formation of the American Colonization Society.
1807: Congress bans the importation of slaves into the U.S.
December 21, 1816: A group of Quakers and slaveholders in Washington, D.C., form the American Colonization Society (ACS) for the purpose of sending free Blacks to Africa.
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