ABSTRACT
Liberia, “land of the free,” was founded by the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1821. The ACS was a society that supported the return of freed African-American slaves to Africa. In the 15th century, the Portuguese engaged in trade along the Grain Coast, the coast nicknamed for the large amount of melegueta peppers – or grains of paradise – traded in that area. The British and Dutch had trading posts on the Grain Coast in the 16th century, but did not stay long. Linguistically, this is significant because the Portuguese, English and Dutch languages all shaped the African Pidgins in Liberia before the freed American slaves arrived.
