American missionaries from New England established a mission in Baraka, Gabon, on what is now Libreville, in 1842. In 1846, the Brazilian slave ship ''L'Elizia'', carrying slaves from the Congo, was captured near Loango by the French navy which was tasked with contributing to the British Blockade of Africa. Fifty-two of the freed slaves were resettled on the site of Libreville (French for "Freetown") in 1849.