Harper, Liberia ship, the MV "Catarina," sails fortnightly between Harper and Monrovia. From the Ivory Coast, Harper is accessible from Tabou. One of the town's most famous sons is President William Tubman, who was born in Harper. Cape Palmas is considered to be one of the traditional hometowns of the Americo-Liberians, descendants of freed slaves from the United States who settled in Liberia and declared it an independent country in 1847. John Brown Russwurm, an African American abolitionist and governor of Monrovia, was buried in Harper after his death. There is a statue to commemorate his grave site. Harper, Liberia Harper, situated
History of Liberia the country, who constitute the majority of the population. Years of civil war have disrupted the country and its economy. Historians believe that many of the indigenous peoples of Liberia migrated there from the north and east between the 12th and 16th centuries AD. Portuguese explorers established contacts with people of the land later known as "Liberia" as early as 1462. They named the area "Costa da Pimentia" (Pepper Coast), or Grain Coast, because of the abundance of melegueta pepper, which became desired in European cooking. In 1602 the Dutch established a trading post at Grand Cape Mount but destroyed