Bomi is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the northwestern portion of the

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

n nation of Liberia. The county was established in 1984. The county's area is . Bomi is one of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation. Tubmanburg serves as the county's capital. The County has four administrive districts. Bomi is bordered on the northwest by Grand Cape Mount County, on the northeast by Gbarpolu and

Bong A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right. ...

Counties, on the southeast by

Montserrado County Montserrado County is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia containing its national capital, Monrovia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has 17 sub ...

and on the southwest by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. As of the 2008 Liberian census, Bomi had a population of 84,119, making it the nation's eleventh most populous county.

History

From 1822 until the

Liberian Declaration of Independence The Liberian Declaration of Independence is a document adopted by the Liberian Constitutional Convention on 26 July 1847, to announce that the Commonwealth of Liberia, a colony founded and controlled by the private American Colonization Society, ...

from the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

on July 26, 1847 some 3,198 freed slaves and slaves from the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

, who had escaped from their

slaveholder The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she inh ...

s or born free left the Caribbean islands and came to Liberia with the help and support from the

and other organizations. The former Caribbean slaves came to Liberia to live a better life, to be free and for

self-government __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

. The first batch of slaves who left the Caribbean islands was from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, some 500 to 1,000 freed Caribbean slaves arrived as settlers to Liberia. The second set of settlers who came from the Caribbean islands was 345 from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, followed by 620 from

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

, another 350 from

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

, the last two groups of settlers who left the Caribbean islands was 483 from Grenada, and the last group of settlers from Saint Lucia 400 former Caribbean slaves. As job opportunities and development growth increase the former slaves moved through

Grand Cape Mount Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital ...

, Bomi,

Margibi County Margibi is a county on the north to central coast of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Kakata serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring ...

and other regions of Liberia. Bomi County, formerly known as Bomi Territory, was once part of Montserrado County. The military regime of Samuel Doe established Bomi County in 1983. A legislative act later confirmed the County as being a separate entity. Bomi means “LIGHT” in the

Gola language Gola is a language of Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was traditionally classified as an Atlantic language, but this is no longer accepted in more recent studies. Classification Gola is not closely related to other languages and appears to form it ...

, recognizing the County's status as the first site for iron ore mining in Liberia.. The Liberia Mining Company extracted iron ore in the territory during the 1950s and 1960s. The company closed its operations in 1979..

Geography, climate and seasons

Bomi County has an area of .. The County is bordered on the northwest by Grand Cape Mount County, on the northeast by Gbarpolu and

Counties, on the southeast by

and on the southwest by the

.. The Lofa River forms the boundary between Bomi and Grand Cape Mount Counties. A tributary of the river forms part of the boundary between Bomi and Gbarpolu Counties. The

Saint Paul River The Saint Paul River is a river of western Africa. Its headwaters are in southeastern Guinea. Its upper portion in Guinea is known as the Diani River or Niandi River, and forms part of the boundary between Guinea and Liberia. It is known local ...

forms part of the boundary between Bomi and Montserrado Counties. (1) .
(2) .
(3) . Bomi County's climate is generally warm throughout the year. There are two seasons in the year - the rainy season which begins in April and ends in October and the dry season from November to March.

Demographics

The 2008 Liberian census showed that Bomi County had a population of 84,119, making it the eleventh most populous county in Liberia. The County had at that time a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 113 persons per square mile (44 persons per km²). Bomi contains five chiefdoms and 18 clans. The County's principal ethnic groups are Gola, Dei, Mandinka and Kpelle.

Resources and economy

Bomi County's resources include diamond, rubber, timber, iron ore, gold, water, stone, sand and fertile agriculture land. 70% of the population engage in agricultural activities, including the production or exploitation of rice (the staple food),

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, sweet potatoes,

eddoes Eddoe or eddo is a tropical vegetable often considered identifiable as the species ''Colocasia antiquorum'', closely related to taro (dasheen, ''Colocasia esculenta''), which is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms).Purseglove, J.W. 197 ...

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

s, vegetables, rubber, palm oil and livestock or in fisheries. 20% participate in business and trading. Local governments employ 10%. The

Sime Darby Sime Darby Berhad () is a Malaysian trading conglomerate. Its core businesses operate and serve in the industrial, motors and logistics sectors as well as the healthcare, and insurance segments. Background The modern Sime Darby Berhad corpo ...

rubber plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

, the second largest in Liberia, is located within the County.

Administrative districts

Bomi is divided into four administrative districts: * Dewoin District *

Klay District Klay District is one of four administrative districts of Bomi County, Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its nort ...

Senjeh District Senjeh District is one of four administrative districts of Bomi County, Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its n ...

Seuhn Mecca District Seuhn Mecca District is one of four administrative districts of Bomi County, Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, i ...

References

External links

*
Voting Among the Ruins
{{Authority control Counties of Liberia 1984 establishments in Liberia