The Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

n flag bears close resemblance to the flag of the United States

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

, showing the ex-American slave origins of the country. The Liberian flag has similar red and white stripes, as well as a blue square with a white star in the canton

Canton (heraldry)

Canton is a square charge placed in the upper dexter corner. It is classed by some heraldic writers as one of the honorable ordinaries; but, strictly speaking, it is a diminutive of the Quarter, being two-thirds the area of that ordinary. However, in the roll of Henry III the quarter appears in...

.

Symbolism

The eleven stripes symbolize the signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence

Liberian Declaration of Independence

The Liberian Declaration of Independence is a document adopted by the Liberian Constitutional Convention on 16 July 1847 to announce that the Commonwealth of Liberia, a colony founded and controlled by the private American Colonization Society, was now an independent state known as the Republic of...

, red and white symbolizing courage and moral excellence. The white star represents the freedom the ex-slaves were given, above the blue square representing the African mainland.

The flag is seen on many ships around the world as Liberia offers registration under its flag. Shipping companies do this to avoid taxes and restrictions that other countries enforce. It is estimated that 1600 ships fly the Liberian flag as a flag of convenience

Flag of convenience

The term flag of convenience describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the...

; this brings in much of the country's revenue.