Kru

The Kru are an ethnic group who live in interior of Liberia. Their history is one marked by a strong sense of ethnicity and resistance to occupation. In 1856 when part of Liberia was still known as the independent state of Maryland, the Kru along with the Grebo resisted Maryland settlers' efforts to control their trade. They were also infamous amongst early European slave raiders as being especially averse to capture.

Their reputation was such that their value as slaves was less than that of other African peoples, because they would so frequently attempt to escape or to take their own lives upon being captured. [Johnston, Harry, and Johnston, Harry Hamilton and Stapf, Otto. "Liberia". 1906, page 110]

Kru is one of the many ethnic groups in Liberia, composing 7% of the population. It is also one of the main languages spoken. The Kru are one of the three main players in Liberia's socio-political activities along with the Krahn and Mano.

References

*Behrens, Christine Les Kroumen de la Côte Occidentale d'Afrique, Bordeaux: Centre d'Etudes de Géographie Tropicale, 1974;
*Brooks, George, The Kru Mariner in the Nineteenth Century: A Historical Compendium, Newark,Del., 1972 (Liberian Studies Monograph Series no.1);
*Davis, Ronald, Ethnohistorical Studies on the Kru Coast, Newark, Del., 1976 (Liberian Studies Monograph Series no.5);
*Fraenkel, Merran, Tribe and Class in Monrovia, New York-London: OUP, 1964;
*Mekeel, Scudder, "Social Administration of the Kru: A Preliminary Survey", Africa 10 (1937) 75-96; 11 (460-68);
*Massing, Andreas W., The Economic Anthropology of the Kru, Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1980 (Studien zur Kulturkunde 55);
*Massing, Andreas W., Kru, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History, vol.2, 306-309, New York, 2007;
*Schwartz, Alfred, Peuplement Autochthone et Immigration dans le Sud-Ouest Ivoirien, Abidjan: ORSTOM, 1973;
*Tauxier, Louis, Les Kroomen de la Forêt de Côte d'Ivoire, Paris: Larose, 1935;
*Zetterström, Kjell, Ethnographic Survey of Southeastern Liberia: Preliminary Report on the Kru, Robertsport: Centre of African Culture, 1969

ee also

*Kru languages
*Seedies and Kroomen