Oh my goodness - they oppressed the uneducated indigenous people. "The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered, especially those in communities of the more isolated "bush". The colonial settlements were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their inland chiefdoms. Americo-Liberians developed as a small elite that held on to political power and indigenous tribesmen were excluded from birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.