Editing Liberia (section)

=== Mande expansion ===
The [[Pepper Coast]], also known as the Grain Coast, has been inhabited by indigenous peoples of Africa at least as far back as the 12th century. [[Mande peoples|Mande]]-speaking people expanded from the north and east, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean. The [[Dei people|Dei]], [[Bassa (Liberia)|Bassa]], [[Kru people|Kru]], [[Gola (ethnic group)|Gola]], and [[Kissi people|Kissi]] were some of the earliest documented peoples in the area.<ref name=introprof>{{cite journal |last1=Dunn-Marcos |first1=Robin |last2=Kollehlon |first2=Konia T. |last3=Ngovo |first3=Bernard |last4=Russ |first4=Emily |editor-last=Ranar |editor-first=Donald A. |date=April 2005 |title=Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture |journal=Culture Profile |issue=19 |publisher=Center for Applied Linguistics |access-date=July 23, 2011|url=http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625062344/http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf|archive-date=June 25, 2008|pages=5–6}}</ref>

This influx of these groups was compounded by the decline of the [[Mali Empire]] in 1375 and the [[Songhai Empire]] in 1591. As inland regions underwent [[desertification]], inhabitants moved to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton [[spinning (textiles)|spinning]], cloth [[weaving]], iron [[smelting]], [[rice]] and [[sorghum]] cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai empires.<ref name=introprof /> Shortly after the [[Mane people|Mane]] conquered the region, the [[Vai people]] of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the [[Grand Cape Mount County]] region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Mane to stop further influx of Vai.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jesse N. Mongrue M. Ed|title=Liberia-America's Footprint in Africa: Making the Cultural, Social, and Political Connections|date=2011|page=24|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1462021642}}</ref>

People along the coast built [[canoe]]s and traded with other West Africans from [[Cap-Vert]] to the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]].