Freed American slaves began settling on the West African coast in 1820. In 1847 Liberia was declared an independent republic—Africa's first—under a constitution modeled on that of the U.S. In 1989 civil war erupted, ending seven years later with the Abuja Peace Accords. In 1999 the government of Charles Taylor was accused of supporting rebels in Sierra Leone, and it fought a border war with Guinea in 2000. Taylor was forced into exile in 2003, and the new government works to rebuild the nation.