Before German unification, Liberia's independence was recognized by the Hanseatic Republics of Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg in 1855.

German shipping also relied on the labor of Kru deck workers and stevedores from Liberia.

In 1912, these unresolved claims resulted in a display of gunboat diplomacy by the German government, but there was ultimately a peaceful resolution.

[5] The loan borrowed $1,700,000 for Liberia, with the conditions including that the four countries would be able to each appoint General Receivers of Customs, which limited the powers of the Liberian Secretary of the Treasury.

President Daniel E. Howard was wary of going to war against Germany due to their economic ties.

[9] From 1915 to 1916, Britain and France used their influence over Liberia to pressure it into adopting policies to lower the amount of trade between it and Germany.

[7] Following World War I, trade between Liberia and Germany resumed, though it would never reach the same prominence as it did pre-war.

It did this, in 1941, by ordering the Bank of Monrovia to stop handling German accounts, as well as denying safe passage to vessels from Germany to Liberia.