History of Liberia
[3][4] In 1846, the first black governor of Liberia, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, requested the Liberian legislature to declare independence, but in a manner that would allow them to maintain contacts with the ACS.
[citation needed] The former slaves and other free blacks suffered considerable social and legal discrimination; they were not citizens and were seen by many as unwanted foreigners who were taking jobs away from white people by working for less.
Many considered blacks physically and mentally inferior to whites, and others believed that the racism and societal polarization resulting from slavery were insurmountable obstacles for integration of the races.
In December 1821, they acquired Cape Mesurado, a 36-mile-long (58 km) strip of land near present-day Monrovia, from the indigenous ruler King Peter (perhaps with some threat of force).
[19] Free people of color in the United States, with a few notable exceptions, overwhelmingly rejected the idea of moving to Liberia, or anywhere else in Africa, from the very beginning of the movement.
[25] Henry Clay, one of the founders of the group, had inherited slaves as a young child, but adopted antislavery views in the 1790s under the influence of his mentor, George Wythe.
The Americo-Liberians controlled the native peoples' access to the ocean, modern technology and skills, literacy, higher levels of education, and valuable relationships with many of the United States' institutions—including the American government.
[37] From the late 19th century, European powers, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, invested in infrastructure in their African colonies, making them more competitive in terms of getting products to market, improving communications, etc.
[citation needed] After 1927, the League of Nations investigated accusations that the Liberian government had forcibly recruited and sold indigenous people as contract laborers or slaves.
The United States had a long history of intervening in Liberia's internal affairs, and had repeatedly sent naval vessels to help suppress insurrections by indigenous tribes before and after independence (in 1821, 1843, 1876, 1910, and 1915).
[42] In 1912, the U.S. arranged a 40-year international loan of $1.7 million, against which Liberia had to agree to four Western powers (United States, Britain, France, and Germany) controlling Liberian Government revenues until 1926.
The American administration of the border police stabilized the frontier with Sierra Leone (then part of the British Empire), and checked French ambitions to annex more Liberian territory.
The Krus and Greboe tribes remained highly reluctant to accept control from Monrovia, but were not powerful enough to overcome a regime strongly supported by the U.S. Army and Navy.
Furthermore, Liberia allowed the U.S. to use its territory as a bridgehead for transports of soldiers and war supplies, in addition to the construction of military bases, airports, the Freeport of Monrovia, roads to the interior, etc.
[45] Many of the American personnel who passed through Liberia were black soldiers (who, at the time, were in racially segregated army divisions), and were deployed into military service in Europe.
In the 1970s under president Tolbert, Liberia strove for a more non-aligned and independent posture, and established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and Eastern bloc countries.
Internal unrest, opposition to the new military regime, and governmental repression steadily grew, until in 1989 Liberia sank into outright tribal and civil war.
Doe became paranoid about the possibility of a counter-coup, and his government grew increasingly corrupt and repressive, banning all political opposition, shutting down newspapers, and jailing reporters.
He began to systematically eliminate PRC members who challenged his authority, and to place people of his own ethnic Krahn background in key positions, which intensified popular anger.
In the late 1980s, as fiscal austerity took hold in the United States and the perceived threat of Communism declined with the waning of the Cold War, the U.S. became disenchanted with Doe's government and began cutting off critical foreign aid to Liberia.
In July, Yormie Johnson split off from NPFL and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), based around the Gio tribe.
In November 1990, ECOWAS agreed with some principal Liberian players, but without Charles Taylor, on an Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) under President Amos Sawyer.
Sawyer established his authority over most of Monrovia, with the help of a paramilitary police force, the 'Black Berets', under Brownie Samukai, while the rest of the country was in the hands of the various warring factions.
Taylor had fortified his power over Liberia mostly by purging the security forces of opponents, killing opposition figures, and raising new paramilitary units that were loyal only to him or his most trusted officers.
[52] They organized the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), and issued a statement of intent: "In the past we were silent, but after being killed, raped, dehumanized, and infected with diseases, and watching our children and families destroyed, war has taught us that the future lies in saying NO to violence and YES to peace!
As a result, the women were able to achieve peace in Liberia after a 14-year civil war and later helped bring to power the country's first female head of state, Johnson Sirleaf.
[57] Due to concerns over the lack of social, humanitarian and development use of industry revenue by the Liberian government, the UN Security Council enacted a 10-month embargo on timber imports from Liberia on July 7, 2003 (passed in Resolution 1478).
These changes paved the way for the ECOWAS peacekeeping mission to expand into a 3,600-strong force, constituted by Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.
Although Weah was still threatening to take his claims to the Supreme Court if no evidence of fraud was found, Johnson Sirleaf was declared winner on November 23, 2005, and took office on January 16, 2006; becoming the first African woman to do so.
[65] The court ruled that Bryant was not entitled to immunity as the head of state under the Constitution as he was not elected to the position and he was not acting in accordance with law when he allegedly stole US$1.3 million in property from the government.
