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THEHISTORYOFLIBERIA
Settlers from America
The history of Liberia as a political entity begins with the arrival of the
black American settlers — the Americo-Liberians, as they were to be known — who
established a colony of “free men of color” on its shore in 1822 under the
auspices of the American Colonization Society. The historical roots from which a
majority of present-day Liberians derive their identity, however, are found in
the varied traditions of the several tribal groups of indigenous Africans whom
the settlers confronted in their struggle to gain a foothold in Africa and,
later, extend their control into the interior.
On July 26, 1847, the Americo-Liberians declared the independence of the
Republic of Liberia. The settlers regarded the continent from which their
forefathers had been taken as slaves as a "Promised Land", but they did not
become reintegrated into an African society. Once in Africa, they referred to
themselves as "Americans" and were recognized as such by tribal Africans and by
British colonial authorities in neighboring Sierra Leone. The symbols of their
state — its flag, motto, and seal — and the form of government that they chose
reflected their American background and diaspora experience.
President Edwin Barclay of Liberia (right), 1943The religious practices, social
customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the
antebellum American South. These ideals strongly coloured the attitudes of the
settlers toward the indigenous African people. The new nation, as they perceived
it, was coextensive with the settler community and with those Africans who were
assimilated into it. Because of mutual mistrust and hostility between the
"Americans" along the coast and the "Natives" of the interior, a recurrent theme
in the country's subsequent history, therefore, was the usually successful
attempt of the Americo-Liberian minority to dominate people whom they considered
uncivilized and inferior. They named the land "Liberia," which in European
languages and Latin means "Land of the Free".
Stephen Allen Benson, President of Liberia 1856-1864The founding of Liberia was
privately sponsored by American religious and philanthropic groups, but the
colony enjoyed the support and unofficial cooperation of the United States
government. Liberia’s government, modeled after that of the United States, was
democratic in structure, if not always in substance. After 1877 the True Whig
Party monopolized political power in the country, and competition for office was
usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election.
Two problems confronting successive administrations were pressure from
neighboring colonial powers, Britain and France, and the threat of financial
insolvency, both of which challenged the country’s sovereignty. Liberia retained
its independence during the Scramble for Africa, but lost its claim to extensive
territories that were annexed by Britain and France. Economic development was
retarded by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late nineteenth
century and by indebtedness on a series of loans, payments on which drained the
economy.
Significant mid-20th-century events
Two events were of particular importance in releasing Liberia from its
self-imposed isolation. The first was the grant in 1926 of a large concession to
the American-owned Firestone Plantation Company; that move became a first step
in the modernization of the Liberian economy. The second occurred during World
War II, when the United States began providing technical and economic assistance
that enabled Liberia to make economic progress and introduce social change.
1980 coup under Doe
On 12 April 1980, a successful military coup was staged by a group of
noncommissioned officers of tribal origins led by Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon
Doe, and they executed the President of nine years William R. Tolbert, Jr. in
his mansion. Constituting themselves the People’s Redemption Council, Doe and
his associates seized control of the government and brought an end to Liberia’s
"first republic".
President Tolbert with American president Carter in Monrovia, 1978Doe made
strong ties with the United States in the early 1980s, receiving more than $500
million for pushing out the Soviet Union from the country, and allowing
exclusive rights for the US to use Liberia's ports and land (including allowing
the CIA to use Liberian territory to spy on Libya).
Doe continued his authoritarian policies, banning newspapers, outlawing
opposition parties and holding staged elections.
1989 and 1999 civil wars
In late 1989, a civil war began, and in September 1990 Doe was ousted and killed
by the forces of faction leader Yormie Johnson and members of the Gio tribe. As
a condition for the end of the conflict, interim president Amos Sawyer resigned
in 1994, handing power to the Council of State. Prominent warlord, Charles
Taylor, was elected as President in 1997. Taylor's brutal regime targeted
several leading opposition and political activists. In 1998, the government
sought to assassinate child rights activist Kimmie Weeks for a report he had
published on its involvement in the training of child soldiers, which forced him
into exile. Taylor's autocratic and dysfunctional government led to a new
rebellion in 1999. More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in
the civil wars. The conflict intensified in mid-2003, when the fighting moved
closer to Monrovia. As the power of the government shrank and with increasing
international and American pressure for him to resign, President Charles Taylor
accepted an asylum offer by Nigeria, but vowed: "God willing, I will be back."
Transitional Government and Elections After the
exile of Taylor, Gyude Bryant was appointed Chairman of the transitional
government in late 2003. The primary task of the transitional government was to
prepare for fair and peaceful democratic elections. With UN and ECOMOG troops
safeguarding the peace, Liberia successfully conducted presidential elections in
the fall of 2005. Twenty three candidates stood for the October 11, 2005 general
election, with the early favorite George Weah, internationally famous
footballer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and member of the Kru ethnic group
expected to dominate the popular vote. No candidate took the required majority
in the general election, so that a run-off between the top two vote getters,
Weah and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was necessary. The November 8, 2005 presidential
runoff election was won decisively by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard trained
economist. Both the general election and runoff were marked by peace and order,
with thousands of Liberians waiting patiently in the Liberian heat to cast their
ballots.
[edit] The Presidency of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Current Liberian President Ellen Johnson-SirleafDaughter
of the first indigenous Liberian to be elected to the national legislature,
Jahmale Carney Johnson, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was born in rural Liberia. Widely
celebrated for being the first elected female head of state in Africa, Johnson-Sirleaf’s
election focused much international attention on Liberia. A former Citibank and
World Bank employee, Johnson-Sirleaf’s impressive career also includes heading
the U.N. Development Programme for Africa[1]. (Owing to the complexion inherited
from her maternal Grandfather, a German who married a rural market woman,
Johnson-Sirleaf has often been thought to be a member of the Americo-Liberian
elite, although she is quite proud of her indigenous Liberian roots). Long
involved in her country’s fight for peace and justice, Johnson-Sirleaf was
jailed twice during the Doe administration. Jailed once for eight months, she
narrowly escaped with her life before going into exile. Delivering a message of
hope and reconciliation in her inauguration speech, Johnson-Sirleaf hopes to
bring her credentials as an economist to bear and enlist the help of the
international community in rebuilding Liberia’s economy and infrastructure. As
of this writing, she is working to have Liberia’s external debt of $3.5 billion
cancelled, and is inviting international investment. She has extended a special
invitation to the Nigerian business community to participate in business
opportunities in Liberia, in part as a thank you for Nigeria’s help in securing
Liberia’s peace. Exiled Liberians are also investing in their homeland and
[2]participating in Liberia's rebuilding efforts.
In addition to focusing her early efforts to
restablishing basic services like water and electricity to the capital of
Monrovia, Johnson-Sirleaf has established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission
[3] to address crimes committed during the later stages of Liberia's long civil
war. She is also working to reestablish Liberia's food independence. [To view
recent presidential speeches, go to: [4].] Johnson-Sirleaf also tackled head on
the greatest looming threat to Liberia's peace and stability early in her
presidency by requesting that Nigeria extradite Liberia's most infamous war
criminal and war profiteer, Charles Taylor.
[edit] Extradition and Trial of Charles Taylor
President Charles Taylor announcing his
resignation shortly before going into exile in NigeriaIn March 2006, President
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf sent a letter formally requesting the extradition of
Charles Taylor from Nigeria to face justice. While Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo confirmed receipt of the request and notified the Chairmen of the
African Union, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, and the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) Mamadou Tandja on March 17, 2006, Nigeria’s plans to comply with
the request were not immediately clear. After representatives from Liberia and
Nigeria met to discuss the issue, Nigeria announced on March 25, 2006 that it
would allow Liberian authorities to arrest Taylor. It was long feared that
Taylor, a multi-millionaire, could easily slip into hiding to escape charges
before the UN International War Crimes Tribunal sitting in Sierra Leone, and by
March 28 Taylor had reportedly disappeared from his Nigerian compound. He was
recaptured by alert border guards at dawn on March 29 trying to cross into
Cameroon. Taylor was quickly flown to Liberia, where he was shuffled onto a
waiting UN helicopter to face charges for crimes against humanity in Sierra
Leone (although the venue for this trial may shift to the Hague). The timing of
Taylor’s appearance before the tribunal is crucial as the court’s mandate is set
to expire later in 2006. Through the wars he initiated and funded in West
Africa, Taylor is directly responsible for more deaths than those caused by the
Balkan Wars deceased war criminal Slobodan Milošević in the former Yugoslavia.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia
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