1847-80 History of West Africa Liberia
1919-1939





Liberia Independent, 1880-1918



In the course of the SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA, Liberia had to sign a number of treaties with colonial powers (Britain, France), in which it ceded border territory to them (1885, 1895, 1912). In fact, the area Liberia's government really had under control did not reach that far inland.
In the 1880es, according to government information, the total population numbered 1,068,000, of whom 18,000 were "somewhat civilized" (Meyers). In 1882-1883, state revenues 174,014 $, state expenses 157,465 $; state debt 500,000 $. "As Liberia is incapable of paying back her debt, England (the creditor) will probably take land instead. The republic has failed to live up to expectations, and only has shown, what class spirit, lethargy, the desire to rule over strangers and the weaker can achieve." (Meyers)
Liberia remained neutral during most of World War I, declaring war on the Central Powers late in the War.





EXTERNAL
FILES 		Liberia, history of, from Infoplease
Liberian history by Joseph K. Tellewoyan, detailed
Liberia History Timeline, from American Colonization Society Collection, detailed
DOCUMENTS Flag of Liberia, from FOTW
Article Liberia, P.1 (760), P.2 (761), from Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888-1890 edition, in German
REFERENCE Article : Liberia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1913 pp.1102-1104 [G]
Article : Liberia, in : Statesman's Year Book 1895 pp.734-736, 1898 pp.735-737, 1901 pp.828-832, 1905 pp.898-902, 1910 pp.998-1001 [G]
Article : Liberia, in : International Year Book 1898 pp.470-471, 1899 pp.486-487, 1900 pp.541-542 [G]
Article : Liberia, in : New International Year Book 1907 pp.452-453, 1908 pp.406-407, 1909 p.420, 1913 p.401, 1914 p.411, 1916 p.378, 1918 pp.366-367 [G]
Article : Liberia, in : Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events 1894 p.404 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on September 6th 2007

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