Liberia After 1822

Front matter

Contents

Generated from the manuscript: 380 section headings across 191,842 written words. Chapters marked as open reading are free to all readers; the rest are in the subscriber reading room. A full back-of-book index follows the text.

Part I

The Cape Mesurado Agreement

  1. 01
  2. 02

    From Sherbro Island to Cape Mesuradoopen reading6,566 words

    The failure of the first settlement effort, disease, deaths, relocation and the search for a permanent colonial site.

  3. 03

    December 15, 1821open reading7,399 words

    A detailed examination of the Cape Mesurado agreement, its participants, witnesses, terms, goods exchanged and territorial descriptions.

  4. 04

    Who Had the Authority to Transfer the Land?7,708 words

    African systems of land custody, collective ownership, chiefly authority and the power—or limitations—of individual signatories.

  5. 05

    Agreement, Purchase, Lease or Political Alliance?6,788 words

    Competing African and American interpretations of the Cape Mesurado transaction.

  6. 06

    Eli Ayres, Robert F. Stockton and King Peter6,792 words

    The principal negotiators, their backgrounds, motives and historical representations.

  7. 07

    The Gun, the Contract and the Historical Record6,954 words

    An evidence-based examination of claims that force, intimidation or threatened violence influenced the negotiations.

Part II

Establishing the Settlement

  1. 08
  2. 09
  3. 10

    Survival, Disease and Food Insecurity6,978 words

    Mortality, environmental conditions, medical challenges and the vulnerability of the early colony.

  4. 11

    From Christopolis to Monrovia7,949 words

    The naming and development of the settlement and its connection to United States political patronage.

  5. 12

    The American Colonization Society Government6,482 words

    The power of ACS agents, colonial regulations and the absence of full settler self-government.

  6. 13

    The Settlers and the Recaptives7,721 words

    Relations among African American emigrants, Caribbean settlers and Africans rescued from illegal slave ships.

Part III

The Expansion of Colonial Liberia

  1. 14

    Beyond Cape Mesurado7,090 words

    The expansion of colonial authority along the coast and into neighboring territories.

  2. 15

    Grand Bassa, Sinoe, Maryland and Other Settlements7,344 words

    The creation of separate colonial jurisdictions and their eventual political integration.

  3. 16

    Treaties with Indigenous Leaders6,975 words

    A comparative analysis of land agreements, commercial treaties and political alliances.

  4. 17

    Commerce, Customs and Coastal Control7,694 words

    Trade in camwood, palm products, ivory and other commodities, and the importance of customs revenue.

  5. 18

    The Campaign Against the Slave Trade7,187 words

    Liberia's role in anti-slavery operations and the political use of abolition as a claim to legitimacy.

  6. 19

    Missionaries, Churches and Schools7,400 words

    Christian missions, education, cultural transformation and the emergence of a settler intellectual class.

  7. 20

    Indigenous Resistance and Accommodation6,947 words

    The different ways African communities opposed, negotiated with or cooperated with the expanding colony.

Part IV

The Rise of Settler Political Power

  1. 21

    The Americo-Liberian Community8,934 words

    The development of settler identity, institutions, social classes and political influence.

  2. 22

    Joseph Jenkins Roberts and the Roberts Family8,196 words

    Virginia origins, migration to Liberia, commercial advancement and emergence within the governing elite.

  3. 23

    Merchants, Governors and Political Families7,414 words

    The commercial networks and family relationships that shaped colonial leadership.

  4. 24

    Race, Color and Class in the Colony9,109 words

    Relations among light-skinned settlers, darker-skinned settlers, recaptives and Indigenous Africans.

  5. 25

    Women in the Formation of Liberia7,589 words

    The roles of settler women, Indigenous women, traders, educators, missionaries and political families.

  6. 26

    Land Ownership and Political Membership277 words

    Property, citizenship, settlement status and access to political power.

Part V

From Colony to Commonwealth

  1. 27

    The Constitution of 1824283 words

    The first formal governmental structure of the colony and the authority retained by the American Colonization Society.

  2. 28

    The Constitution of 1839280 words

    The creation of the Commonwealth of Liberia and the expansion of local political administration.

  3. 29

    Governors and the Growth of Self-Government280 words

    The transition from white ACS agents to Black colonial leadership.

  4. 30

    Joseph Jenkins Roberts as Governor276 words

    His administration, commercial interests, diplomacy and political strategy.

  5. 31

    The Demand for Economic Independence279 words

    Trade restrictions, customs disputes and the financial pressures that encouraged independence.

  6. 32

    Britain, France and the Sovereignty Question281 words

    Foreign challenges to Liberia's tariffs, borders and right to govern commerce.

Part VI

The Creation of the Republic

  1. 33

    The 1847 Constitutional Convention275 words

    The delegates, debates, political interests and communities represented—or excluded.

  2. 34

    The Declaration of Independence275 words

    Its language, American influences and claims of national sovereignty.

  3. 35

    The Constitution of 1847277 words

    The structure of government, presidency, legislature, judiciary, citizenship and voting rights.

  4. 36

    Who Belonged to the New Republic?282 words

    The constitutional treatment of settlers, Indigenous Africans, race, nationality and political inclusion.

  5. 37

    The Election of Joseph Jenkins Roberts282 words

    The political circumstances that made Roberts the first president of the republic.

  6. 38

    January 3, 1848277 words

    The inauguration of Liberia's first president and the formal beginning of republican government.

  7. 39

    International Recognition278 words

    Recognition by Britain, France, other states and the delayed recognition of Liberia by the United States.

Part VII

The Republic and the Indigenous Majority

  1. 40

    A Republic Without Full National Integration280 words

    The limited territorial and administrative reach of the early government.

  2. 41

    Indigenous Citizenship and Political Exclusion281 words

    The gap between constitutional sovereignty and the political status of Liberia's Indigenous majority.

  3. 42

    Taxes, Trade and the Hinterland279 words

    Government efforts to extend economic and administrative authority beyond the coast.

  4. 43

    Military Expeditions and Territorial Consolidation279 words

    The use of force, alliances and treaties in expanding the republic.

  5. 44

    The Kru, Grebo, Gola, Vai and Other Political Communities287 words

    Case studies of relations between the republic and major Indigenous societies.

  6. 45

    The Mandingo Commercial Networks275 words

    Islam, long-distance trade and Mandingo influence in the interior.

  7. 46

    Land, Sovereignty and Historical Memory278 words

    How different communities remembered the agreements that expanded Liberia's territory.

Part VIII

Reassessing Liberia's Founding Narrative

  1. 47

    Was Liberia Founded in 1822 or 1847?282 words

    The distinction between settlement, colony, commonwealth, statehood and national independence.

  2. 48

    Colonization and Black Self-Determination283 words

    The contradiction between the racist origins of American colonization and the emergence of an independent Black republic.

  3. 49

    Settlers, Returnees or Colonizers?278 words

    An examination of the competing terms used to describe African American emigrants.

  4. 50

    The Myth of an Empty Land284 words

    Correcting narratives that ignore the people, governments and economies that existed before the settlement.

  5. 51

    The Cape Mesurado Agreement in Modern Liberia285 words

    The agreement's continuing importance in debates over land, identity, citizenship and national history.

  6. 52

    Building a Shared National History282 words

    Toward a historical interpretation that recognizes both African American migration and Indigenous African sovereignty.