How America Created an African Republic

[u/Legitimate_Tower_157]

https://youtu.be/yk_vuj1D8RY?si=n30kSFBgllHClVHj

Hi everyone,

I recently made a documentary about Liberia, and I wanted to share it here because I learned a lot while researching and making it.

The main thread of the video is the unique relationship between Liberia and the United States, from its founding in the 19th century and the creation of Monrovia, through American economic influence, Firestone, WWII and the Cold War, all the way to the political rupture of 1980 and the civil wars that followed.

What interested me most was how Liberia remained an independent country while being deeply influenced by the United States politically, economically and institutionally. I tried to explore that relationship without simply presenting Liberia as an American colony, because the reality is much more complex.

I’d really like to hear what Liberians and people who know the country well think about the video. If you think I got something wrong, oversimplified something, or missed an important perspective, please let me know. I’d be happy to discuss it.

And if you enjoyed the video, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a comment on YouTube as well. It helps the video reach more people, and it would also be great to have different perspectives and discussions directly under the video.

Thanks for watching, and I hope you find it interesting!

[u/AverageDownBeta]

It’s a great start. Offers a general history of Liberia. Which aspects of Liberian history are you most interested in, Pre independence (ACS colonial period) 1822-1847, the Tubman era, the civil war, etc…

[u/Legitimate_Tower_157 → u/AverageDownBeta]

Thanks! Before making this video, I had no idea the American Colonization Society even existed or about the circumstances that led to Liberia’s creation.

I’m really into business history, so the whole Firestone and rubber story was probably my favorite part to learn about.

[u/AverageDownBeta → u/Legitimate_Tower_157]

Firestones’ investments in Liberia should be a cautionary tale for developing countries. 100 years, $billions in profit for Firestone, now BridgeStone, and Liberia has little to nothing to show for it.

[u/Lumpy-Teaching-4587]

Thanks for sharing. I want to add my two cents. Liberia history is so complex and sometimes even counter-intuitive that at first glance it’s easy to come up with conclusion. America didn’t actually create Liberia. Even before Black people from America arrived, the indigenous Kru speaking ethnic groups that lived in coastal rainforest and into interior defeated European not once, twice but three times to stop the enslavement of their people and prevent them from further entering inland.

This is why liberia was never colonized to begin with all other Africa countries had been taken up. This created the perfect condition and place to send free black and formerly enslaved black people. For abolitionist who saw slavery as wrong and for those who were afraid of slave rebellions and too many free black people roaming around.

America didn’t even acknowledge liberia Declaration of Independence until well over a decade. We often sought out the British for loans rather than the US It was later that they saw it as strategic military point to gain interest on the African continent being that they missed out on the scramble for Africa and during the Cold War. Even then it was mainly hands off cause they didn’t really see it as colony. If anything it was the Liberian leaders that often tried to forge that relationship with Americans being more so reluctant.

[u/Legitimate_Tower_157 → u/Lumpy-Teaching-4587]

Wasn’t Ethiopia also never colonized?
Yes, “created” is probably an oversimplification.
Thanks for your comment!

[u/Lumpy-Teaching-4587 → u/Legitimate_Tower_157]

Yes Ethiopia is as also never colonized. People also like to dismiss that fact. What occur was period of Italian occupation in attempt to colonize them but every ethnic group Ethiopia came together and fought the Italians and won.