The Historical Background of the Founding of Liberia

In fact, even Egypt and Ethiopia became colonies or protectorates in a short time. Egypt was "protected" by Britain, while Ethiopia was colonized by Italy during World War II. Only Liberia is a "pure country" in Africa, and it has never been colonized by any western country in its history of 16 1 year.

However, many historians disdain this glorious record, because they think that Liberia is actually a real colony, except that the colonists are not white people from "old Europe" but slaves liberated from the United States. In fact, Liberia is an out-and-out "exotic" and an exotic country that "parachuted" into West Africa.

Ironically, this foreign republic, which has never been colonized, was founded by an American non-governmental organization, but the name of this organization is "colonial"-American Free Colonization Association.

Tracing back to the history of Liberia's founding, we have to look to the United States on the other side of the Atlantic to explore the ins and outs of this American colonial association. As we all know, the United States of America, which was officially independent in 1789, has been in a dual social state of "capitalist north" and "slave-holding south" for more than half a century after its independence.

In the plantations in the south, as many as 500,000 slaves (1/7 of the total population) are engaged in heavy labor under shackles. They are oppressed by plantation owners and have no personal freedom. Their ownership and even their lives belong to their white owners and can be transferred, disposed of or even killed at will. Almost at the same time when the United States became independent, the abolitionist movement surged all over the country, especially in the northern abolitionist states, because many people thought that the possession, slavery and bullying of one group of people against another did not conform to the founding spirit of the United States.

However, abolitionists are not monolithic. Although they all advocate the emancipation of slaves, one school thinks that blacks and whites are "inherently different" and they will not accept the American justice and system. If they are liberated and stay in the United States, the result will be bad for both sides. We must find ways to let them have their own black homes. On the other hand, there is no essential difference between people, and blacks are also people. Because they were born in the United States, they are eligible to become American citizens. Their stay in the United States will help improve the human rights situation in the United States and break the deep-rooted color and racial gap in the United States.

In fact, behind the grandiose reasons of the two factions, there are unspeakable practical considerations: the "black homeland faction" is afraid that a large number of free slaves will flood into the factory and occupy the employment opportunities of whites, or that more and more free blacks will become a major threat to social security; "Black citizens" hope that a large number of slaves who have just gained personal freedom will become the cheapest and most dynamic industrial workers.

Because many early American leaders, including the founding President Washington himself, were slaves, from the beginning, the "black homeland faction" became the mainstream of the abolitionist movement, including philanthropists, clergy and abolitionists. They believe that sending freed slaves to a place where they will not be discriminated against can not only let whites and blacks get their place, but also use these "black people who have been influenced by civilization" to influence those who have not been influenced by civilization. As early as before the end of the war of independence, Jefferson and others had put forward the idea of sending free blacks to "a new country outside the borders of the United States", but they could only give up temporarily because of the lack of conditions.

From the end of 18 to the beginning of 2009, the number of free blacks increased sharply. According to statistics, from 1790- 1800, the number of free blacks increased from 59467 to 108378, an increase of 82%. 1800- 18 10, the number of people increased to 186446, an increase of 72%, which caused panic among abolitionists and slave owners. They are worried that free blacks will cause a large number of white workers to lose their jobs, that the crime rate in cities will rise, that free blacks will incite black slaves to riot in the south, and even that. The whole society has formed an atmosphere conducive to the "black homeland faction": send these black people where they should go, no matter how much they spend, no matter what.

It was Paul Couffe who first put this idea into practice.

Cuffe is an ocean-going shipowner with African and American indigenous ancestry. He has a wide network of contacts, and has many contacts with members of the US Congress, black leaders and even the British government. He made an attractive plan: transport freed slaves from the southern United States to settle in Sierra Leone, a British colony in West Africa, and then transport local products to the United States for sale in the original ship. The profits will be used to supplement the cost of transporting blacks, and the rest will be distributed in proportion. Since Kuffe owns a fleet, his plan quickly attracted the attention of all parties.

18 16, with the permission of the British government, the "Kufei Freedom Fleet" set sail for the first time. Cuffe personally led the team and carried 38 black people who voluntarily settled in Africa. The result of this experiment was disastrous: due to the small scale and the lack of products needed by the United States in Sierra Leone, Kufei had to pay for the operation, which was not to mention. Because of the local plague, he died suddenly on 18 17, and the whole operation died.

Although Kuffe fell short, the concept of "African homeland" was widely sung and accepted by the American public because of his enlightenment, and this "colonial" immigration method also outlined the road map for the later actions of the American colonial association in Liberia. In the same year when the Coffey Fleet set out, a Virginia American senator, Charles Fenton Mercer, began to put forward the idea of establishing black settlements in West Africa. This idea was supported by John Caldwell, who persuaded his brother-in-law, the Scottish Presbyterian Reverend Robert Finley, to sponsor this idea. Finley and Presbyterian believe that a large number of American free slaves who converted to Catholicism will greatly promote the spread of Catholicism in Africa.

1865438+65438 in 2006+21February, the American Colonialism Association was established in the Davis Hotel in Washington. In addition to the representatives of Finley, Caldwell and Myers (who himself was unable to attend due to official duties), there were Randolph, Richard Brown-Lee, Kentucky politician Henry Curley, and so on.

The American Colonial Association believes that "slavery has no end" and the ultimate liberation of slaves is inevitable, but "blacks should be free blacks" and should not be mixed with American whites. Therefore, sending them back to Africa is the best choice. In order to ensure the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of repatriated blacks in Africa, it is necessary to establish an independent "black home", and in order to achieve this goal, the most needed is of course funds.

The initial fund-raising was full of ideal colors: the association printed exquisite membership cards and sold them to like-minded people at a price of $30 each. The initiator of this plan is Brown Lee, who is enthusiastic about it, but the effect is frustrating. Nine years later, only $50,000 was raised in this way. Although the number was quite large at that time, it was not enough to start the "black house" plan anyway.

So they had to peel off their skins and start taking the upper route. Fortunately, there are indeed many like-minded people. Former president Jefferson became their biggest behind-the-scenes pusher. Under his impetus, Madison, the new president, used some public funds (the first amount was as high as $654.38 million) to support them, as well as other celebrities, such as Francis Scott Key, Bushrod Washington and William Thornton, the designer of the US Capitol.

Under the impetus of these people, many famous people in Washington, such as james monroe, who later became the fifth president of the United States, and even abraham lincoln, who later became famous, became active advocates of "black houses". According to American historians, these advocates are not monolithic, but there are usually three groups. The first group of people sincerely believe that the "black family" can solve the problem, including Boucher Washington and the successor President Henry Curley; The second group is slave owners, whose original intention is to keep the trapped free slaves away from their plantations in this way and avoid the remaining slaves being affected; The third and largest group, on the one hand, advocates freedom and equality, on the other hand, they believe in their bones that the so-called equality can only be between whites and blacks, not between different skin colors, and hope to achieve it through this artificial isolation.