The beginning: Americo-Liberian repatriation and rule

In 1822, a group of freed ex-slaves were repatriated to Africa with the help of the American Colonization Society (ACS), a group of influential Americans who were concerned about slavery and the ‘untenable position of “free persons of colour” in the United States after the formation of the USA in 1787’ (Liebenow, 1969: 1). The main rationale behind the US-facilitated departure of the ex-slaves to Africa was not exactly humanitarian but was a solution to an identified problem for America. This point was underlined by Faulkner (1910) who noted that ‘it was partly the desire to better the condition of the free negro, partly no doubt the fear that his presence might be a harmful influence among the blacks held in bondage, which first suggested the idea that he be sent back to Africa where he belonged’ (Faulkner, 1910: 530). Youboty (2004) posits that it was the fear of a slave revolt, similar to the one that had occurred on the French island of Saint Dominique, which led American slave masters to start seeking means through which the Negro population in America could be reduced and led to the repatriation and resettlement idea (Youboty, 2004: 9). It can thus be concluded that the repatriation of freed American slaves to what is Liberia today served a dual purpose of returning people of African descent ‘home’ as well as helping the USA deal with the ‘freed slaves dilemma’.

Having succeeded in securing a grant of US$100,000 from the American Congress for the purchase of land, building homes, the acquisition of farm implements, payment of teachers and other necessities envisaged for the new settler community, an initial but futile attempt was made at securing a settlement for the ex-slaves on an island off the coast of what is known today as Sierra Leone (Liebenow, 1969: 3–4). Success was eventually achieved at gunpoint and also following the exchange of such commodities as muskets, beads, tobacco, mirrors, clothing, food, gunpowder and rum, by the ACS, who negotiated with the indigenous people on behalf of the freed ex-slaves (Liebenow, 1969: 4). This ‘carrot and stick’ method of land acquisition, which entailed commodity exchange as well as coercion, had long been used in other parts of Africa by slave traders when dealing with the Africans involved in the slave trade.