Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The uprisings that rocked the Republic of Liberia beginning in the last quarter of the twentieth century constitute a resounding case in point in studies of protest and revolution. Although it is easy to call attention to the proximate contributory factors in explaining the origin of what some have described as a complex political emergency in Liberia, the uprisings have their roots in the very foundation of the republic. The composition of the population of modern-day Liberia is not unconnected with the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition, which resulted in the settlement of freed repatriated African slaves from the Americas – Americo-Liberians – beginning on January 7, 1822. However, there are about 16 major indigenous ethnic groups in the area known as the Republic of Liberia. The Americo-Liberians, having had a hazy idea of sovereign statehood in America, declared a republic with a constitution fashioned after that of the US in 1847. Yet full citizenship rights were not accorded the indigenous population. Indigenous people had no voting rights and the state apparatus was little more than a tool for plundering and legitimizing control over state resources. The Americo-Liberians were the lords, while the indigenous people were the slaves, in reality if not in name. The life of conspicuous consumption lived by the Americo-Liberians attests to this. The founding of the True ... log in or subscribe to read full text