Liberia and the Clash between African Tradition and Modernity (1847-2003)

Abstract

The founding of republic Liberia began in the early of ninetieth century. The American Colonization Society founded Liberia as a colony for freed slaves from the United States, over the next few decades, thousands of freed slaves were sent to Liberia. In 1847, the AmericoLiberian declared the independence of the Republic of Liberia, and it became the first independent nation in Africa. Americo-Liberians are Liberians of African American descent, however, from the beginning the relationship between the African-American arrivals and indigenous Liberians who were already present in Liberia, was similar to the European colonialism in the rest of Africa. This study shows how Americo-Liberians were impacted by the White supremacy and western culture, and established an oppressive regime over the indigenous people, which led to the rise of conflict between the two groups and entered the country in a long brutal civil war. The objective of this study is to explore the historical roots of the Liberian crisis.