Transcriber’s Notes Texts printed in italics in the original work have been transcribed between underscores, _text_. Small capitals have been replaced by CAPITALS. More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of the text. LIBERIA DESCRIPTION HISTORY PROBLEMS BY FREDERICK STARR CHICAGO 1913 COPYRIGHTED, 1913 BY FREDERICK STARR CHICAGO THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO WILLIAM N. SELIG OF CHICAGO IN EVIDENCE OF APPRECIATION AND AS A TOKEN OF REGARD PREFACE Africa has been partitioned among the nations. The little kingdom of Abyssinia, in the north, and the Republic of Liberia, upon the west coast, are all of the continent that remain in the hands of Africans. Liberia alone is in the hands of negroes. Will it remain so, or is it destined to disappear? Is it a failure? The reports which have so frequently been printed in books of travel and elementary treatises of ethnology appear almost unanimous in the assertion that it is. Yet there are those who believe that the Black Republic is far indeed from being a failure. We are not willing to admit that its history and conditions warrant the assumption that the black man is incapable of conducting an independent government. A successful Liberia would be a star of hope to the Dark Continent. In Liberian success there lies African Redemption; redemption, not only in the religious sense, but redemption economic, social, governmental. If the black men can stand alone in Liberia, he can stand alone elsewhere; if the negro is able to organize and maintain a government on the west coast, he can do the same on the east coast, and in the southern part of Africa. Africa is restless under the white man; it makes no difference whether the ruler be Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Belgian, or English, the native is dissatisfied under the present regime. It is recognized that a spark may cause a conflagration through negro Africa. On the other hand, the colonial burden of the European governments grows heavy; the trade advantages of holding Africa might be equally gained without the expense and trouble of administration; it is mutual jealousy, not great success, which holds the European powers in Africa. Were each convinced that withdrawal would not give advantage to other powers, that abdication would not be recognized as weakness, that free trade with black men might not result in individual national advantage, they would be quite ready to withdraw from the Dark Continent. In every colony the native is advancing; education becomes more general; it must continue to diffuse itself, and with diffusion of knowledge among the natives, restlessness will be increased; the colonial burden will become heavier,--not lighter. If Liberia prospers, it will stand as an example of what black men can do to all the other negro populations of the continent; its example would stimulate advance for all; the sight of enterprises originating with