Liberia: Description, History, ProblemsStarr, Frederick
History
Liberia: Description, History, Problems
Starr, Frederick
Liberia
A curious incident took place in 1858. The French ship, _Regina Coeli_,
arrived on the Kru Coast, and the Captain treated with Kru chiefs for
men to be shipped as laborers; the men supposed that they were shipped
for a trip along the west coast, as usual, to serve as seamen; learning,
however, that their destination was the West Indies, they became alarmed
and believed that they were to be sold into slavery; the Captain was
still on shore, treating with the chiefs; the men mutinied, seized the
ship, and killed all the white crew except the doctor; they then
returned to shore and left the ship without a crew; had she not been
noticed by a passing English steamer, she would no doubt have been
wrecked; she was taken into a Liberian port. The French Government
investigated the matter, but it was clearly shown that the Liberian
Republic was in no way responsible for the incident.
In 1860 troubles with British traders in the region of the Mano River
began; these are so fully discussed in another place that we need not
present the facts here.
A great deal of trouble was encountered by the Republic in preventing
smuggling by foreign ships; as it was impossible to adequately man all
the ports along the coast with customs-officers, a law was passed
naming certain Ports of Entry at which only it was permitted for foreign
boats to trade; this rendered the detection of illegal trade and
smuggling easier.
In 1864 Daniel Bashiel Warner became President. He was a native of the
United States, born April 18, 1815. It was during his administration
that the Ports of Entry Law was passed; it was also during his term that
an immigration of 300 West Indian negroes took place; among those who
came at that time were the parents of Arthur Barclay, later prominent in
Liberian politics; Arthur Barclay himself was a child at the time.
In 1868 James Spriggs Payne became President. He was a clergyman of some
literary ability; he was author of a small treatise upon political
economy; during his first administration he sent Benjamin Anderson on an
official expedition to the interior. Anderson penetrated as far as
Musahdu, an important town of the Mandingo; Payne served a second term,
but not immediately following his first; after him were President Roye
and President Roberts; it was in 1876 Payne was inaugurated a second
time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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