AH Challange: Turn Liberia into a major regional power

Have the US get involved in the carving up of Africa and you could see a Greater Liberia US puppet consisting of Niger, Nigeria and the surronding areas.
 

Onyx

Banned
All I can see is the US sending troops, giving money, and help urbanizing places.
If this happens, Liberia needs to give better rights to natives, and try to model several areas like states and such.

But thats just my reason
 
While keeping it a stable democracy.

Liberia wasn't a stable democracy by any stretch of the imagination. The place was settled by Americanized blacks who had no particular affiliation or history with the region, and no apparent cultural ties with the inhabitants. They proceeded to displace and oppress the inhabitants, and essentially established a pseudo apartheid state (not really, but I don't know a better simple term for it). Essentially, a handful of a few thousand Americanized blacks ruled over and disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of natives. The government was occasionally spectacularly corrupt. I recall one heavily contested election where something like two million votes were cast... but only 35,000 registered voters.
 
All I can see is the US sending troops, giving money, and help urbanizing places.
If this happens, Liberia needs to give better rights to natives, and try to model several areas like states and such.

But thats just my reason

That's how I see it. The US puts real energy into propping up Liberia, and they become real allies. It manages to expand a bit into OTL's French West Africa and Sierra Leone, but gains its real power by becoming the only really industrialized nation in the region. As colonialism ends, the poor, weak nations in the region begin to look to Liberia; it helps fund them in their time of need and is seen as a benevolent force. It uses that reputation and power to establish puppet leaders. It might even be used as a proxy by the CIA to help battle Communism in Africa; the CIA gives money to Liberia, Liberia uses that money to control west African politics.

Liberia wasn't a stable democracy by any stretch of the imagination. The place was settled by Americanized blacks who had no particular affiliation or history with the region, and no apparent cultural ties with the inhabitants. They proceeded to displace and oppress the inhabitants, and essentially established a pseudo apartheid state (not really, but I don't know a better simple term for it). Essentially, a handful of a few thousand Americanized blacks ruled over and disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of natives. The government was occasionally spectacularly corrupt. I recall one heavily contested election where something like two million votes were cast... but only 35,000 registered voters.

Apartheid is fine, same general principle. Oligarchy or aristocracy work, too.
 
Well I'd say its unlikely for Liberia to industrialise as a) it lacks energy resources, b) its tropical and disease filled and thus development is harder and c) If the US takes a greater interest the Liberians will never be able to put up protective tariffs - American industrialists will just swamp the nation with goods and pressure out any competition.

Plus the Europeans are well established elsewhere in West Africa long before the founding of Liberia and its going to be really hard to expand, especially with the mountains to Liberias back...
 

Philip

Donor
Well I'd say its unlikely for Liberia to industrialise as a) it lacks energy resources

This is one reason I wanted to shift its location.

Plus the Europeans are well established elsewhere in West Africa long before the founding of Liberia and its going to be really hard to expand, especially with the mountains to Liberias back...

This is why Liberia is stuck where it is -- it was left over. That should be an indication that it's going to be hard to get things going.
 
Alternatively, you could have the CSA win the Civil War. People in the north begin hating the blacks, blaming them and the remaining blacks in the USA gradually migrate back to Liberia, including thousands of former union soldiers.

These said soldiers make Liberia's army a force in the region and they begin expanding.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
We should also take into account the fact that all of their presidents were white until around the mid-20th century.
 
Well I'd say its unlikely for Liberia to industrialise as a) it lacks energy resources, b) its tropical and disease filled and thus development is harder and c) If the US takes a greater interest the Liberians will never be able to put up protective tariffs - American industrialists will just swamp the nation with goods and pressure out any competition.

Plus the Europeans are well established elsewhere in West Africa long before the founding of Liberia and its going to be really hard to expand, especially with the mountains to Liberias back...
Would it be possible for African-Americans to settle the Congo rather than Liberia? It's got lots more land, resources and potential.
 
We should also take into account the fact that all of their presidents were white until around the mid-20th century.

What are you talking about? None of them were white by U.S. standards. Admittedly, a number had more European ancestry than African, but with the U.S. one drop rule, and the culture that it gave to the black colonists, they would have been considered black. Of course, Liberia, like many nations with a significant mixed population had a sort of whiteness based social ladder where the whitest were at the top, but that doesn't make the Liberian leaders white, nor would they have considered themselves such.
 
Well I'd say its unlikely for Liberia to industrialise as a) it lacks energy resources, b) its tropical and disease filled and thus development is harder and c) If the US takes a greater interest the Liberians will never be able to put up protective tariffs - American industrialists will just swamp the nation with goods and pressure out any competition.

Plus the Europeans are well established elsewhere in West Africa long before the founding of Liberia and its going to be really hard to expand, especially with the mountains to Liberias back...

Doesn't Liberia have considerable hydroelectric potential. It may not mean much immediately, but it has potential for a later, more modern industrialization.
 
Would it be possible for African-Americans to settle the Congo rather than Liberia? It's got lots more land, resources and potential.

Its not accessible during the time of Liberia's establishment, as it has a much heavier disease loading and you need considerable infrastructure to bypass the Livingstone Falls that takes railroads and tons of investment (and massive amounts of forced labour).

Before that the only profitable exports you can get out of the Congo are those that walk out under their own power or are immensely valuble per unit weight like diamonds or ivory, agricultural settlement or supply of large numbers of Europeans and europeanised Africans is out of the question.

Plus at this point there is still a vaguely competant Kongo kingdom there under Portuguese influence, neither of whom will take kindly to new colonizers turning up.
 
This is why Liberia is stuck where it is -- it was left over. That should be an indication that it's going to be hard to get things going.

Not actually true. European settlement was highly sporadic and small in west Africa when Liberia was founded. It really wasn't until the 1870s onward that colonial powers claimed most of the area.
 
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