Alternate Liberia?
- Thread starter ETGalaxy
- Start date
The necessary diplomacy and political maneuvering would have to be very, very delicate, but Haiti is a possibility. Another Caribbean location could potentially work as well, a territory controlled by the US and reserved for freed American slaves.
None of this is likely mind, but it is possible. You'd need a very weird alliance of black zionist abolitionists, northern Whites (possibly looking to get rid of black labor competing with white labor) and southern whites (possibly looking to get rid of 'uppity' free blacks who will make a bad example for their slaves?) in the US
Would a Liberia in the Pacific be possible? I know it's a pretty crazy idea but Europeans had established colonies all around the world so it wouldn't be too ridiculous for America to. I'd assume that in this world the Scramble For Africa is a bit earlier so colonization of Africa would be out of the picture.
In the original timeframe, the American Colonization Society was an entire volunteer group, and the original colonies were essentially state-sourced in many respects. Just keep that in mind; it wasn't a major government initiative.
Problem is that this pushes the timeframe back to after the completion of a transcontinental railroad, for all intents and purposes.
Problem is that this pushes the timeframe back to after the completion of a transcontinental railroad, for all intents and purposes.
Zachariah
Banned
If you want a realistic alternative which would still be Liberia (established by the ACS at the same time as part of the same deal), how about the shortest trip, and American Colonization Society's first stop en-route to the Sierra Leonean coast IOTL- namely, The Bahamas? The Bahamas had already been established as a haven for freed African slaves since the ruling by the Home Office in London in 1818 that "any slave brought to the Bahamas from outside the British West Indies would be manumitted", and this increased further with the abolition of slavery in the Bahamas in 1834. The Royal Navy resettled the Africans which they liberated from illegal slave ships here, American slaves and Seminoles escaped here from Florida, and the government freed American slaves carried on United States domestic ships that had reached the Bahamas due to weather. Today, the descendants of slaves and free Africans make up nearly 90% of the population; issues related to the slavery years are still a major part of Bahamian society. So then, what if the British government had ruled out conceding Sierra Leone to the ACS, and had instead reached a compromise agreement with the free black leaders of the ACS in the United States, to grant the freed black emigrants from the USA free rein to permanently settle in the Bahamas instead, with a far greater degree of self-government (but with the British still having military and naval basing rights)?
Perhaps a US Congo in a world where no Liberia existed could suit the bill. Or, well, any other American colony in Africa.
Or, instead, perhaps, the Guyanas (or one of them) could be used instead. It's closer and could offer a possible outlet.
It's a disadvantage on multiple fronts given the population density and disease load of Congo.
Very true. Although, it might be established; doesn't mean that it'd necessarily work.
True, but what if a member of the ACS became president? It's not too far-fetched considering that many of OTL presidents support the relocation of freed slaves.
He'd have to convince Congress to pass the bill supporting it, and it likely wouldn't have a been a slightly more higher-profile project that might get a few more applicants. Many Americans during that time were very concerned about apparent overseas imperialism; they'd have a hard time supporting a region that could not be incorporated. Most African Americans were wanting to work within the system; the trip back would be deadly as it was.
Is why I suggest Guyana. It could act as a US territory, so wouldn't have as much stigma against leaving the US, and it'd be closer to support and could conceivably be part of the nation (if Cuba is acceptable, after all...) Biggest problem is getting to that point in the right time frame.
The best way I can see the scenario working out is if the Colonization government actually stumbles early and runs out of funds and, in desperation, sells the territory to the US government on the cheap for continued support... and the region is summarily shoved in the back of everyone's minds as a backwater for the next few decades. Then we get a version of the Civil War, slaves Emancipated, and promised 40 acres and a mule over in this Liberia, wherever it is.
It wouldn't last and most black Americans had no interest in emigrating
The biggest problem I see with the Caribbean is that it's already controlled by other nations. And yes, it is completely possible for the ACS to decide that sending the freed slaves to a European colony would work, but assuming that America wants to control Liberia or the ACS wants an independent nation altogether I don't see it working out.
Ah, didn't specify. I meant that the US manages to get their hands on one of the Guyanas for it to work.
Which is about as hard as creating the Liberia in the first place, at least this time period.
Ok, thanks for clarifying. Although, do you think a "Liberia in the Pacific" is possible? I'm asking this because I'm considering to create an alternative Liberia in a timeline I'm working on and thought the Pacific could work out.
Hrm... Well, I'm not sure about a Liberia so much as a state that could work in such a way. When the North Borneo Scheme/Sultanate of Ambong & Maroodoo was originally discussed, there was some thought about what types of labor to import. African laborers might have worked best there. And the population in North Borneo is large enough that they could have been a significant minority.
Plus, the problem with that is that African laborers don't tend to be much tougher than White laborers in regions they're not from. It's why the mortality rate in OTL Liberia was so high.
The important thing to ask is where were you planning on such a thing to occur?
I was thinking of the North Island in New Zealand. Keep in mind this is a world where Britain, or any European nation for that matter, has any ambitions in that region.
If I recall, correctly, that's the region with the largest concentration of Maori, which gave the British fits OTL. Of the two, South Island might be the better deal, if I have my history straight.
Thanks, I really appreciate the help with this! Hopefully this new Liberia will work out as being plausible in my timeline.