PC: Apartheid or Segregation in Liberia

Could the Americo-Liberians establish a formal system of ethnic separation similar to Segregation or Apartheid in Liberia.

How would this impact foreign relations with the other African countries and United States

Would this prevent the removal of the Americo-Liberians from power
 
As I understand, the Americo-Liberians did not act much differently from any other colonial elite, but establishing a formal system of explicit racial discrimination sounds improbable when we're speaking of a country that was supposedly founded on anti-racist ideas. They acted pretty badly IOTL, and that could be made worse, but I doubt there'd ever be a formal. explicit system of segregation. It doesn't seem to make sense, ideologically.
 
Tubman tried very much to elevate a few among more manageable locals.
It’s very similar to Portuguese policy in Angola. Tolbert tried to turn everything loose like yeltsin and the result was destructive to the old order.
 

samcster94

Banned
Tubman tried very much to elevate a few among more manageable locals.
It’s very similar to Portuguese policy in Angola. Tolbert tried to turn everything loose like yeltsin and the result was destructive to the old order.
He ended up overthrown in a coup for a reason.
 
A formalized and enforced system is going to be difficult. The country had a de facto caste-type system with the Americo-Liberians on top, but it being put into law on the same scale as South Africa seems unlikely to say the least. One of the big cultural factors in Liberia was the attachment to Protestant Christianity, which led to a lot of missionary efforts. Such efforts run pretty contrary to an apartheid type system. You'd need a different Liberia for this to happen in any way.

The only way I sort of see it happening is if there's a LOT more Americo-Liberians moving in, and a situation akin to a certain problem area in the Middle East develops. In that circumstnace you could see the land rush resulting in formalized discrimination against the natives in order to expropriate their land and facilitate settlement or new arrivals.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Could the Americo-Liberians establish a formal system of ethnic separation similar to Segregation or Apartheid in Liberia.

How would this impact foreign relations with the other African countries and United States

Would this prevent the removal of the Americo-Liberians from power
They did do just that.
 
I suppose for a start there'd need to be far more robust migration on the part of the various Colonization Societies from the United States to Liberia, allowing for Americo-Liberians to make up a much larger portion of the population whilst still being a minority. This would require a significant backer however; the most straightforward I can think of is Henry Clay should he become President in 1841, and if he can pressure Congress to properly support and fund the Liberian Commonwealth (at least one of the colonies that would make up Liberia was organized by the federal government already). The problem then though is that as Liberia gets more support, it is almost certainly going to remain a protectorate (or insular area) under direction from Washington, more so than historically, and that may complicate its expansion and internal organization.

That may be a short term issue should this period last only two decades or so, but it should be considered all the same.
 
Top