Reducing Liberia’s Colonial Death Rate

manitobot


This study is one of many that underscores the point that Liberian settlers experienced a devastating death rate due to tropical diseases. The mortality rate was extremely high, and made it so that the only growth of the colony was through internal migrants.

Without changing the location, how would you go about reducing the mortality rate for Liberian settlers? Any advice is kindly appreciated.

Regards.
 
Revachah

Revachah

The issue is they would need to go inland.

And the issue with that is unlike the Kru who by then had centuries of interaction with Westerners the Mande aligned peoples would be a greater challenge to combat.

I'd argue Christian's attacking Mande communities would result in jihads that would bring communities from Guinea, Ivory Coast and elsewhere to challenge them.

Instead I'd just focus on Congos, the Congolese and Caribbean freed slaves who assimilated into Americo society and of whom likely had greater resistance to disease.

I'd also recommend early cooperation the Gold Coast Euro-Africans, Sierra Leonean Krios, Cubano Emancipados, Agudas, Taboms and other New Worlder Africans who had already settled and adapted to the lands providing numbers and expertise.
 

manitobot

Thanks for the response, it helped a lot. Does going inland really help in reducing tropical diseases? I do imagine the groups you mentioned working together, the numbers helping against powers like the Koya Empire that wish to attack them. Would an increase in density of the settlements however, perhaps lead to higher disease transmission. Or do the benefits of numbers allow for example public health outcomes that outweigh the costs?
 
Revachah

Revachah

manitobot said:
Thanks for the response, it helped a lot. Does going inland really help in reducing tropical diseases? I do imagine the groups you mentioned working together, the numbers helping against powers like the Koya Empire that wish to attack them. Would an increase in density of the settlements however, perhaps lead to higher disease transmission. Or do the benefits of numbers allow for example public health outcomes that outweigh the costs?
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Going to higher ground in drier regions reduces mosquito born diseases as well as a host of other diseases in the humid tropics that killed Americos and Congos.

It they pushed north and reached Nimba County they'd have a better chance discovering the Nimba Mountain iron ore reserves providing non-agrarian resources to sell to international markets while also having the skillset to have industrialized economies to sell to local communities and kingdoms a number of metal goods.

In terms of density I dont think that's an issue with decent sanitation practices and reducing standing water.
 
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