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 Germany |  Liberia |
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After Liberian independence, Germany and Liberia become connected economically. The economic ties were broken during the World Wars. The two countries re-established connections following the World Wars.
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Germany | Liberia |
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After Liberian independence, Germany and Liberia become connected economically. The economic ties were broken during the World Wars. The two countries re-established connections following the World Wars.
Before German unification, Liberia's independence was recognized by the Hanseatic Republics of Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg in 1855. [1] Hamburg merchant Carl Woermann established the first trading venture with Liberia. In 1858, Carl Goedelt, who was Woermann's representative, was appointed as the Hamburg Consul in Monrovia. [2]
Prior to World War I, Liberia and Germany had extensive trading ties. In 1906, the British estimated that Germany had over three-fourths of Liberia's trade. These ties came in the form of imports, exports, and by the early 1900s, German retailing in Liberia. It was through German shipping that Liberia maintained a majority of its connection with international trade. German shipping also relied on the labor of Kru deck workers and stevedores from Liberia. The Liberian government accrued a significant amount of debt to German firms. Between 1898 and 1916, a number of indigenous uprisings against the Liberian government resulted in the damaging of German property, which caused the German government to make claims against the Liberian government for damages. In 1912, these unresolved claims resulted in a display of gunboat diplomacy by the German government, but there was ultimately a peaceful resolution. [3]
While there was a large amount of trade between Germany and Liberia, the German government largely neglected to provide large amounts of capital investment into Liberia, unlike the United Kingdom, which had provided Liberia with loans which had compromised much of Liberia's sovereignty and gave the British government much influence over Liberian affairs. [4] [5] A major loan between the United Kingdom, along with other Western powers including Germany, the United States, and France, was negotiated in 1911, under Liberian President Arthur Barclay, and ratified in 1912, under Liberian President Daniel E. Howard. [6] This was the third, in a series of two other major, uneven loans taken out by the Liberian government. [5] The loan borrowed $1,700,000 for Liberia, with the conditions including that the four countries would be able to each appoint General Receivers of Customs, which limited the powers of the Liberian Secretary of the Treasury. [6] The 1912 loan was paid off in 1926, with a loan from the Finance Corporation of America. [7] The primary beneficiaries of the 1912 loan were British banks. [8]
Initially, Liberia was neutral in World War I. President Daniel E. Howard was wary of going to war against Germany due to their economic ties. [9] From 1915 to 1916, Britain and France used their influence over Liberia to pressure it into adopting policies to lower the amount of trade between it and Germany. The United Kingdom also denied Germany sea lines, which also had an effect over Germany's ability to facilitate trade with Liberia. [10] In 1917, Liberia declared war against Germany. [7] This resulted in the crippling of the Liberian economy. [11] In 1918, Germany bombarded Monrovia with one of its U-boats. [7]
Following World War I, trade between Liberia and Germany resumed, though it would never reach the same prominence as it did pre-war. [12] In 1922, Momulu Massaquoi became consul-general in Hamburg. Massaquoi was one of the first indigenous African resident diplomats in Europe. [13]
Liberia again remained neutral initially in World War II. In the 1940s, the United Kingdom used its influence to again restrict German trade in Liberia. It did this, in 1941, by ordering the Bank of Monrovia to stop handling German accounts, as well as denying safe passage to vessels from Germany to Liberia. [14] On 27 January 1944, Liberia declared war against Germany. [11]
Following the war, Liberia established relations with West Germany on 23 July 1953, and established relations with East Germany on 28 September 1973. [15] By 1982, West Germany made up 28% of trade with Liberia, it making up 40% of the market for Liberian iron ore. [16] In 1990, due to the First Liberian Civil War, Germany suspended relations with Liberia. In 2005, upon the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War, Germany re-established relations with Liberia. In 2007, Chancellor Angela Merkel made a state visit to Liberia. In 2008 and 2015, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made state visits to Germany. [17]
Liberian foreign relations were traditionally stable and cordial throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries. During the 1990s, Charles Taylor's presidency and the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars underscored Liberian relations with the Western world, the People's Republic of China, and its neighboring countries in Western Africa.
Edwin James Barclay was a Liberian politician, poet, and musician who served as the 18th president of Liberia from 1930 until 1944. He was a member of the True Whig political party, which dominated the political governance of the country for decades. Under Barclay's leadership, Liberia was an ally of the United States during World War II.
Daniel Edward Howard was the 16th president of Liberia, serving from 1912 to 1920.
Arthur Barclay was the 15th president of Liberia from 1904 to 1912.
The Ministry of National Defense (MOD) is the government ministry responsible for the maintenance of the national defense and the governance of the military of Liberia, the Armed Forces of Liberia.
Antoinette Louise Padmore Tubman was the wife of the Liberian politician William S. Tubman and the First Lady of Liberia from 1948 to 1971.
The Ministry of Finance is a government ministry of the Republic of Liberia. As of 2018, the Liberian Finance Minister is Samuel D. Tweah, who was appointed in January 2018. The minister is appointed by the President of Liberia, with the consent of Senate of Liberia.
The following lists events that happened during 1869 in Liberia.
Nathaniel Varney Massaquoi (1905–1962) was a Liberian educator and politician, from the Vai community.
Fatima Massaquoi-Fahnbulleh was a Liberian writer and academic. After completing her education in the United States, she returned to Liberia in 1946, making significant contributions to the cultural and social life of the country.
The Autobiography of an African Princess, published in 2013, is an account of the early years (1912–1946) in the life of Fatima Massaquoi, a descendant of the royal families of the Gallinas from Sierra Leone and Liberia. It describes her early childhood in Africa, her schooling in Germany and Switzerland and her university studies in the United States.
Liberia–Soviet relations were the bilateral relations between Liberia and Soviet Union. Contacts between the two countries were sporadic during the 1950s and 1960s, improved during the 1970s but became frosty in the 1980s.
Maude Amelia Morris, née Lyon was a Liberian women's rights activist and rubber farmer.
Abayomi Wilfrid Karnga was a Liberian historian, educator, politician, counselor at law, and statesman who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia. Born at the settlement of Tallah in the northwestern section of Liberia in Grand Cape Mount County, Karnga began a long career in government service to include Postmaster General and General Secretary of the True Whig Party, the Liberian political party that was in power from 1869 to 1980.
Liberia–United Kingdom relations refer to the bilateral relations between Liberia and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberian independence. Liberia has a history of border disputes with the British Colony of Sierra Leone, as well as cumbersome British loans which have at times compromised Liberian sovereignty.
Israel-Liberia relations refer to the bilateral relations between the State of Israel and the Republic of Liberia. Liberia was one of the United Nations member states to vote in favor of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine in 1947. Israel and Liberia established relations in the late 1950s. The administration of William Tolbert severed ties with the Israeli government in 1973 in response to the Yom Kippur War, but they were re-established in 1983 by Samuel Doe, who succeeded Tolbert via coup.
France-Liberia relations are the bilateral relations between France and Liberia.
Events in the year 1980 in Liberia.
Events in the year 1981 in Liberia.
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