Whitehall and the Black Republic

This book examines the history of the relationship between Liberia and Britain—the world’s first black republic, founded by former slaves, and the world’s strongest colonial power. Jyotirmoy Pal Chaudhuri excavates a wealth of archival sources to reconstruct a turbulent narrative spanning key points in twentieth-century Liberian history. Pal Chaudhuri argues that the Black Republic was never a serious item on the British agenda for constructive action in West Africa, as seen in the repeated failure of their concessionaires, their interference with the Firestone rubber project, and their efforts to have Liberia expelled from the League of Nations. Untangling the conflicts and contradictions between Britain’s colonial interests and humanitarian ideals, Whitehall and the Black Republic is a long overdue contribution to the history of Liberia and the British Empire.