bwaber@bookwyrm.social reviewed Another America by James Ciment
A Revelatory History
5 stars
This is an illuminating work of scholarship, detailing the extremely unique history of Liberia from its initial founding by former slaves and the American Colonization Society to the end of the Americo regime. This history is typically ignored in US history books after the mention of the ACS and its failure to deport massive numbers of Black people, but here Ciment shows how the Liberian state developed and navigated a dangerous international arena though WW1, when it started to enjoy a modicum of prosperity. It's a tragic story, however, with Liberia pushed around by the great powers of the day and frequently having to appeal to the US for assistance and the post-ACS rulers putting in place an apartheid regime to exclude the native population from power. The highly corrupt commercial deals with US industry, with the agreement with Firestone in particular standing out, presage the structure of recent transactions …
This is an illuminating work of scholarship, detailing the extremely unique history of Liberia from its initial founding by former slaves and the American Colonization Society to the end of the Americo regime. This history is typically ignored in US history books after the mention of the ACS and its failure to deport massive numbers of Black people, but here Ciment shows how the Liberian state developed and navigated a dangerous international arena though WW1, when it started to enjoy a modicum of prosperity. It's a tragic story, however, with Liberia pushed around by the great powers of the day and frequently having to appeal to the US for assistance and the post-ACS rulers putting in place an apartheid regime to exclude the native population from power. The highly corrupt commercial deals with US industry, with the agreement with Firestone in particular standing out, presage the structure of recent transactions across the Continent. Highly recommend