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| Title: | European Intervention in Liberia with Special Reference to the 'Cadell Incident' of 1908-1909 |
| Author: | Abasiattai, M.B. |
| Year: | 1989 |
| Periodical: | Liberian Studies Journal |
| Volume: | 14 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 72-90 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Liberia |
| Subjects: | foreign intervention history 1910-1919 History and Exploration colonialism international relations |
| Abstract: | In most of the writings on the Scramble for, and Partition of, Africa, Liberia is seldom mentioned, or is mentioned in passing, as she was never conquered by Europeans or subjected to European colonial rule. Looking beyond the fact of non-colonization, however, one sees that Liberia experienced grave, protracted European intervention much of which was an expansion of the Partition process. This paper examines both this intervention and its impact on Liberia, particularly during the crucial years 1907-1909. The issues examined include European economic and territorial interests in Liberia; active European intervention in Liberia to foster those interests and its consequences on Liberia's social and political stability; and Liberia's reactions to the European intervention. This period witnessed an unprecedented escalation of interference by Britain, France, and Germany in Liberian affairs, as illustrated by the French and British Governments' suggestion to form a Liberian Frontier Police Force and to introduce reforms in the Liberian government. The Liberian Frontier Force (LFF), organized by the Liberian government in March 1908 under a British army Major, R. Mackay Cadell, evoked jealousy from France and Germany. When the Liberian Legislature subsequently decreed the reorganization of the Force and the dismissal of Cadell, the reaction of the British Consul General in Monrovia precipitated a chain of events known as the 'Cadell Incident' (February 11-12, 1909), which Liberians saw as a clear threat to their country's sovereignty. Notes, ref. |