Liberia remained neutral for the first years of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but on 4 August 1917, in the wake of the declaration of war upon the German Imperial Government by the United States of America (6 April 1917), Liberia joined the Allied side, and is counted amongst the war's victors.

Background

Prior to World War I, Liberia was largely impoverished and unstable, and dependent on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for around 75% of its

foreign trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

. The start of the war caused a drop in German trade, with resulting severe effects on the Liberian economy. Although the start of the war globally prevented Liberia from acquiring weapons, the American government consented to sell the Liberians arms at half-price, enabling the

Liberian Frontier Force The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Tracing its origins to a militia that was formed by the first black colonists in what is now Liberia, it was founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, and r ...

to keep down local insurrections.

Participation

Following the outbreak of war, the German trade collapsed. However a German

telegraph station Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

was maintained until Liberia declared war on Germany on 4 August 1917. At that point, the station's garrison was deported. Liberia had minimal active involvement in the war itself.

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

suffered shellings by a German submarine in April 1918, and once more in June 1918 – targeting their former telegraph station – and a small number of Liberian troops served in France, though they did not see combat. In April 1918 the Liberian government seized German assets in the country, resulting in yet further economic disruption, particularly as German companies had displaced Liberian businesses in the local economy; this was further exacerbated by a German submarine blockade affecting Liberian ship traffic. As an Allied nation, Liberia received liberty loans from the United States, though this financial support decreased greatly after the end of the war. A loan to "bolster and replace" profits lost as a result of Liberia's involvement was proposed by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, but blocked by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberia In World War I

World War I by country Wars involving Liberia

Background

Participation

See also

References