Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 - February 24, 1876) was the first Liberian President (1848-1856) and seventh (1872-1876). Born freely in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, Roberts emigrated to Liberia in 1829 as a youth. He opened a trading shop in Monrovia, and later became involved in politics. When Liberia became independent on 26 July 1847, Roberts was elected the first black president of the Republic of Liberia, who served until 1856. In 1872 he was re-elected to serve as Liberia's seventh president.
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Roberts was born free in Norfolk, Virginia, the second oldest of seven children. His father was said to be a Welsh grower. Joseph's mother, Amelia, portrayed as a fairly fair mulatto, is a slave's mistress or concubine grower. He freed Amelia and her children when she was young. Amelia gives all her children but one of Jenkins's middle names, which suggests that it may be the name of their biological father.
Once free, Amelia marries James Roberts, who is black-skinned. Roberts gave his sons a family name and raised them as his own. Roberts has a boating business on the James River. At the time of his death, he gained considerable wealth for African-Americans at the time.
Joseph Roberts and his siblings by growers, estimated to be seven-quarters of the European ancestors. As the Libyan historian Abayomi Karnga discovered in 1926, "He is not really black, he is an octoroon and can easily pass for a white man." As a child, Joseph began working in his stepfather's business, handling things on a flatboat that carried materials from Petersburg to Norfolk on the James River. The family moved to Petersburg, which is an industrial city. Shortly after his move, his stepfather James Roberts died. Joseph continues to work in the family business, but also serves as an apprentice in a salon. The owner of a barber shop, William Colson, is also a minister and one of Virginia's most educated blacks. He gave Roberts access to his private library, which provided much of the early education of the young.
Maps Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Marriage and family
In 1828, Roberts married an 18-year-old woman named Sarah. They had a baby boy they brought when they emigrated to Liberia, under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. Both Sarah and her son died in the first year of life in the colony.
Sometime after his wife's death, Roberts remarried, to Jane Rose Waring. She is the daughter of Colston Waring and Harriet Graves, the Virginians who also migrated to the colony.
Immigrating to Liberia
After hearing plans from the American Colonization Society to colonize the African coast at Cape Mesurado near modern Monrovia, Roberts decided to join an expedition. Virginia's restrictions on free Negroes played an important role in his decision. The Roberts are very religious and they feel called to evangelize the native Africans. On 9 February 1829 they sailed to Africa at Harriet . along with his mother and five of his six siblings. Traveling on the same boat was James Spriggs Payne, who would later become Liberia's fourth president.
Arriving in Monrovia, Roberts and his two brothers set up business with the help of their friend, William Colson of Petersburg. The company exports products of palm oil, camwood, and ivory to the United States, and trades American imported goods at its stores in Monrovia. In 1835, Colson emigrated to Liberia, but died shortly after his arrival. Expanding into coastal trade, the Roberts family became a successful member of the local establishment. During this time, Joseph's brother John Wright Roberts entered the service of the Methodist Church of Liberia, founded by Americans. Then he became a bishop. After starting as a trader, the youngest son, Henry Roberts, studied medicine at Berkshire Medical College in Massachusetts. Joseph Roberts was successful enough to pay his sister's school fees. Henry returns to Liberia to work as a doctor.
In 1833, Joseph Roberts became the tall sheriff of the colony. One of his responsibilities was to organize militias to travel inland to collect taxes from indigenous peoples and lay their rebellion against the colonial government. In 1839, the American Colonization Society appointed Roberts' deputy governor. Two years later, after the death of governor Thomas Buchanan, Roberts was named Liberia's first black governor. In 1846, Roberts asked the legislature to declare liberty of Liberia, but also to maintain cooperation with the American Colonization Society. The legislature called for a referendum, in which voters voted for independence. On July 26, 1847, Roberts declared independent Liberia. He won the first presidential election on October 5, 1847, and was inducted into office on January 3, 1848, with Nathaniel Brander as vice president.
First presidency (1847-1856)
Roberts was re-elected three more times to serve a total of eight years, until he lost the election in 1855 to Vice President Benson.
Attempts to find countries based on about 3,000 settlers proved difficult. Some coastal tribes convert to Christianity and learn English, but most native Africans defend their traditional religion and language. Slave trade continued illegally from the port of Liberia, but the Royal Navy finally closed it in the 1850s.
Foreign relations
Roberts spent the first year of his presidency seeking to gain recognition from European countries and the United States. In 1848 he went to Europe to meet Queen Victoria and other heads of state. Britain was the first country to recognize Liberia as an independent state, followed by France in 1848 or 1852 (different accounts). In 1849, German cities in Hamburg, Bremen and LÃÆ'¼beck recognized new countries, such as Portugal, Brazil, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. Norway and Sweden did so in 1849 or 1863, Haiti in 1849 or 1864, Denmark in 1849 or 1869 (different accounts).
The United States held its confession until February 5, 1862, during the lifetime of Abraham Lincoln. Reportedly, the government is concerned that southern congressmen will not receive a black ambassador in Washington, D.C.
Relationship with indigenous groups; expansion
The Maryland Colony declared in 1854 its independence from the Maryland State Colonization Society but was not a part of the Republic of Liberia. It holds land along the coast between Grand Cess and San Pedro Rivers. In 1856, the independent state of Maryland (Africa) requested military assistance from Liberia in a war with the Grebo and Crew. They rejected the efforts of the colonizers of Maryland to control their trade. Roberts helped Maryland, and a combined military campaign by two groups of African-American colonies resulted in victory. In 1857, the Republic of Maryland joined Liberia as Maryland County.
During his presidency, Roberts expanded the Liberia border along the coast and made efforts to integrate the indigenous people of Monrovia into the republic. In 1860, through agreements and purchases with local African leaders, Liberia extended its borders to include a 1,000-kilometer coastline.
Economy, nation building
The settlers built the school and Liberia College (which later became the University of Liberia). During these early years, agriculture, shipbuilding, and trading flourished.
Assessment
Roberts has been described as a talented leader with diplomatic skills. His leadership was instrumental in granting Liberian independence and sovereignty. Later in his career, his diplomatic skills helped him to deal effectively with indigenous communities and maneuver in complex legal and international relations.
Between presidencies
After his first presidency, Roberts served for fifteen years as a great general in the Armed Forces of Liberia, as well as diplomatic representatives in France and Britain. In 1862, he founded Liberia College in Monrovia, where he served as its first president until 1876. Roberts often traveled to the United States to raise funds for college. Until his death, he holds a professorship in jurisprudence and international law.
Second Secondary Presidency (1872-1876) >
In 1871, President Edward James Roye was overthrown by elements loyal to the Republican Party on the grounds that he planned to cancel the upcoming elections. Roberts, one of the leaders of the Republican Party, won the next presidential election and then returned to office in 1872. He served for two periods until 1876. While he was paralyzed due to illness from 1875 to early-1876, Vice President Anthony W. Gardiner acted as president.
In the decades after 1868, increasing economic hardship weakened the country's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions deteriorate - import costs far outweigh the revenues generated by exports of coffee, rice, palm oil, sugar cane, and timber. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its agrarian economy.
Inheritance and inheritance
Roberts died on February 24, 1876, less than two months after his second term ended. In his will, he left $ 10,000 and his property to the Liberian education system. Liberia's main airport, Roberts International Airport, Robertsport City and Roberts Street in Monrovia are named in his honor.
His face is depicted in the Liberian ten-dollar bill introduced in 2000, and the old five-dollar bill circulated between 1989 and 1999.
Her birthday, March 15, is a national holiday in Liberia.
See also
- History of Liberia
References
External links
- Tazewell, Calvert Walke (1992). ninth President of Virginia - An anthology of President Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809-1876) . W.S. Dawson Co. ISBNÃ, 1-878515-23-3. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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