Joseph Jenkins Roberts

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (photographed by Augustus Washington around 1850)

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (* 15. March 1809 in Norfolk , Virginia , USA ; † 24. February 1876 in Monrovia ) was dated January 3, 1848 to January 7, 1856, the first and from 1 January 1872 to the January 7, 1876 the seventh president of Liberia .

The pre-Liberian period (1809–1829)

Roberts was born on March 15, 1809 in Norfolk, Virginia, in the eastern United States. As the son of freed slaves , he was born a free black (freeborn Negro) , so he has never been a slave in his life. He was the oldest of seven siblings.

As a boy, he got his first job on a flatboat hauling goods from Petersburg to the Norfolk docks on the James River . After the death of his father, he and his family moved to Petersburg, where he first heard of plans to colonize the African coast. Financed by the American Colonial Society , many ships had already set off for Africa. There was also a settlement at the mouth of the Mesurado River , a small town called Monrovia, named after the US President James Monroe .

The Roberts family decided to join the “Africa returnees”. The crossing began on February 9, 1829. On board were other important personalities for the future Liberia, such as B. James Spriggs Payne from Richmond , who would later also become President of Liberia. A few days before the ship docked in Monrovia, Roberts celebrated his 20th birthday.

The pre-presidential career (1829–1847)

Governor Roberts in negotiation with King Yando (book illustration, 1851)

After a house had been built for the family in the new colony, the brothers began trading in ivory and palm products .

Business was so good that new ships could be bought and trading activities expanded. One of the brothers (Henry J. Roberts) left Liberia to study at Berkshire Medical School in Massachusetts , United States. After completing his studies, he returned to Monrovia to work. Another brother, (John Wright Roberts), became the first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Liberia.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts was named high sheriff of the colony at the age of 24. His duties included leading tax collection expeditions and also suppressing uprisings in the tribal villages surrounding Monrovia. In 1838 the American Colonial Society appointed him lieutenant governor and when the governor died two years later he became the first non-white governor of the colony.

When the First Liberian Congress declared independence in 1847, he was elected as the previous Governor as the first President of the Republic.

Presidency and the Years After (1847–1876)

As president, he expanded the borders of the young republic. For example, Liberia's coastline increased to over 600 miles under his government . He also took the first steps to integrate the tribal cultures of the surrounding area into the republic.

In terms of foreign policy, he was very committed to the recognition of the republic by the European states, as well as the United States. England and France were the first states to recognize Liberia's independence (1848). Portugal , Brazil , Sardinia-Piedmont , Austria , Denmark , Sweden , Hamburg , Bremen , Lübeck and Haiti followed in 1849 .

Interestingly, the United States, of all people, struggled with the recognition of Liberia's independence. It was not until 1862, under President Abraham Lincoln , that they recognized Liberia's independence. The reason for the late recognition was that the previous US presidents had feared that the southern United States would not accept a black envoy from Liberia in Washington, DC .

Roberts was re-elected for three additional terms and ruled for a total of eight years before ultimately losing the 1855 election. After serving as president, he served in the army as major general for 15 years . He later became a diplomat in France and Great Britain.

Roberts was instrumental in founding Liberian College and became its first principal. He made several trips to the United States, where he gave lectures and raised funds for college. He remained in college as a professor of jurisprudence and international law until his death .

When the incumbent President of Liberia was ousted in 1871, Parliament again declared Roberts president for another two years. He then officiated yet another, his sixth and final legislative term, which ended in the year of his death, 1876. He bequeathed a considerable part of his fortune to the Liberian education system in his will.

Honors

In the Mamba Point district of the capital Monrovia is the Joseph Jenkins Roberts Monument , just a few steps away from the Ducor Hotel , the Masonic Temple and the American Embassy .

literature

• CW Tazewell (Ed.): Virginia's ninth president: Joseph Jenkins Roberts . WS Dawson, Virginia Beach (VA) 1992, ISBN 1-878515-23-3

Web links

• The Presidents: JJ Roberts on the Liberia: Past and Present website