THE TRICOLOR AND THE LONE STAR: A HISTORY OF FRANCO-LIBERIAN RELATIONS, 1847-193

Like the United States, Great Britain, and Germany, France played an important role in Liberia's domestic and foreign affairs in the over eight decades that separated the Declaration of Independence of 1847 and the eruption of the Slavery Crisis of the late nineteen-twenties. During this period Franco-Liberian relations focused on four major concerns: the French attempt to create political and economic interests within Liberia, the international diplomacy which often transformed their bilateral relationship into an issue of multi-national concern, the determination of Liberian boundaries with the French colonies of Guinea and the Ivory Coast, and the penetration and control of these border regions.;Interactions in these areas followed different patterns. Despite private, governmental, and joint efforts, French interests in Liberia remained minimal. Failing to create any popular following within the Americo-Liberian community, the French at best achieved a facade of involvement which lacked substance. Similarly, although France was able to thwart foreign attempts at interference in the negotiation of a boundary settlement, it failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities to strengthen its diplomatic position relative to the other powers. Liberia, however, effectively used British and American involvement to limit the extent of French intervention. The boundary determination, on the other hand, represented an effective compromise of French, Americo-Liberian, and African interests and not, as has been traditionally depicted, the unabashed French seizure of Liberian territory. Likewise, developments on the frontier reflected not only French and Liberian expansion from their coastal settlements but inter-African disputes, geographic differences, and economic patterns.;Such Franco-Liberian interactions provide important insights into both French imperialism and Liberian history. The dominant theme of French policy towards Liberian was the constant search for a conceptual framework within which French policy-makers could understand and evaluate Liberian events. Handicapped by previous views of Liberia as a Christian and Westernized state, by a multi-power involvement in the country unique to West Africa, and by the overlapping jurisdictions of the colonial and diplomatic hierarchies, French officials adopted a series of frameworks which generally failed to promote the two French goals of reducing Liberian instability and expanding French influence. As a result, French efforts in Liberia contrasted sharply with French successes elsewhere in West Africa, where an ideology of military conquest prevailed.;France's role in Liberian affairs also illuminates the processes of Liberia's national development. In the eyes of the Americo-Liberians, France, above all the powers, posed the greatest threat to its independence. Not only did the limited extent of French penetration of Liberian society allow the misrepresentation of French aims and policies, but French culture, practices, and ideals diverged sharply from those of the Americo-Liberian community which emphasized its use of English, Protestantism, and social organization to distinguish itself from the indigenous population. At other times, however, Liberians did describe the common experiences of the two countries in African administration, education, and proselytism and spoke of the benefits that French involvement in West Africa had brought to Liberia. Whereas the hostile image of France reinforced the confrontation aspects of Liberian diplomacy and the characterization of Liberia as an African state, this other view supported a foreign policy of conciliation and consensus by a Liberia which had entered the ranks of Westernized nations.