The_Open_Door_deel1

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to settle a dispute. They had already done so in 1869 (69). The
boundary dispute did not end until 1884 when the Havelock-Blyden
Treaty was signed, which ceded all territory west of the Mano
river to the British. Edward Blyden, who as Secretary of State
had been involved in the 186o's in the settlement of the dispute,
also led the Liberian discussions in 1884 - then as Secretary of
Interior.
This boundary conflict with the British had important political
repercussions in Liberia. When the British simply annexed the
disputed area in 1883 President Anthony Gardiner of Liberia
resigned in protest against this overt demonstration of British
imperialism. Edward Blyden was accused of having accepted a bribe
from the British after having accepted the British annexation of
the area (70). However, in 1885 President Hilary Johnson agreed
to the annexation and in that year the Havelock-Blyden Treaty was
ratified by both Liberia and Great-Britain. Henceforth, the Mano
river formed the boundary between Liberia and Sierra Leone. It
had cost Liberia approximately $ 100,000 to obtain and defend the
area it thus lost (71), Eventually, in 1903 when the Anglo-
Liberian Boundary Treaty precisely defined the boundary areas of
Liberia and Sierra Leone, it was agreed that Liberia would
receive £ 4,750 as indemnities for the loss of this territory
(72).
In the same year Liberia lost over 10 per cent of its territory
to the British it was "offered" protection by Spain. In 1885 this
country offered a Protectorate over Liberia in exchange for an
important loan (73). Also in that year France repeated its
"offer" to establish a Protectorate over Liberia (74). In 1886
the Germans followed, but were also unsuccessful in establishing
a Protectorate over Liberia (75). Six years later France annexed
the area east of the Cavalla River over which Liberia claimed
jurisdiction. The Liberian Government was too weak to react and
it lacked the support of other (powerful) Governments. Therefore,
it had no choice but to accept. The following year Liberia asked
the U.S.A. to extend a Protectorate over the country. Thus, it
was hoped, protection against British and French encroachments
could be obtained. The Liberian delegation, composed of G.W.
Gibson (afterwards President of Liberia), C.B. Dunbar, C.R.
Branch, and T.J.R. Faulkner, was told by the U.S. Government that
it was impossible for the U.S.A. to comply with this request.
However, U.S. diplomatic intervention resulted in promises of the
British, French, and German Governments to respect the
independence of Liberia (76).
If the Liberian Government had the idea that it had now obtained
a solid guarantee against external threats +0 the political
independence of the Republic, the first decade of the twentieth
century showed that its problems in this respect were far from
over.