ABSTRACT In the 1840s, Liberia was a black settler state on the West African coast which avowedly supported the connected ideologies of Christianity, commerce, and ‘civilisation’. However, from the 1870s, as the rest of West Africa began to be divided up into colonies, adherence to these ‘Western’ values did not spare Liberia’s leaders from some of the disruptive consequences of European expansionism. This article frames these consequences in the context of commercial clashes between the Liberian state and European traders (and their companies). These clashes predated Liberia’s declaration of independence in 1847, worsened thereafter, and later became increasingly politicised with the stricter enforcement of colonial law in the region in the 1870s, partly as a result of economic crisis. On the coast, Liberian officials struggled legally and militarily to stave off the activities of European smugglers with diplomatic backing. In the interior, commercial alliances were forged with local authorities in an attempt to keep out the French and the British, in particular. Conflicts over the collection of customs duties, the setting of borders, and, ultimately, the nature and extent of Liberian sovereignty, reached a climax during the Berlin Conference (1884–1885). The Conference led Liberia, by 1904, to implement its own version of colonial ‘indirect rule’: first and foremost to safeguard its independence, secondarily as a tool of expansion. In spite of major losses Liberian leaders were ultimately able to strengthen the country’s standing as a member of the international community of nations.

中文翻译：

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利比里亚和帝国？：19 世纪西非的主权、“文明”和商业

摘要 在 1840 年代，利比里亚是西非海岸的一个黑人定居国，它公开支持基督教、商业和“文明”等相互关联的意识形态。然而，从 1870 年代开始，随着西非其他地区开始分裂成殖民地，坚持这些“西方”价值观并没有使利比里亚的领导人免于欧洲扩张主义的一些破坏性后果。本文在利比里亚国家与欧洲贸易商（及其公司）之间的商业冲突背景下描述了这些后果。这些冲突早于 1847 年利比里亚宣布独立，此后愈演愈烈，后来随着 1870 年代该地区更严格地执行殖民法律而日益政治化，部分原因是经济危机。在岸上，利比里亚官员在法律和军事上努力阻止欧洲走私者在外交支持下的活动。在内陆，与地方当局结成商业联盟，试图将法国人和英国人拒之门外。在关税征收、边界设置以及最终利比里亚主权的性质和范围方面的冲突在柏林会议（1884-1885 年）期间达到了高潮。到 1904 年，会议领导利比里亚实施了自己的殖民“间接统治”版本：首先是为了维护其独立，其次是作为扩张的工具。尽管遭受重大损失，利比里亚领导人最终还是能够加强该国作为国际社会成员的地位。