The_Open_Door_deel1

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Consequently, both tribal people and foreign traders defied the
Liberian Government by constantly evading its laws. As a result
means were sought to have these laws respected, to control labour
exports, and to collect customs duties. Thus, in 1864 the
Liberian Legislature accepted the "Ports of Entry Law" which
restricted the export of labour and the trading activities of
foreigners to six coastal towns: (from east to west) Harper,
Greenville, Buchanan, Marshall, Monrovia, and Robertsport. All
six towns were Americo-Liberian settlements. Whereas the
protection of the financial and political interests of the State
contributed to a large extent to the introduction of this law,
the desire of leading Americo-Liberian politicians to protect
their trading activities also highly motivated the enactment of
this law. The Ports of Entry Law only restricted the activities
of foreign traders but did not apply to Americo-Liberians who
thus obtained a monopoly position. Last but not least, a widely
displayed inferiority complex of leading Americo-Liberians -
with respect to foreigners - cannot be omitted in the explanation
of the acceptance of this law. Each of the first five Presidents
of the Republic in their respective Inaugural Addresses
overemphasized the theme that "(.*,) the Negro is capable of
self-government (..,)" (33).
As from the start of the Republic the activities of the colonists
to build a new nation had been characterized by the rejection of
foreign (white) participation. The clause of the Liberian
Constitution which excludes white people from citizenship may
serve as one of the most illustrating proofs of this view. The
superiority complex wiiich the colonists displayed with respect to
the African tribes excluded the latter also from participation in
the building up of the country. Also in this case the Constitution
adopted by the settlers shows this exclusion of African tribes
who were not granted citizenship of the country on whose
territory they were living. Thus, it is only logical that the
Americo-Liberians continuously sought the active participation
from black people abroad - through emigration - in the building
up of their country (34)•
The origin of the "Ports of Entry Law" of 1864 goes as far back
as the Colonial Period (1822 - 1847), already characterized by the
protection of the interests of the wealthy Liberian traders. This
was facilitated by the composition of the Colonial Council (the
local representation of the American Colonization Society) in
which the colonists-traders were well represented. In the
election of members of the Council in 1840 most candidates were
succesful traders (35). The Council mainly served the interests
of the Merchant-Princes, and restricted trade by tribal people of
the region and by white foreigners. This led inevitably to wars
with the tribal people, e.g. in 1832 with the Dey and the Gola,
and in 1835 with the Bassa, who resented these laws which
restricted their trading activities and deprived them of a
considerable amount of traditional trade with European traders.
In 1839 the Council had created "Ports of Entry" to facilitate
the collection of customs duties (36) .