Abolition and Empire in Sierra Leone and Liberia

Anti-slavery colonies – settlements for freed slaves that were intended to prevent the slave trade in West Africa – were established by both American and British societies. Although they occasionally attempted to work together in support of these settlements and their anti-slave trade goals, the societies were more frequently in conflict. Looking for the origin of this Anglo-American rivalry, this book applies a comparative approach to freed slave settlers in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It examines the foundations of these societies, their contribution to the development of 'Civilization, Commerce, and Christianity' as a practical approach to anti-slavery interventions in West Africa, and the points of conflict between them that fed rivalries in America and Britain.