Greater Liberia
 | This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. (July 2026) |
Greater Liberia | |||||||||
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| 1989–1997 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
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| Status | Quasi-state (with a rival government from 1991 until 1994)[1] | ||||||||
| Capital | Gborplay (base of the NPFL; 1989–1990)[2] Gbarnga[3] (1990–1997)[4][full citation needed][5] | ||||||||
| President[6][7][page needed] | |||||||||
• 1989–1997 | Charles Taylor | ||||||||
| Establishment | First Liberian Civil War | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established (First Liberian Civil War begins) | 24 December 1989 | ||||||||
| 2 August 1997 | |||||||||
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Rebel leader President of Liberia
Post-Presidency  |
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Greater Liberia or Taylorland[8] referred to areas controlled by the National Patriotic Front of Liberia,[9][10] due its state-like structures it was considered to be a quasi-state in Liberia, which existed from 1989 until 1997.[11][2] They claimed to be the real Republic of Liberia, the government that they later established was called "National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government" "(NPRAG)".[12] During its territorial peak, it controlled 90% of Liberia,[13] in mid 1996, they again controlled almost all of Liberia.[14][15][16]
History
[edit]The first territory they captured was the border town of Butuo, which they took over on 24 December 1989.[13] Over the course of the First Liberian Civil War, the Liberian central government effectively collapsed, allowing warlords to establish their own fiefs. One of the most powerful rebel leaders in Liberia, Charles Taylor, set up his own domain in a way resembling an actual state: He reorganised his militia into a military-like organisation (split into Army, Marines, Navy, and Executive Mansion Guard), established his de facto capital at, Gbarnga which they captured in May 1990 along Buchanan.[17][full citation needed] In June 1990, besieged Monrovia. Afterwards, Taylor created a civilian government, the NPRAG, alongside a justice system under his control to enforce law and order. The area under his control became relatively stable and peaceful until it largely disintegrated in 1994/5 as a result of attacks by rival militias. In the end, however, Taylor won the civil war and was elected President of Liberia, with his regime becoming the new central government.[18][19]
Government
[edit]The National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government (NPRAG) was a self-declared, alternative administration established in early 1991 in areas held by the rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) during the country's civil war. It was formed in opposition to the internationally recognized Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) led by Amos Sawyer. The NPRAG was based in the Bong County town of Gbarnga. NPFL leader Charles Taylor declared himself head of the NPRAG, but this led to a dispute that eventually split the rebel group. Both the NPRAG and IGNU ceased to exist in 1994; however, Greater Liberia didn't cease to exist.[7][page needed]
Economy
[edit]Greater Liberia boasted its own currency and banking system, television and radio network, airfields and, until 1993, a deepwater port. Taylor's associates still preside over an export trade in diamonds, timber, gold and agricultural products.[20]
Ministers
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Working Paper 10 - 'The Middlemen': War Supply Networks in Sierra Leone and Angola" (PDF). www.clingendael.org.
- 1 2 "Grim legacy of Liberia's most isolated town". BBC News. December 24, 2009.
- ↑ Stephen Ellis, The Mask of Anarchy
- ↑ Hubard, p.115
- ↑ "The Warlord". liberiainfo.dukaw.com.
- ↑ "Reinvention of an African patrimonial state: Charles Taylor's Liberia" (PDF). library.fes.de.
- 1 2 Reno 1995.
- ↑ Muntschick, Johannes (January 1, 2008). "The 'great war' in liberia as a classic example for persistent armed conflicts and war economies in africa". Colombia Internacional (67). Universidad de los Andes: 38–59 – via journals.openedition.org.
- ↑ "A Nation Long Forlorn: Liberia's Journey From Civil War toward Civil Society".
- ↑ Philippa Atkinson. "The war economy in Liberia: a political analysis" (PDF). alnap.org.
- ↑
- Harris, David (1999). "From 'Warlord' to 'Democratic' President: How Charles Taylor Won the 1997 Liberian Elections". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 37 (3): 431–455 – via JSTOR.
- Dwyer 2015, pp. 39, 40, 62
- Lidow 2016, pp. 116–130
- "Charles Taylor's Rough Road To Liberian Presidency - Liberia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. July 24, 1997.
- Miller, T. Christian (November 18, 2014). "Firestone and the Warlord: Warlord on the Rise". ProPublica.
- "The Strange Case of Charles Taylor - FPIF". April 30, 2012.
- "The Liberian Civil War (1989-2003)" (PDF).
- "Liberian Civil War | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO.
- 1 2 3 "Key Documents: Firestone and the Warlord". November 18, 2014.
- 1 2 "Taylor, stubborn since his childhood". The New Humanitarian. March 29, 2006.
- ↑ Speyer, Johanna; Stobwasser, Christina (2016-09-14). "Liberia (NFPL) 1989-1996" (PDF). www.prif.org.
- ↑ "USAID/OFDA Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 Situation Report # 1 Liberia - Liberia | ReliefWeb".
- ↑ "Human Rights Watch World Report 1996 - Liberia". January 1, 1996 – via www.refworld.org.
- ↑ Adebajo, 2002, p. 58. See also Hubard, pp.118–125.
- ↑ Dwyer 2015, pp. 39, 40, 62.
- ↑ Lidow 2016, pp. 116–130.
- ↑ "Liberian rebel leader rules empire of his own design", The New York Times, 14 April 1992
Works cited
[edit]- Dwyer, Johnny (2015). American Warlord: A True Story. New York City: Vintage Books.
- Lidow, Nicholai Hart (2016). Violent Order: Understanding Rebel Governance through Liberia's Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Reno, William (1995). "Reinvention of an African Patrimonial State: Charles Taylor's Liberia". Third World Quarterly. 16 (1): 109–120 – via JSTOR.