Matt Villano

Scramble for Africa

1/11/2016

Liberian Cannibal Warlords

The area of current day Liberia had always been a neutral territory when it came to the

European powers dividing up their slice of the African cake. The U.S was also hungry for some

of the cake and was prompted to lean on Liberia for a spot on the continent due to our inability

to be left out on any world stage events. Before the abolishment of slavery in the 1860s led to

the end of the slave trade for the U.S., we organized a movement called the Back to Africa

movement and this was a fundraiser made to send freed African slaves from the U.S. to the

western coast of Africa and so Liberia was created. The U.S. had a lot of control over Liberia

from the start. The constitution for Liberia was written in Washington and the capital of Liberia,

Monrovia, is actually named after President Monroe. The U.S. had an even bigger influence on

the country then they would have predicted because when the freed slaves arrived they slowly

enslaved the natives living there based on the plantation method they had learned in the U.S.

The new African slave owners installed republican government systems and even adapted

southern architecture styles.

After 140 years of relentless taxation and occasional rebellions, Samuel Doe, the first

African born president is elected in Liberia. This doesnt last long because of a man named

Charles Taylor who was trained by Gadhafi and some would say backed by the U.S. overpowers

Doe and takes the capital. Upon capturing Doe Taylor and his boys tortured and killed Doe
while videotaping him. It is also understood that Taylor and his solders ate Does body after they

killed him. This idea of cannibalism was a popular tactic used by Africans in this part of the

continent. A lot of tribes used human sacrifices and resorted to cannibalism in their religious

rituals. Once Doe was eliminated Taylor ran for president of Liberia. He ran under the campaign

slogan He killed my ma, He killed my pa, but I will vote for him and it works so in the 1990s

Charles Taylor was elected president of Liberia. Immediately after his election chaos ensues due

to his corrupt politics and the country falls into despair. Taylor is so corrupt in fact that the

country dissolves into civil war and warlords are all over fighting for control of Liberia.

After Taylor was elected things went from bad to worse. Warlords starting to pop up all

over Liberia and soon they were all fighting for control. These warlords used savage tactics and

worshiped scary gods who required human sacrifices for their blessing. Every ritual they did was

meant to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies and make them invincible. Being a warlord

you had to make sure you had an impressive reputation in order to gain respect. In other words

the more savage your tactics were the more people feared and respected you. Generals first

started by giving themselves names that were scary. For example General Bin Laden was a

name used amongst the generals as well as General Mosquito. Mosquito was terrifying because

of the fact that mosquitos carry malaria. General Mosquito Spray was named because he killed

General Mosquito and the list goes on. The two generals I focused on were General Bin Laden

and General Butt Naked.

After the war these Generals have given up their violent ways and are now community

leaders and speak for the community in ways that the government does not. These generals

find work for their community they find food for the community and they also provide
protection from other warlords. General Butt Naked has completely denounced his days in the

war and has been converted to a Christian man and is now a Christian minister. He leads his

community and also runs a boys religious home that helps rehabilitate children that fought in

the civil war. These generals are very respected in their community and they have a lot of

people behind them. Seeing them turn their lives around to be helping the people they are

leading instead of leading them into battle is a good hope for Liberia.
North west part of Montserrado County, Liberia: in ten mile squares. (n.d.). map. Retrieved from

https://www.loc.gov/item/96684997/

Map of Liberia /. (n.d.). map. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/96684984/

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1870/articles-and-essays/history-of-liberia/

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essays/history-of-liberia/1847-to-1871/

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Liberia. (2016, January 10). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liberia&oldid=699208189

The Cannibal Warlords of Liberia (Full Length Documentary) - YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved January

13, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuSS0iiFyo

Roberts, J. J., McGuigans, W. &, & Anson, R. (2010, July 23). Liberia - The African-American

Mosaic Exhibition | Exhibitions (Library of Congress) [webpage]. Retrieved January 13, 2016,

from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam003.html