2 - Before the Dragons Came

Summary

Histories of Liberia are often criticized for focusing only on the Americo-Liberian elite, ignoring the indigenous majority. This chapter reconstructs what is known about the economyand political institutions of the region that became Liberia before the arrival of migrants from the United States. Drawing on both qualitative evidence from historical accounts and anthropological research as well as more recent techniques for the quantitative comparison of precolonial economies, it provides a new account of what was known as the Grain Coast and its hinterland. National averages and later proxy data show that Liberia was less densely populated, with poorer soils and less centralized states than other parts of West Africa. However, these averages mask considerable variation in levels of commercialization and the organization of institutions within what became Liberia, particularly as migrations from other parts of West Africa during the medieval and early modern period helped connect the interior to regional trade networks.