Editing History of Liberia (section)

===Economics===
[[File:1862 Liberian One Dollar.jpg|thumb|A one Liberian Dollar banknote from 1862]]
The [[Blockade of Africa|suppression]] of the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]] in West Africa by the [[United States Navy|American]] and [[Royal Navy|British navies]] after 1808 also produced new settlers, as these two navies would settle liberated slaves in Liberia or [[Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate|Sierra Leone]]. In the later 19th century, Liberia had to economically compete with European colonies in Africa. The economy of Liberia was always based on the production of agricultural products for export. In particular, Liberia's important [[coffee]] industry was destroyed in the 1870s by the emergence of production in [[Empire of Brazil|Brazil]].{{sfn|Jones|1974|p=321}}

New technology that became available in Europe increasingly drove Liberian shipping companies out of business.{{sfn|Jones|1974|p=321}} Although Roye's government attempted to procure funding for a railway in 1871, the plan never materialized. The first railway in Liberia was not constructed until 1945.{{sfn|Jones|1974|p=322}} From the late 19th century, European powers, such as the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and [[German Empire|Germany]], invested in infrastructure in their African colonies, making them more competitive in terms of getting products to market, improving communications, etc.

The national currency, the [[Liberian dollar]], collapsed in 1907. The country was later forced to adopt the [[United States dollar]]. The Liberian government was constantly dependent on foreign loans at high rates of exchange, which endangered the country's independence.{{sfn|Jones|1974|p=322}}

In 1926, [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone]], an American rubber company, started the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia. This industry created 25,000 jobs, and rubber quickly became the backbone of the Liberian economy; in the 1950s, rubber accounted for 40% of the national budget. During the 1930s, Liberia signed concession agreements with Dutch, Danish, German, and Polish investors in what has been described as an "open door" economic policy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Fred p.m. van der Kraaij|title=The Open Door Policy of Liberia. An Economic history of Modern Liberia|publisher=Bremen|year=1983|chapter= Chapter 2, The origins of the Closed Door Policies and Open Door Policies 1847–1947|pages=12–46}}</ref>

Between 1946 and 1960, exports of natural resources such as iron, timber and rubber rose significantly.{{citation needed|date= January 2022}} In 1971, Liberia had the world's largest rubber industry, and was the third largest exporter of iron ore.{{citation needed|date= January 2022}} Since 1948, [[Flag of convenience|ship registration]] was another important source of state revenue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alam |first=Muhammad Ammar |date=2021-02-12 |title=The Flag of Convenience: A case study of Liberia's Shipping Industry |url=https://www.maritimestudyforum.org/the-flag-of-convenience-a-case-study-of-liberias-shipping-industry/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Maritime Study Forum |language=en-US |archive-date=January 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120001734/https://www.maritimestudyforum.org/the-flag-of-convenience-a-case-study-of-liberias-shipping-industry/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From 1962 until 1980, the U.S. donated $280 million in aid to Liberia, in exchange for which Liberia offered its land rent-free for American government facilities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/ | title=Global Connections . Liberia . U.S. Policy &#124; PBS | website=[[PBS]] | access-date=June 21, 2022 | archive-date=April 5, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405040412/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout the 1970s, the price of rubber in the world commodities market was depressed, which put pressure on Liberian state finances.{{citation needed|date= January 2022}}