Former President of Liberia, who received 234,000 votes while there were 15 thousand voters: Who is Charles King?

Charles Dunbar Burgess King

(12 March 1875 – 4 September 1961)

He was a member of the True Whig Party, which ruled the country from 1878 to 1980.

He served as the 17th President of Liberia from 1920 to 1930.

It was a tremendous election campaign. In the 1927 Liberia elections, which entered the Guinness Book of Records under the 'fraud category', Charles D B King was elected president by receiving 240,000 votes, according to the official results, while his opponent, Thomas J Faulkner, remained with 9,000 votes.

But this overwhelming electoral victory had one problem: according to the Liberian Constitution, only 15,000 voters had the right to vote in the country! It was indeed a great success. Receiving 16 times more votes than the current number of voters was not something that every mortal person could afford.

A born lucky man

King is always remembered for this feat in history, but this is actually not true. It is a serious mistake to limit the disgraces in his life to just this "small" electoral success. Charles Dunbar Burgess King was born on March 12, 1871, in the country's capital, Monrovia. His family belonged to the collaborative minority (Liberio-American) living on the coastline. They were the only community entitled to vote; the natives deep in the country had never seen the so-called chest!

He began his career at the Supreme Court, then rose to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At that time, Liberia was among the countries that were taken as the "topic model" to the Peace Conference convened after the First World War, and the Liberian representative was King. Liberia's 'value' was realized when the real war was over! After the decisions taken by England in 1922, which kept rubber production, which is the biggest need of the American automobile industry, the US Firestone tire company discovered the forests of Liberia.

Deep in Liberia, there were ideal rubber tree conditions and cheap labor. The negotiations between Firestone and the Liberian government took some time; The company also wanted to lend $5 million (to create addiction) to the Liberian government. Finally, in 1926, King silenced the opposition and signed one of the largest concession agreements in history.

Selling the country…

The deal was terrible. Firestone received a one million acre concession for 99 years, all rights to the selected lands were transferred to the company and exempted from all taxes. So much so that Firestone officially confiscated 10 percent of the country's arable land. Meanwhile, the $5 million loan put Liberia under US control. The US adviser was preparing the country's budget himself. It also prohibited the Liberian Government from taking new loans without Firestone's permission.

In those days, there was no monetary economy outside of the coastal areas where the elite lived. There was still barter and communal life in the forested areas where rubber was produced. Together, the company and the government enslaved the people of the region.

Naturally, the US did not care at all about the scandal of the 1927 elections, which is striking to us now! Bottom line, King received 'a little'(!) more votes than the number of voters.

Slave trade scandal

But by the way, King and his gang exaggerated the work… The government, which was not content with the internal slave labor, 'exported' slaves out with the help of the army, which stood out too much. Opposition leader Faulkner accused King and his ministers of the slave trade, and eventually, under British pressure, the UN set up an investigative commission. The commission's investigation both determined the use of slaves within the country and revealed that slaves were sold to other countries under the control of the army. When things got messy, in 1930 King and vice president Yancy had to resign.

But neither they nor Firestone were prosecuted. The agreement, of course, remained valid. Meanwhile, what happened was the stupendous nature of Liberia and the free jungle tribes who didn't know money until the Firestone arrived. While thousands were sold into slavery, they also encountered new diseases and army bullets. The result was a disaster!

But King was still persistent. He developed his country! Without the 'external forces', things would have gone smoothly! What a great injustice that was done to a great 'world leader' who had even doubled his electorate to 16!

Thus, he went down in history as one of the 'underestimated' leaders. Every profession has a master, you know; If there was a 'master', King would undoubtedly be worthy of that position. It's a pity… No one understood him!