Edward James Roye | |
|---|---|
 Roye c. 1850 | |
| 5thPresident of Liberia | |
| In office January 3, 1870 – October 26, 1871 | |
| Vice President | James Skivring Smith |
| Preceded by | James Spriggs Payne |
| Succeeded by | James Skivring Smith |
| 4thChief Justice of Liberia | |
| In office 1865–1868 | |
| Nominated by | Daniel Bashiel Warner |
| Preceded by | Boston Jenkins Drayton |
| Succeeded by | C. L. Parsons |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1815-02-03)February 3, 1815 Newark, Ohio,United States |
| Died | February 11, 1872 (aged 57) or February 12, 1872 (disputed) |
| Political party | True Whig |
Edward James Roye (February 3, 1815 – February 11, 1872) was a Liberian merchant and politician who served as the fifthpresident of Liberia from 1870 until his overthrow in the1871 Liberian coup d'état and subsequent death. He had previously served as the fourthChief Justice of Liberia from 1865 until 1868. He was the first member of Liberia'sTrue Whig Party to serve as president.
Roye was born on February 3, 1815, inNewark, Ohio. He was the son of John and Nancy Roye, freed African-American slaves who had moved to Ohio fromKentucky and bought a property in Newark.[1] They were reportedly ofIgbo origin.[2][3]
Roye's father managed a ferry across theWabash River atTerre Haute, Indiana. He owned property in Newark, Terre Haute andVandalia, Illinois. Due to his family's prosperity, Roye was able to attendOhio University. He moved to Terre Haute after his father's death in 1836,[4] where he established the African-American community's largest barbershop.[1]
In 1846, attracted by theAmerican Colonization Society's promotion of the relocation of African Americans to the colony of Liberia in West Africa, Roye emigrated to the colony with his family at the age of 31. There he set up business as a merchant, reportedly bringing $1,000 of capital (equivalent to $30,000 in 2024) with him.[5] The next year, the colony gained independence. Within three years of his arrival, Roye became active in Liberian politics, serving as a representative andspeaker (1849–1850)[6] of theLiberian House of Representatives, and as chief justice of theSupreme Court of Liberia, He was also theSecretary of the Treasury.[7] and unsuccessfully contested thepresidential elections in 1855.[8]
In 1857, Roye purchased the brigEusebia for the purposes of conducting a trading business between Monrovia and New York City. His typical cargo includedcamwood,palm oil and ivory.[9] By 1870 he reportedly had a fortune estimated at $200,000 (equivalent to $5,000,000 in 2024).[5]
Roye was inaugurated as President of Liberia on January 3, 1870. In the decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous tribal peoples. Conditions worsened, the cost of imports was far greater than the income generated by exports of its commodity crops of coffee, rice, palm oil, sugarcane, and timber. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its largely agricultural economy.
In 1871, Roye tasked the speaker of theHouse of Representatives,William Spencer Anderson, with negotiating a new loan from British financiers. Anderson secured $500,000 under strict terms from the British consul-general, David Chinery, but was heavily criticised and eventually arrested. Anderson was apparently tried the following year for his part in securing the loan. He was found not guilty, but he was shot to death while leaving the courthouse.[10]
Roye was removed from the presidency on October 26, 1871, in what some allies called acoup d'état. The circumstances surrounding his removal from office, however, remain murky and highly partisan. What is known is that he was jailed for several months following his ousting and soon died under equally mysterious circumstances. His unpopular loans with Britain as well as fears from theRepublican Party that he was planning to cancel the upcoming presidential election were among the reasons for his forced removal.[11]
No specific historical record is available about the date and circumstances of Roye's death. Varying accounts indicate that he was killed on February 11 or February 12, 1872. Another account suggests that he drowned on February 12, 1872, while trying to reach a British ship inMonrovia harbor.[citation needed]
The portrait of President Roye in the gallery of the Presidential Mansion in Monrovia notes his date of death as February 11, 1872.[12]
The town of Royesville, bordering the city of Brewerville, was named after Roye. PresidentWilliam Tubman named the presidential yacht "The Edward J. Roye," after President Roye.[13] The headquarters of the True Whig Party was named theEdward J. Roye Building.[14] His portrait his featured on the front of the five-dollar banknote of theLiberian dollar.[15]
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| Preceded by | President of Liberia 1870–1871 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chief Justice of Liberia 1865–1868 | Succeeded by |
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† denotes transitional chief justice | ||
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