Island. He early wanted to become a priest. In May 1850, he applied to
be admitted into a theological college in the United States of America
but his application was turned down because of his RACE. In January
1851 he emigrated to Liberia an African country. He continued his
formal education at Alexander High School, Monrovia, whose principal
he was appointed in 1858.
In 1862 he was appointed professor of classics at the newly opened
Liberia College, a position he held until 1871. Although Blyden was
self-taught beyond high school, he became an able and versatile
linguist, classicist, theologian, historian, and sociologist. From
1864 to 1866, in addition to his professorial duties, Blyden acted as
secretary of state of Liberia.
From 1871 to 1873 Blyden lived in Freetown, Sierra Leone. There he
edited Negro, the first explicitly pan-African journal in West Africa.
He also led two important expeditions to Fouta Djallon in the
interior. Between 1874 and 1885, Blyden was again based in Liberia,
holding various high academic and governmental offices. In 1885, he
contested for the Liberian presidential position but was unsuccessful.
After 1885 Blyden divided his time between Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Lagos. He served Liberia again in the capacities of ambassador to
Britain and France and as a professor and later president of Liberia
College. In 1891 and 1894 he spent several months in Lagos and worked
there in 1896-1897 as government agent for native affairs.
While in Lagos he wrote regularly for the Lagos Weekly Record, one of
the earliest propagators of Nigerian and West African nationalism. In
Freetown, Blyden helped to edit the Sierra Leone News, which he had
assisted in founding in 1884 "to serve the interest of West Africa …
and the BLACK RACE generally." He also had helped found and edit the
Freetown West African Reporter (1874-1882), whose declared aim was to
forge a bond of unity among English-speaking West Africans. Between
1901 and 1906 Blyden was director of Moslem/Muslim education; he
taught English and "Western subjects" to Muslim youths with the object
of building a bridge of communication between the Muslim and Christian
communities. He died in Freetown on 7th of February, 1912.
Although Blyden held many important positions, it is more as a man of
ideas than as a man of action that he is historically significant. He
saw himself as a champion and defender of the BLACK RACE and in this
role produced more than two dozen pamphlets and books, the most
important of which are A Voice from Bleeding Africa (1856); Liberia's
Offering (1862); The Negro in Ancient History (1869); The West African
University (1872); From West Africa to Palestine (1873); Christianity,
Islam and the Negro Race (1887), his major work; The Jewish Question
(1898); West Africa before Europe (1905); and Africa Life and Customs
(1908). His writings displayed originality, and he was often
controversial.
Blyden sought to prove that Africa and Africans have a worthy history
and culture. He rejected the prevailing notion of the inferiority of
the African man but accepted the view that each major race has a
special contribution to make to world civilization.
Blyden's political goals were the establishment of a major modern West
African state which would protect and promote the interest of people
of African descent everywhere. He initially saw Liberia as the nucleus
of such a state and sought to extend its influence and jurisdiction by
encouraging selective "repatriation" from the Americas. He hoped, also
in vain, that Liberia and adjacent Sierra Leone would unite as one
nation. He was ambivalent about the establishment of European colonial
rule; he thought that it would eventually result in modern independent
nations in tropical Africa but was concerned about its damaging
psychological impact. As a cultural nationalist, he pointed out that
modernization was not incompatible with respect for African customs
and institutions. He favored African names and dress and championed
the establishment of educational and cultural institutions
specifically designed to meet African needs and circumstances.
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