whom the purchase of land had been arranged.12 The first constitution of an independent Liberia, freed from the control of the Society in 1847, described “the people of the Republic of Liberia” as “originally the inhabitants of the United States of North America”, distinguishing themselves from “the natives of the country”.13 With a view to that history, it was also provided that: “The great object of forming these Colonies, being to provide a home for the dispersed and oppressed children of Africa, and to regenerate and enlighten this benighted continent, none but persons of color shall be eligible to citizenship in this Republic”.14 But only in 1947 did the Tubman Administration extend the legal provisions for citizenship eligibility to members of indigenous ethnic groups; the “Hinterland Regulations” adopted the next year continued to exclude the indigenous population from meaningful participation in political power.15 2.3. Transition to independence The nationality laws adopted by the new states at independence were to a large extent based on models from the power that had colonised them; these were mostly included in the independence constitutions in the Commonwealth countries, which took great care (at least on paper) to avoid statelessness at the moment of transition; whereas they were left to legislation in the civil law countries (leaving gaps that are still important in the determination of nationality of some populations resident on the territory at independence). The rules that governed nationality on state succession remain very significant today in determining which persons are regarded as “natives” of each State and have unquestioned access to nationality. In all four new states that were formerly British territories in West Africa (Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone), the transitional provisions stated that a citizen of the UK and colonies or a British protected person born and resident in the country automatically became a citizen at independence if at least one parent or grandparent was also born in the country. In the case of Gambia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone (but not Ghana), those persons born in the country whose parents and grandparents were all born outside the country were entitled to citizenship by way of registration (a nondiscretionary process), as were other “citizens of the UK and colonies” or “British protected persons” who were ordinarily resident in the country. Ghana, the first British territory to obtain independence, followed a slightly different model. Whereas transitional citizenship provisions were included in the independence constitutions for the other countries, for Ghana the constitution delegated citizenship provisions to law, and the initial terms on which a person became Ghanaian were set out in the Ghana Nationality and Citizenship Act, No.1 of 1957. Although those born in the country of one parent also born there became citizens as of right at the date of independence, as in the other former British colonies, those without a parent also born in Ghana had to naturalise on the basis of residence and conditions set for all other aliens; though provision was made for easier access to citizenship for nationals of other Commonwealth countries, both in the transitional measures and on an ongoing basis. In all four countries, the initial framework for those born after independence was for jus soli 12 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Liberia, 1838, Article 9. Constitution of Liberia 1847, preamble. 14 Constitution of Liberia 1847, Article V(15). In a 1955 revision to the constitution the phrase “persons of color” was replaced by “Negroes or persons of Negro descent”. 15 Stephen Lubkemann, Deborah H. Isser and Philip A.Z. Banks III, “Constraint of Customary Justice in PostConflict Liberia”, in Deborah Isser (ed.) Customary Justice and the Rule of Law in War-torn Societies, Washington DC: US Institute of Peace, 2011; Augustine Konneh, “Citizenship at the Margins: Status, Ambiguity, and the Mandingo of Liberia”, African Studies Review, Vol. 39, No. 2, ,1996, pp. 141-154. 13 9