There are two countries in Africa considered by some scholars to never have been colonized: Ethiopia and Liberia. The truth, however, is that brief periods of varying levels of foreign control during their early histories have left the question of whether Liberia and Ethiopia truly remained fully independent a subject of debate.

There are a handful of countries that were not subsumed by the juggernaut of Western colonization, including Turkey, Iran, China, and Japan. In addition, the countries with longer histories or higher levels of development before 1500 tend to have been colonized later, or not at all. Characteristics that drove whether or not a country was colonized by the West appear to be how difficult it is to reach them, the relative navigation distance from northwestern Europe, and the lack of a safe overland passage to landlocked countries. In Africa, those countries arguably included Liberia and Ethiopia.

Considering it essential to the success of their economies, the imperialistic European nations avoided the outright colonization of Liberia and Ethiopia—the only two African countries they considered viable players in the trade-based world economy. However, in return for their apparent “independence,” Liberia and Ethiopia were forced to give up territory, agree to differing degrees of European economic control, and become participants in European spheres of influence.

Why Ethiopia Never Got Colonised

It was not that European powers were not interested in colonizing Ethiopia-they were! Ethiopia was able to resist attempts of colonization by the British and particularly by the Italians. Indeed, Italy was able to colonize a part of ancient Ethiopia, the area along the Red Sea. This was the colony, and now independent country, of Eritrea. Under the leadership of Emperor Menelik, Ethiopia resisted European attempts to colonize all of Ethiopia. Ethiopia won a decisive victory over Italy at the Battle of Adowa, December 1895. During the battle, approximately 4,000 Italian soldiers were killed.

Ethiopia is a country located in the eastern part of Africa, and it is one of the few African countries that was never colonized by a European power.

Why Liberia Never Got Colonised

Liberia is another African country that was not colonised.

Liberia is located in West Africa and is bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north, and Ivory Coast to its east.

Reasons Why Ethiopia and Liberia Were Never Colonized

There are a variety of reasons why Ethiopia and Liberia were never colonized by European powers.

• Ethiopia: Ethiopia was never successfully colonized by Europeans despite multiple attempts. This is largely due to the fact that it was protected by high mountains, making it difficult to invade. Additionally, the Ethiopian people were fiercely independent and successfully resisted conquest by winning the War against Italy at the Battle Of Adwa.
• Liberia: Liberia was never Colonised because of its limited contact with Europe since it was not on the major Slave Trading routes.

In addition, Liberia did not have any of the Raw Materials sought by European Powers at the time.

Lastly, the indigenous people of Liberia resisted Colonisation by preventing the infiltration of Christian Missionaries into the Liberian interior.