Liberia: Firestone and the Warlord – PBS

Nov 18, 2014: The negotiations that allowed Firestone to establish a long-standing business partnership with Liberia may be one of history’s great sweetheart deals. For the cost of six cents an acre, Liberia gave Firestone the right to lease up to 1 million acres — roughly 10 percent of the country’s arable land. The term? Ninety-nine years.

FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate the relationship between Firestone and the infamous Liberian warlord Charles Taylor. Based on the inside accounts of Americans who ran the company’s Liberia rubber plantation, and diplomatic cables and court documents, the investigation reveals how Firestone conducted business during the brutal Liberian civil war.

Aired: 11/18/14

Watch the Full Documentary: https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-firestone-and-warlord/

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