Daniel Anyim “WE SOLD SLAVES TOO”
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Daniel Anyim “WE SOLD SLAVES TOO”: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANOMABO AND FORT WILLIAM IN PUBLIC NARRATIVES SURROUNDING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE. MA Thesis in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management. Central European University Budapest CEU eTD Collection June 2020 “WE SOLD SLAVES TOO”: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANOMABO AND FORT WILLIAM IN PUBLIC NARRATIVES SURROUNDING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE. by Daniel Anyim (Ghana) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ CEU eTD Collection Examiner ____________________________________________ Examiner Budapest June 2020 “WE SOLD SLAVES TOO”: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANOMABO AND FORT WILLIAM IN PUBLIC NARRATIVES SURROUNDING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE. by Daniel Anyim (Ghana) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2020 “WE SOLD SLAVES TOO”: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANOMABO AND FORT WILLIAM IN PUBLIC NARRATIVES SURROUNDING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE. by Daniel Anyim (Ghana) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ CEU eTD Collection External Supervisor Budapest June 2020 I, the undersigned, Daniel Anyim, candidate for the MA degree in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 30 June 2020 __________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection Abstract The history of the Atlantic slave trade and slave heritage are critical subject areas of transnational concern and thematic research. In this study, the necessary details that contribute to local indifference and general disinterest among the public about salient issues concerning indigenous slavery systems—that existed before the arrival of the Europeans—and the transatlantic slave trade at large are untangled. That is, a structured dissemination of partial evidence that was perpetrated and to some extent centrally designed by key actors including: the state, local historians and educational institutions as part of concerted attempts to entrench overarching notions of national cohesion and unity in the face of (re)imagining the Ghana’s colonial past. I contend that what this topic lack is ample/fair representation in the Ghana Education Service’s current teaching curriculum for history in senior high schools. Thus, a continuous minimization or outright silencing of the role played by local agency prevents students from developing nuanced insights into a lived past within Ghana’s national consciousness, in the contemporary imagination and interrogation of the manifold of events that transpired in Atlantic slave trade. Historically relevant sites like Fort William, Anomabo—this thesis’s case study—was explored and can serve as an entry point into this complex history. This study also discovered that, the well-rounded histories of this era filter down to the ‘official’ narratives shared by tour guides to tourists esp. from the African Diaspora who embark on regular heritage tours to the various forts and castles in Ghana. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgements This body of work will not be achieved without the contribution of several outstanding people. Firstly, I will like to express profound gratitude to Professor Alice Choyke, my magnificent supervisor. Your guidance, warmth and endless encouragement were key pillars that guided me through from scratch to the completion of thesis project. I am very grateful. I would also like to thank the ‘fantastic’ I.S. Kananzoe, for his consistent support from my application period back in Ghana through to the completion of my MA. You are amazing. Eric Awuah Baffour, if not for your selfless counsel and occasional ‘hard knocks’ that guided me through, this academic feat will not have been possible. God bless you. To Faisal Mohammed, it all began with you. Thanks for blazing the trail and being an inspiration. Many thanks to my parents; Patience Kettey and Leonard Anyim, my sisters; Janet and Cecelia, my compassionate uncle Godwin Kwesi Kettey, Pastor Stanley Atsoglo, and the entire extended family for their support and prayers. I am very appreciative. Also, to Professor József Laszlovszky, Dr Ágnes Drosztmér and the entire Cultural Heritage Studies faculty and staff, your breathtaking commitment to service was integral in shaping my CEU experience and impacting my worldview. Thank you. Special acknowledgements to the astonishing director and my internship supervisor, Dr Freda Nkirote; GIS expert John Kanyingi, fellow graduate attaché Junnan Mu, and all the staff members at the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), Nairobi-Kenya, I am indebted to you CEU eTD Collection all. To the CEU Budapest Foundation for funding my MA and internship, this thesis project will not have been possible without your generosity and belief in me. I am appreciative. I will also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Professor Tim Insoll and Dr Gertrude Aba Mansah Eyifa-Dzidzienyo for accepting to be external readers of my work. To every ii respondent who contributed to this thesis by filling the online (questionnaire) survey, I am eternally grateful for your assistance. Thank you. Finally, a big thank you to my astounding colleagues for your contributions to shaping my work through your valued comments during our seminar sessions and general encouragement. It was an absolute pleasure to meet and share the past two years with you all. You guys are amazing!!! CEU eTD Collection iii Table of contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Background to the study ........................................................................................................ 1 Problem statement .................................................................................................................. 3 Research Aims ....................................................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 4 Contextual Framework........................................................................................................... 5 Research Objectives/ Significance ......................................................................................... 8 Research Design..................................................................................................................... 9 Sampling method and the target population ........................................................................ 10 Limits of Study .................................................................................................................... 11 Organization of Study .......................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1 - A short history of the Gold Coast, arrival and early interactions with European Trade Companies ..................................................................................................................... 13 1.0 Chapter Overview .......................................................................................................... 13 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 14 1.1 Brief History of the Gold Coast ..................................................................................... 15 1.1.1 Geographic and Ethnic Composition ...................................................................... 16 1.1.2 Historical overview of the Akan State .................................................................... 19 1.1.4 Overview of local trade between Akan states and neighboring societies ............... 21 1.1.5 Gold, Trade, and the Asante Empire ....................................................................... 25 1.2 A brief discourse on slavery, development of trade connections and local indigenous agency in the slave trade. ....................................................................................................