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Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana: a Conservation Study

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Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana: a conservation study

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Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana: a conservation study

Author/Creator Date
Hyland, Anthony David Charles 1979
Resource type Language Subject
Dissertations English

Coverage (spatial) Rights
Volta-Tano Watershed, Ghana, Elmina, Fort St. Jago By kind permission of Anthony David Charles Hyland.

  • Description
  • A detailed assessment of Elmina Fort in 1979 within the

context of Ghana's emerging conservation movement at that time. It also describes the nearby town of Elmina, and the use of the fort at the time. It concludes with recommendations on how the fort can be conserved and used in the future.

Format extent (length/size)
125 pages

http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.hyland001

http://www.aluka.org

FORT FORT ELM*INA GHANA ST JAGO

For the Diploma in Conservation Studies, Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies FORT ST JAGO ELMINA GHANA A CONSERVATION STUDY Anthony D C Hyland University of York 1979

I - 6*A *Wft ., k o k, 1 -ad ...,-. ~z W4 ~a\ I
-
1 Frontispiece: View of Elmina from across the bay. 4^

CONTENTS Table of Contents Table of Illustrations Acknowledgements Abstract of Dissertation Preface Chapter 1 Introduction: Changing Attitudes to Conservation in

  • Ghana.
  • 5

  • Chapter 2 The Town of Elmina.
  • 11

Chapter 3 The Historical Development of Fort St Jago. Chapter 4 Architectural Description of the Fort. Chapter 5 The present use and condition of the building.
27 55
43
Chapter 6 The future of Fort St Jago Chapter 7 Recommendations. Bibliography and Sources Appendices:
61 80
95

  • I
  • Coastal forts and castles of Ghana, listed in chronological

order of foundation.

  • II
  • Coastal forts and castles of Ghana: summary of O'Neil's

Report of 1951. III Coastal forts and castles of Ghana: present condition and use. IV V
The English invasion of Elmina, 1782. O'Neil's description of and recommendations for Fort St
Jago, 1951.

  • VI
  • Measured drawings of Fort St Jago, 1978/79.

VII The present use of the Fort as a resthouse - the results of a questionnaire. VIII Design drawings for the restoration and rehabilitation of Fort St Jago.

ILLUSTRATIONS 1 Frontispiece: View of Elmina from across the bay. Figures, photographs and drawings in the text: 2 Casteel del Mina, drawing from Dapper, 1668. 3 Fort St Jago, from the lagoon. (Photograph (C) Niels Bech). 4 Town Plan of Elmina. 5 View of Fort St Jago from St Joseph's Hill. (Photograph (C) Niels Bech). 6 Portulan by Pedro Reinel, c 1535, with a drawing of St George's Castle. (NMM, Dept of Navigation, 213: 2/). 7 Drawing of Elaina, dated 1603. This fanciful drawing bears little relationship to the actual appearance of the castle and the town in the Portuguese period: it does, however, shew the chapel on St Jago Hill. (NMM, Dept of Navigation, 241: b/I). 8. Plan of the castle and town of Elmina, after Commersteijn, c 1640. This plan shews the first Dutch redoubt on St Jago Hill. (AR, 619/77). 9 Plan of the town of Elmina, by J C Bergeman, 1799. (AR, 781). 10 View of Elmina, on the approach from Cape Coast: coloured aquatint by W Bartels, 1845. (NM, Dept of Pictures, 80 D 76 R 82, neg 248). 11 Bombardment of the old town of Elmina, 14 June 1873. (Illustrated London News, 19 July 1873, p 68). 12 View of Fort St Jago from the Castle, c 1900. (After a photograph by Rissink in the CNO Collection, The Hague). 13 Elmina: Admiralty map of 1898. (BI./ML, SEC 11: 1713). 14 Asafo Company headquarters, Dutch Cemetry Lane, Elmina. 15 Map of Ghana showing forts and castles. 16 Drawing of St George's Castle and Fort St Jago, 1665. (From Prince Eugen's Atlas, Vienna). 17 Gross Friedrichsburg, Princes Town: Plan (after Lawrence). 18 English fort, Komenda: Plan (after Lawrence).

19 Tilbury Fort, Essex: aerial view. (Photograph (C) Aerofilms Ltd). 20 Fort St Sebastian, Shana: Plan (after Lawrence). 21 Prospect of St George's Castle, with a view of Fort St Jago, 1682: engraving by Kip, after Barbot. (NNN, Dept of Pictures, 80 I 76 R 82 a). 22 Drawing of an elephant in the garden at Elmina, 1700. (after Bosman). 23 Ground Plan of Fort St Jago, by Trenks, 1774. (AR,780). 24 Plan of Fort St Jago, by C.F. Gevers, 1830. (AR, 25 Ground Plan of Fort St Jago, by M Jones, 1880. (PRO, MPG 1029). 26 Upper Floor Plans of Fort St Jago, by M Jones, 1882. (PRO, MPG 1029). 27 Plans of Fort St Jago in use as a hospital during the Second World War. (after plans in the National Museum, Accra). 28 The approach to Fort St Jago. (Photograph (C) Niels Bech). 29 First Floor Plan, Fort St Jago: measured drawing, 1978/79. 30 Corner of a bastion at St George's Castle during restoration, c 1955. (Photograph (C) GNMB: Courtauld Institute neg A 57/943). 31 View of ravelin, Fort St Jago. 32 View of Outer Gateway. 33 Inscription on inner face of outer gateway. 3A View of W bastion from NW outer wall walk. 35 View of inner gateway from SE outer wall walk. 36 View of courtyard from N bastion. 37 View of courtyard looking SW. 38 Staircase from courtyard to N bastion. 39 Staircase from N bastion to second floor office. 40 View along SE upper wall walk. 41 View of S bastion. 42 View inside carpentry workshop in W bastion. 43 Rear view of fort showing N bastion, after restoration, 1957. (Photograph (C) GMMB; Courtauld Institute neg A 57/1689). 44 Rear view of fort in 1978. 45 Front view of fort after restoration, 1957. (Photograph (C) GMMB; Courtauld Institute neg A 57/925). 46 Front view of fort in 1978. 47 Area between Fort St Jago and St George's Castle: plan and section showing proposed improvements to access road to the fort). 48 Future development of Fort St Jago: alternative proposal 1. 49 Future development of Fort St Jago: alternative proposal 2. 50, Future development of Fort St Jago: alternative proposal 3. 51 52 Future development of Fort St Jago: conservation of energy proposals.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Preparation of this dissertation has followed many years of residence in Ghana, and exploration and study of Elmina. Many organizations and individuals in Ghana have contributed over the years to PW knowledge of Elmina, and some have collaborated with me in the preparation of material for this dissertation. Particular mention should be made of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, its Director, Prof Richard Nunoo, its Inspectors of Monuments, Messrs G E Assan and Alhasan Isaka, and former Inspector of Monuments, Mr W L K Obuobisa; my former colleagues on the staff of the Department of Architecture, University of Science & Technology, (UST), Kumasi, Messrs Niels Hech, A Al-Hassan, W F Hill; the architect, Mr F C 0 Lamptey, who carried out the measured drawing survey of the fort in July 1978, assisted by Messrs D A Lartey and J Sarkodie, draughtsmen of the GMMB; and Drs Albert Van Dantzig and Jan Van Landewijk, of the University of Ghana, Legon. Since starting work on this dissertation, I have been helped by many individuals in England and overseas: members of staff of several libraries and museums, particularly Miss Pauline Stocks, of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Mr T R Padfield, of the Public Record Office, Kew, and Mr John Hopkins, Librarian of the Society of Antiquaries, London; Mr E Kaye, of UAC International; Mr John Ashurst, of the DOE Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings Division; Prof C L Temminck Groll, of the Technical University of Delft, and Mr A F Lancker, of Breda; Prof A W Lawrence, now living in retirement in Yorkshire; Mrs Rowena Lawson of the University of Hull; my Director of Studies, Dr Derek Linstrum, and my supervisor, Mr Stuart Sutcliffe,

of the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, York; and not least, mV wife Vivien, for sharing my love and enthusiasm for Fort St Jago and for contributing ideas for its future development. The text of Chapter 2 is a slightly condensed version of part of the text of the conservation study of the town of Elmina, undertaken some years ago by Mr Niels Bech and myself, and now awaiting publication: figures 4 and 47 were prepared for that report. Illustrations are drawn from a variety of sources: Abstract Fort St Jago is a fine copybook example of a Dutch colonial fort of the 17th C Baroque period, and one of a line of similar forts along the coast of Ghana. After tracing the growth of the conservation movement in Ghana, the history of the town of Elmina, and of the fort, the author examines the present condition and use of the building as a resthouse operated by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, and investigates alternative possibilities for the development of the building. Finally, the author sakes recommendations for the future development of Fort St Jago which should give the fort a more positive role in Ghana's development while conserving its historic fabric. Figs 2,3,5,22,28 Figs 6,7,10,21 Figs 8,9,23,24 Fig 11 Fig 13 Figs 16,17,18,20 Fig 19 Figs 25,26 Fig 27 Figs 30,43,45 Photographs (C) Niels Bech. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague Illustrated London News British Library Map Library Lawrence, A W: Trade Castles and Forts of West Africa, Jonathan Cape, London. Photograph (C) Aerofilms Ltd. Public Record Office, Kew National Museums, Accra Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, Accra. Abbreviations used in the text AR BI/ML C, Cc CNO DOE GMMB ICCMOS MRCGC N, NE, etc NMM PRO PWD UAC UST Permission to reproduce the above illustrations should be obtained from the copyright holders. Remaining photographs and drawings are by the author. Quotations have been made in the text of this dissertation from a variety of sources; permission to reproduce quotations has been obtained from the following holders of copyright: Prof A W Lawrence Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. Typing: Photocopying: Binding: Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague British Library Map Library Century, centuries Stichting Cultuurgesechiedenis van de Nederlanders Overzee (Dutch Overseas Cultutal History Foundation) Department of the Environment Ghana Museums and Monuments Board International Council of Monuments and Sites Monuments and Relics Commission of the Gold Coast North, North-east, etc. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Public Record Office Public Works Department United Africa Company University of Science & Technology, Kumasi Mrs S E Rollason, York Rank-Xerox, Leeds, and Copy Shop Plus, York Symington Bookbinders, York. 2 Cast el del Mina, drawing fron Dapper, 1648.

---------- PREFACE The cause of architectural conservation is still new in tropical Africa, and little account is taken of it in formulating national development policies. Ghana, however, with its unique legacy of forts and castles, was one of the first countries in tropical Africa to recognize the value of its architectural legacy from the past, and to take steps to protect and conserve it. Initially, the forts and castles were the only buildings to be protected by law, under the Ordinance of 1949 which established the Monuments and Relics Commission of the Gold Coast. After Independence in 1957, this body was reconstituted as the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, (GMMB), and the scope of its building conservation policy was extended to cover the more important surviving indigenous monuments in the country, principally the traditional shrines (fetish houses) of Ashanti, and the Sudanese mosques of the Northern and Upper Regions. It is now taken for granted in Ghana that the future of the forts and castles is assured, that they will continue to be maintained and kept in good repair by the State, and preserved as ancient monuments. This scenario, however, cannot be taken for granted: the rapidly escalating costs of conservation work in Ghana, and the pressure, not only on the financial resources of Government, but also on the physical resources of the coastal settlements that contain the forts, of Ghana's expanding population, will inevitably threaten the future of these historic buildings; and the cost benefit of maintaining the forts and castles in their present roles will be increasingly questioned.

It is my intention in this dissertation to study one such building in depth, to trace its history, record its present form and condition, investigate possible new uses for the building, and make proposals for its rehabilitation, conversion and management. By so doing, it is my intention to establish a model for the dozen or more similar buildings along the coast of Ghana that are in a similar condition, and that together represent a major untapped national resource. The fort I have selected for study, Fort St Jago at Elmina, is one of the finest and best preserved of the smaller forts: it is also the one best known and most visited by the public. At present it has a neglected air, having lost its role as headquarters of the Monuments Division of the G1MB, a role it played handsomely for many years. It is operated, in a makeshift fashion, by the GMHB as a resthouse, but it certainly does not pay its way; and in consequence, the regular repair and maintenance that the building needs, is not being carried out. It is also a building that I have known and loved for many years, and stayed in many times; and so it saddens me to see it in its present sorry state. It has recently been asserted that ",Preservation Pays" (1): the corollary of this assertion is that preservation should be made to pay. It is my belief that the forts and castles of Ghana can be made to pay for themselves, and to contribute a healthy credit balance in the economy of Ghana. It is in affirmation of this belief that I present my conservation study of Fort St Jago. £dena botwe eku, Asamankoma, katakranka, Aborekyir kaakra, eyE hu a nnki, eko so a, maba. - traditional aphorism in Fante, vernacular language of the Elmina people. Elmina, city of ingenious stone cutters, The home of the brave and tough Asamankoma; This little Europe which the coward shrinks to enter And from whence the daring on entering No longer desires to return.(2) 1. Bi -eey, M rc s and Haiu , X : Britmins Herte, London, 1979
SAVE
2. W-rtenbsrg, J S: Sao Jore d'EJ Mina. rer West Afric settleent, llfraonbe, 1951.

  • - -
  • ~
  • ~7b~71~i~i

Wrt St Jagr, from the lagoon. (Photograph (C) Niels Sech).

CHAPTER 1 1. For example, De Marees, 1602 2. For example, Reindorf, 1889 INTRODUCTION: CHANGING ATTITUDES TO CONSERVATION IN GHANA Unlike many countries in the Third World that have recently gained their independence, Ghana is a country with a long history, a rich culture, and a strong sense of national identity. Her history had been preserved for centuries by oral tradition, before being recorded in the published accounts of early European travellers to the Guinea Coast,(') and the more recently published history books written by scholars, (2); her culture is most profoundly expressed in ritual and ceremony, embellished by music and dance and a score of crafts. But neither Ghana's history nor her culture need buildings for their expression: historic events may have taken place within buildings that have survived, but the buildings, with rare exceptions, are not valued for that reason. For the Europeans who built and occupied the forts and castles, their conservation was essential; but the Africans, among whom the early Europeans settled, and with whom they traded, do not appear to have placed any particular value on buildings as such. The traditional economy of the native states before colonial rule did not require the conservation of buildings. The depredations of the climate, and of the animal world, allied to the abundance of familiar building materials, made the conservation of buildings not only superfluous but a waste of time. Sacred objects (regalia, cult objects, relics of the dead) and sites were commonly venerated, but buildings apparently not. They were functional and utilitarian, like clothing: a man wore ('habited') and lived in ('inhabited') what he could afford, and he discarded both when they wore out. Evidence of this attitude can be found in the bewildering variety of descriptions of the Asantehene's

palace in Kumasi in the 19th C - from Bowditch, who first drew it in 1817(3), to Baden-Powell, who finally sacked it in 1896(4): throughout this period it was continually changing, in appearance, condition of maintenance, and even location. A similar lack of veneration can be detected in the history of the Ya Na's palace at Yendi: until the beginning of this century, each successive ruler demolished the palace of his predecessor and built a new palace on a new site(5). The sites of the former palaces however, remained sacred, because the deceased rulers were buried there. Contrast this historical attitude with the attitude of the colonial powers on the coast. By the end of the 18th C, over 40 castles, forts, and trading lodges had been built along the coast, by half a dozen competing European powers, over a period of three hundred years. (The surviving castles and forts are listed chronologically in Appendix I). The finest of these, St George's Castle at Elmina, was the first, and remained one of the finest European buildings in the tropics. Together, this series of buildings represented an enormous investment in money and human lives: at its peak, between 1650 and 1700, the wave of building activity in West Africa was of major political as well as economic significance to half the nations of Europe. In the early 19th C however, after the legal abolition of the slave trade, business in all the European settlements along the West African coast slumped, and it was the mere presence of substantial buildings on the Gold Coast that obliged the British, the Dutch and the Danes to retain their tenuous sovereignty in and around the forts. The fact that the forts represented a considerable capital investment was as much the determining factor in ensuring that the forts remained under European sovereignty, as was the financial interest of the traders whom the forts protected, or the political interest of those nations under whose flags the forts operated. The saying 'We shape our buildings and our buildings shape us' certainly applies to the trading colonies on the Gold Coast in the early 19th C. Conservation of the forts was effected in a negative way, though; minor forts were allowed to fall into ruin in order that the major forts might survive: repairs and alterations were carried out in a patchy and piecemeal way, on the whole. The forts were probably regarded, in the main, as troublesome burdens on the economy which had to be maintained. There were exceptions, of course: the early 19th C was the age of the Romantic Movement, and so it is hardly surprising that the romantics should love the castles as 'castles'. William Hutchinson, first British Resident in Kumasi, and a contemporary and fellow countryman of Sir Walter Scott, retired to Anomabu, as unofficial commandant of the fort, where he lived, and I quote, "in his castle like an English baron in the feudal times. .. .His silken banners, his turreted castle, his devoted vassals, his hospitality, and even his very solitariness, all conspire to recall to mind the manners and way of life of an old English baron in one of the most interesting periods of our history, whilst the highly chivalrous and romantic spirit of the gentleman alluded to, is strictly in union with the impression" (6) Laetitia Landon, one of England's leading poets in her day, had similar romantic notions about Cape Coast Castle, for a few weeks, before she died there; as had Laura Boyle, author of The Diary of a

4a Prospect of the English Castle at Anomabu,

  • 1726. Drawing by William Smith.
  • (UAC Library).

3. Bowditch, T E: Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee, London, 1819 4. Baden-Powell, R S: The Downfall of Prempeh, London, 1896 5. Dawuni, Alhassan: The Palace of the Ya Na Yendi. Dip. Arch. thesis, U S T, Kumasi, 1971. 6. Lander, Richard and John: Journal of an Expedition to explore the course of the Niger, London, 1832. p. 7. written 1915/16 8. Boyle, Laura: Diary of a Colonial Officer's Wife, Collins, London, 1970, pp. 158,160 9. For example, Gaunt, 1912. Colonial Officer's Wife (7), about Christiansborg: she likened it to Elsinore and imagined the ghost of Hamlet's father walking on the battlements(8). But these views are the exception, rather than the rule: the prevalent attitude was utilitarian and unimaginative. When Christiansb6gi Castle was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1862, not many years after the Danish Government had sold their West African possessions to the British, it remained in ruins for a long time: and when a use was finally found for the ruinous, but still extensive buildings, it was a very unromantic one. A gimcrack timber superstructure was built on top of the massive stone core of the castle, and the place converted into a lunatic asylum. It was Sir Matthew Nathan, a former fortifications engineer with the British Army, who was Governor shortly after the end of the century, some years after the government had moved from Cape Coast to Accra, who had the sensitivity and foresight to restore Christiansborg to its former, more noble use, as residence of the Governor. Subsequently, the Public Works Department (PWD) took increasing responsibility for the repair and maintenance of the forts and castles, and the colonial government found a variety of uses for them - as prisons, law courts, post offices, local government offices, resthouses, lighthouses: it is apparent, however, from the descriptions of visitors(9), that maintenance, if it was carried out at all, was carried out in a very makeshift and haphazard fashion. It was not until after the Second World War, with the establishment of the Monuments and Relics Commission of the Gold Coast, (MRCGC), that

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    Bibliography Many books were read and researched in the compilation of Binford, L. R, 1983, Working at Archaeology. Academic Press, The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology: New York. Binford, L. R, and Binford, S. R (eds.), 1968, New Perspectives in American Museum of Natural History, 1993, The First Humans. Archaeology. Aldine, Chicago. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Braidwood, R 1.,1960, Archaeologists and What They Do. Franklin American Museum of Natural History, 1993, People of the Stone Watts, New York. Age. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Branigan, Keith (ed.), 1982, The Atlas ofArchaeology. St. Martin's, American Museum of Natural History, 1994, New World and Pacific New York. Civilizations. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Bray, w., and Tump, D., 1972, Penguin Dictionary ofArchaeology. American Museum of Natural History, 1994, Old World Civiliza­ Penguin, New York. tions. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Brennan, L., 1973, Beginner's Guide to Archaeology. Stackpole Ashmore, w., and Sharer, R. J., 1988, Discovering Our Past: A Brief Books, Harrisburg, PA. Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield, Mountain View, CA. Broderick, M., and Morton, A. A., 1924, A Concise Dictionary of Atkinson, R J. C., 1985, Field Archaeology, 2d ed. Hyperion, New Egyptian Archaeology. Ares Publishers, Chicago. York. Brothwell, D., 1963, Digging Up Bones: The Excavation, Treatment Bacon, E. (ed.), 1976, The Great Archaeologists. Bobbs-Merrill, and Study ofHuman Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London. New York. Brothwell, D., and Higgs, E. (eds.), 1969, Science in Archaeology, Bahn, P., 1993, Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. ABC-CLIO, 2d ed. Thames and Hudson, London. Santa Barbara, CA. Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1929, The Rosetta Stone. Dover, New York. Bahn, P.
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    fort. During the time of the French Protectorate the ditch was filled in with earth and a new entrance gate was Mazagan (Morocco) opened leading to the main street, the Rua da Carreira, and to the Seagate. Along this street are situated the best No 1058 Rev preserved historic buildings, including the Catholic Church of the Assumption and the cistern. Two Portuguese religious ensembles are still preserved in the citadel. Our Lady of the Assumption is a parish church 1. BASIC DATA built in the 16th century; it has a rectangular plan (44m x 12m), a single nave, a choir, a sacristy, and a square bell State Party: Morocco tower. The second structure is the chapel of St Sebastian Name of property: Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida) sited in the bastion of the same name. Location: Region: Doukkala-Abda, Province El The 19th century Mosque in front of the Church of the Jadida Assumption delimits the urban square, the Praça Terreiro, which opens toward the entrance of the city. The minaret Date received: 31 April 2004 of the mosque is an adaptation of the old Torre de Rebate, Category of property: originally part of the cistern, showing historical continuity. In terms of the categories of cultural property set out in A part of the ensemble in the citadel is the Cistern, the Article 1 of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, this is a design of which is attributed to Joao Castilho. The building group of buildings. consists of a nearly square plan (47m x 56m), with three halls on the north, east, and south sides, and four round Brief description: towers: Torre da Cadea (of the prison) in the west, Torre de Rebate in the north, the Tower of the Storks in the east, The Portuguese fortification of Mazagan, now part of the and the ancient Arab tower of El-Brija in the south.
  • Global Report

    Global Report

    AN41 Spotlight Ghana e limping lion The world’s second largest producer of cocoa – and rich in natural resources, including gold and oil – Ghana was destined to lead Africa’s fastest growing ‘lion’ economies over the next ten years. But falling gold prices and falling tax receipts have set back economic growth Anver Versi For the past 15 years, the management of cocoa – Ghana is the world’s second larg- at around 14 per cent and Ghana entered the Ghana’s economy has been held up – by est producer. It is now also an important oil ranks of middle-income countries. multilateral organisations such as the World producer and has the potential to become It seemed that Ghana was destined to lead Bank, among others – as the exemplary the third largest oil producer in Africa. the pack of the ‘African lions’ – a dozen or so model for other developing countries to Indeed, by 2010, when the country’s fi rst fast growing countries – over the next dec- follow. The country has enjoyed political oil began to fl ow from the Jubilee fi eld and ade at least. But during the last few months, stability, good macroeconomic manage- the price of gold nudged the US$2,000 per the country's serene progress towards its me- ment, a steady annual growth in the fi ve ounce mark, a recalculation of the country’s dium-term annual growth target of eight per per cent range and a diversifi ed economy GDP, based on more relevant data, raised cent has suffered several setbacks and the based on gold mining, manufacturing and GDP by 60 per cent.
  • Commemorating an African Queen Ghanaian Nationalism, the African Diaspora, and the Public Memory of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, 1952–2009

    Commemorating an African Queen Ghanaian Nationalism, the African Diaspora, and the Public Memory of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, 1952–2009

    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Faculty Publications Department of History 2014 Commemorating an African Queen Ghanaian Nationalism, the African Diaspora, and the Public Memory of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, 1952–2009 Harcourt Fuller Georgia State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_facpub Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Fuller, H. “Commemorating an African Queen: Ghanaian Nationalism, the African Diaspora, and the Public Memory of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, 1952 – 2009.” African Arts 47.4 (Winter 2014): 58-71. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Commemorating an African Queen Ghanaian Nationalism, the African Diaspora, and the Public Memory of Nana Yaa Asantewaa, 1952–2009 Harcourt Fuller All photos by the author except where otherwise noted he years 2000–2001 marked the centennial of deeds of Yaa Asantewaa. The minister encouraged the nation to the Anglo-Asante War (otherwise known as the commemorate Yaa Asantewaa’s heroism, demonstrated through War of the Golden Stool) of 1900–1901. This bat- her self-sacrifice in defending the Golden Stool in 1900–1901. tle was led by Nana Yaa Asantewaa (ca. 1832– He also recommended that a history book be published on her 1923), the Queen Mother from the Asona royal life, personality, and the War of Resistance specifically. His sug- family of the Asante paramount state of Ejisu, gestions resulted in the 2002 publication of Yaa Asantewaa: An who took up arms to prevent the British from capturing the African Queen Who Led an Army to Fight the British by Asirifi Tsacred Golden Stool.1 This milestone produced several publica- Danquah, a veteran Ghanaian journalist.
  • The Age of Exploration

    The Age of Exploration

    HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY Native American The Age of Exploration Teacher Guide Enslaved workers Spice trade John Cabot Crossing the ocean The Age of Exploration Teacher Guide Creative Commons Licensing This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. You are free: to Share—to copy, distribute, and transmit the work to Remix—to adapt the work Under the following conditions: Attribution—You must attribute the work in the following manner: This work is based on an original work of the Core Knowledge® Foundation (www.coreknowledge.org) made available through licensing under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This does not in any way imply that the Core Knowledge Foundation endorses this work. Noncommercial—You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike—If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. With the understanding that: For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Copyright © 2016 Core Knowledge Foundation www.coreknowledge.org All Rights Reserved. Core Knowledge®, Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™, Core Knowledge History and Geography™ and CKHG™ are trademarks of the Core Knowledge Foundation. Trademarks and trade names are shown in this book strictly for illustrative and educational purposes and are the property of their respective owners. References herein should not be regarded as affecting the validity of said trademarks and trade names.
  • Cape Verde Islands, C. 1500–1879

    Cape Verde Islands, C. 1500–1879

    TRANSFORMATION OF “OLD” SLAVERY INTO ATLANTIC SLAVERY: CAPE VERDE ISLANDS, C. 1500–1879 By Lumumba Hamilcar Shabaka A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of History- Doctor of Philosophy 2013 ABSTRACT TRANSFORMATION OF “OLD” SLAVERY INTO ATLANTIC SLAVERY: CAPE VERDE ISLANDS, C. 1500–1879 By Lumumba Hamilcar Shabaka This dissertation explores how the Atlantic slave trade integrated the Cape Verde archipelago into the cultural, economic, and political milieu of Upper Guinea Coast between 1500 and 1879. The archipelago is about 300 miles off the coast of Senegal, West Africa. The Portuguese colonized the “uninhabited” archipelago in 1460 and soon began trading with the mainland for slaves and black African slaves became the majority, resulting in the first racialized Atlantic slave society. Despite cultural changes, I argue that cultural practices by the lower classes, both slaves and freed slaves, were quintessentially “Guinean.” Regional fashion and dress developed between the archipelago and mainland with adorning and social use of panu (cotton cloth). In particular, I argue Afro-feminine aesthetics developed in the islands by freed black women that had counterparts in the mainland, rather than mere creolization. Moreover, the study explores the social instability in the islands that led to the exile of liberated slaves, slaves, and the poor, the majority of whom were of African descent as part of the Portuguese efforts to organize the Atlantic slave trade in the Upper th Guinea Coast. With the abolition of slavery in Cape Verde in the 19 century, Portugal used freed slaves and the poor as foot soldiers and a labor force to consolidate “Portuguese Guinea.” Many freed slaves resisted this mandatory service.
  • History of Ghana

    History of Ghana

    History of Ghana Early History The earliest recorded human habitation within the boundaries of modern Ghana, dates back to circa 10000 BC on the Oti River. The oldest date for pottery at the Stone Age site near Accra is 4000 BC. Empire of Ancient Ghana The empire of ancient Ghana is not geographically, ethnically, or in any other way related to modern Ghana. Ancient Ghana would have been found 400 miles northwest of modern Ghana, in the areas now known as Northern Senegal and Southern Mauritania. Ancient Ghana came into existence when, at the start of the first millennium, a number of clans of the Soninke people, a Mande speaking people living in the region bordering the Sahara, came together under the leadership of Dinga Cisse. It is likely that the Soninke was formed in response to the attacks form nomadic raiders suffering from drought and seeking new territory. Ancient Ghana derived its power and wealth from gold, and the introduction of the camel increased their ability to transport goods. The majority of the knowledge of Ghana comes from Arab writers who reported that the Soninke people also sold slaves, salt, and copper in exchange for textiles, beads, and finished goods. Their capital city, Kumbi Saleh, was built on the edge of the Sahara and quickly became the most dynamic and important terminus of the Saharan trade routes. The wealth of ancient Ghana is mythically explained in the tale of Bida, the black snake. The snake demanded an annual sacrifice in return for guaranteeing prosperity in the Kingdom. Each year a virgin was offered as a sacrifice, until one year, the fiancé of the sacrificial virgin rescued her.
  • The Maritime Archaeology of West Africa in the Atlantic World: Investigations at Elmina, Ghana

    The Maritime Archaeology of West Africa in the Atlantic World: Investigations at Elmina, Ghana

    Syracuse University SURFACE Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Anthropology - Dissertations Affairs 12-2012 The Maritime Archaeology of West Africa in the Atlantic World: Investigations at Elmina, Ghana Gregory David Cook Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/ant_etd Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Cook, Gregory David, "The Maritime Archaeology of West Africa in the Atlantic World: Investigations at Elmina, Ghana" (2012). Anthropology - Dissertations. 99. https://surface.syr.edu/ant_etd/99 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT This dissertation focuses on the first maritime archaeology research project conducted in Ghana, specifically off the town of Elmina in the Central Region. Survey and diver investigations resulted in the discovery of a mid-seventeenth century shipwreck, which archaeological and archival research suggests may be the Dutch West India Company vessel Groeningen that sank after arriving to Elmina on a trading voyage in 1647. The site lies approximately 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of Elmina and is characterized by a mass of trade goods, including brass and pewter basins, brass manillas, lead rolls, trade beads, pins, cowrie shells, as well as large iron cannons. I utilize a multi-scalar approach in this research, which allows me to take the shipwreck as the basic unit of analysis (an event or événement as Braudel would place it in his three scales of history), and situate it within the broader sphere of the Atlantic World.