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Rashid March, 1998 • National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON K 1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1 A ON4 Canada Canada Our 6itI Norre r.ftI,enctI The author bas granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence aUowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library ofCanada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies ofthis thesis in microfonn, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic fonnats. la fonne de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur fonnat électronique. The author retains o~ership ofthe L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son pernusslon. autorisation. O~12-44562-3 Canad!i • ii AB5TRACT This dissertation focuses on slaves and peasants as self-consciousness actors in northwestern Sierra Leone between 1896to 1956. During this period, which covers almost the entire duration of British colonial rule in the region, these subaltern groups used covert and violent actions to protest the various demands - labour, tribute and taxation -- of the state and the local elite. Covert actions like evasions, escapes and migrations became interwoven into the fabric of colonial rule. Violent actions, which tended to be spasmodic, erupted when social and economic conditions deteriorated sharply. Four major rebellions occurred during colonial rule in region. The tirst, spearheaded by local rulers, took place within the general context of African resistance to colonialism in 1898. After the rulers were coopted by the colonial state the burden of resistance fell on peasants and slaves. In 191 9, after enduring excruciating war-time experiences, peasants, petty-traders, slaves and the urban unemployed rioted against Syrian traders who they believed hoarded and profited trom rice. The rural destitution created by the Great Depression and a major locust attack led many ex-slaves and peasants to join the millenarian movement of the itinerant muslim cleric, Idara Konthorfili in 1931. Idara calied on his tollowers not to pay colonial tax and tried to mobilize them to fight against the state. !n 1955 and 1956, peasants and other rural groups throughout northwestern Sierra Leone rebelled against high taxation and the despotism of their chiefs. In its timing and virulence the anti-chief rebellion of 1955 and 1956 represented a major paradox in A trican history. It had occurred during the moment of decolonization; a period when the colonial transfer of power to the new African elite was following formulaic and relatively peacetul lines. The state responded to subaltern protest with repression, paternalism and readjustments in existing social relations. By their actions, slaves and peasants forced the state and elite groups to acknowledge and respond to their concerns. The balance which emerged out of this process of resistance, repression and accommodation • became the moral economy of colonialism in Sierra Leone. iii • RÉSUMÉ Cette thèse porte sur les esclaves et paysans, acteurs politiques conscients dans le nord-ouest du Sierra Leone entre 1896 et 1956. Pendant cette période, qui couvre la majeure partie du règne colonial britannique dans la région, ces groupes subalternes ont eu ressort à des actions clandestines et violentes afin de s'élever contre les exigences diverses-travail, tribut, et taxes--de l'État et des élites locales. Ces actions clandestines, évasions, fuites, et migrations, devinrent partie intégrante du tissu du règne colonial. Les actions violentes, souvent spasmodiques, éclataient lors de détériorations brusques des conditions socio-économiques. On compte quatre rebellions importantes dans la région pendant l'ère coloniale. La première, menée par les leaders locaux, s'inscrit dans le cadre de la résistance africaine contre la colonisation en 1898. Une fois les chefs cooptés, la résistance incombe aux paysans et esclaves. En 1919, suite à d'amères expériences durant la guerre, paysans, petits commercants, esclaves, et citadins sans-emploi se révoltèrent contre les commercants Syriens coupables, selon eux, d'avoir stocké le riz et profité de ce monopole. Face à la pauvreté rurale dûe à la Grande Dépression et suite à une importante ruée de sauterelles, plusieurs ancients esclaves rejoignirent les rangs du mouvement millénaire créé en 1931 par le clerc musulman itinérant Idara Konthorfili. Idara exhortait ses disciples à refuser de payer l'impôt colonial, de même qu'il essayait de les mobiliser pour lutter contre l'État. En 1955 et 1956, les paysans et autres groupes ruraux dans le nord-ouest du Sierra Leone se rebellèrent contre les taxes prohibitoires et contre le despotisme de leurs chefs. La rébellion de 1955-56 contre les chefs représente un paradoxe dans l'histoire africaine, de part sa violence et le moment de son éruption. En effet, la rébellion s'inscrit dans le contexte de la décolonisation, une période où le transfer du pouvoir à la nouvelle élite africaine peut être qualifié de relativement calme et organisé. L'État répondit aux protestations subalternes par la répression, le paternalisme, et des réajustements dans les relations sociales. Par leurs actions, les esclaves et paysans ont forcé l'État et les élites à reconnaître leurs demandes et à y répondre. C'est l'équilibre qui émerge suite à ce processus de résistance, répression, et • accomodation qui constitue l'économie morale du colonialisme au Sierra Leone. iv • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ln the long journey which eventually produced this dissertation, 1 have benefitted from the generosity and moral support of many people who cannot ail be mentioned by name here. My eternal gratitude extends to them. My sincere appreciation goes to my supervisor, Professor Myron Echenberg for his unflinching support, intellectual guidance, and for making my tenure at McGiII University challenging and rewarding. Thanks also to Professor Catherine Legrand and the late Professor Robert Vogel for their encouragement and scholarly guidance. My sincere appreciation also extends ta the other members of my thesis committee, Professors Colin Duncan, Elizabeth Elbourne, A Turgay, Gil Troy and M. Kramer for contributing to the enhancement of this work. Professor Martin Klein of the University of Toronto also deserves acknowledgement for his insightful suggestions and comments on the dissertation. To the staff of the McGiII History department, Mary McDaid, Georgii Mikula, Celine Cutinho and Joan Pozer, 1 am grateful for your smiles and assistance. ! am indebted to Dr. Ibrahim Abdallah (LB.) of the University of Western Cape South Africa, Professor Richard Rathbone of the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) and Professor Barbara Harrell-Bond of Oxford University. LB. first sparked my interest in peasant protest and provided regular scholarly insight and suggestions. Professor Rathbone gave generously of his time and intellectual experience while 1was doing my research in the United Kingdom. Professor Harrell-Bond generously allowed me access to her research materials and provided me lodgings while 1was researching at Oxford. My gratitude also to the archivists and staff at the following institutions for their help in the retrieval of documents: Inter-library Loan Office of McGiII University; Sierra Leone National