Trade and Politics on the Gold Coast, 1600-1720: A Study of the African Reaction to European Trade

238 Pages·1970·25.886 MB·English

by  Kwame Yeboah Daaku

OXFORD STUDIES IN AFRICAN AFFAIRS
GeneralEditors
JOHN D. HARGREAVES and GEORGE SHEPPERSON
TRADE AND POLITICS
ON THE GOLD COAST
1600-1720
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TRADE AND
POLITICS ON THE
GOLD COAST
1600-1720
A Study ofthe African Reaction
to European Trade
BY
KWAME YEBOA DAAKU
Lecturer in History
University ofGhana, Legon
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1970
Oxford University Press, Ely House, London W.1
GLASGOW NEWYORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELLINGTON
CAPETOWN SALISBURY IBADAN NAIROBI DAR ES SALAAM LUSAKA ADDISABABA
BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI LAHORE DACCA
KUALALUMPUR SINGAPORE HONGKONG TOKYO
© OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1970
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
TO
ADUBEA, GYINAYE, KISSIWA
AND TANOA
BLANK PAGE
PREFACE
Tus bookis based on a thesis ‘Trade and Politics on the Gold Coast,
1640-1720’ which I presented to the University of London for the
Ph.D. degree in June 1964.
In preparing this for publication I owe a debt of gratitude to
several friends and colleagues. Dr. Jack Goody of St. John’s
College, Cambridge; Dr. David Birmingham, formerly of the
History Department, Legon, now of the School of Oriental and
African Studies, London; Professor Ivor Wilks, and Kofi Asare
Opoku of the Institute of African Studies, Legon, gave me helpful
suggestions on the lines along which the book should be revised.
I am particularly thankful to my friend and colleague Professor A.
Adu Boahen ofLegon, whofirst initiated me into historical research
and drew my attention to the wealth of untapped materials in Hol-
land. My thesis was supervised by Professor Roland Oliver of the
School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and to him I owe
a debt of gratitude. His fatherly interest and critical mind proved
great assets to me.
Myresearch was made possible by the postgraduate scholarship
that was granted me by the University of Ghana. To the University
authorities my thanks are due. I am also grateful to the Institute of
African Studies, Legon, which gave me a generous grant to conduct
field-work in the Adanse and Assin districts ofGhana between 1965
and 1967.
I thank the staff of the Public Record Office, Royal Common-
wealth Society, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the British
Museum, and the School of Oriental and African Studies and the
Institute of Historical Research, all in London, for their help. My
special thanks are due to the Archivist and the staffofthe Algemeen
Rijksarchief, The Hague, for their great kindness and willingness to
help me with the Dutch language. Their willingness to help makes it
more than a pleasure to work in their Archief. I am also grateful
to Mej Sturm and Dr. H. Kuipers for lessons in Dutch. I also thank
the Director and the Librarian of the Institute of Social Studies,
The Hague, for their hospitality and kindness in allowing me to
make extensive use ofall the facilities oftheir Institute.
vili PREFACE
To Mr. T. Agyepong, who helped me with my maps, I am very
grateful. For his patience, extreme sacrifice, and readiness to do so
muchto facilitatemyworkinLondon,Iamvery thankfultoKwadwo
Ofosu. I also thank Mr. E. O. Ocran ofthe Department ofHistory,
Legon,forall his secretarial assistance. To Afua Nyantekyi and Awo
I am also grateful for their manifold help.
K. Y. D.
CONTENTS
Preface Vil
List of Maps X
Abbreviations xl
Introduction XU
The Gold Coast at the Beginning of the Seventeenth
Century I
Il. Trading on the Gold Coast 21
African-European Relations 48
Ii,
Europeans and Local Politics 73
IV.
The Rise of the New Class 96
VI. The Merchant Princes—John Kabes and John Konny 115
VII. European Trade and African Politics 144
APPENDIXES
Mapofthe Regions ofthe Gold Coast in Guinea 182
II, Deed of Cession made by the People of Fantyn 185
If. Act of Cession and Transfer ofthe District Jumore 186
Act of Cession and Transfer ofthe Sabou beach 188
IV.
Select Bibliography 191
Index 203
LIST OF MAPS
pasa. Map ofthe Gold Coast in 1629 199
. Map of Ghana showing the Akan area 200
)
i
. Map of the Gold Coast showing some of the important States
by 1720 201
. Map of the Gold Coast 1729 202