Exploring African Abolitionism: Fante Perspectives on Domestic Slavery in the Nineteenth-Century Gold Coast

IF 0.8 3区 社会学 Q1 HISTORY
Michael Ehis Odijie
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Abstract

This article draws on a variety of primary sources to first illustrate the rise of African abolitionism in the Fante region in the mid-nineteenth century and then situate local abolitionists in the context of colonial legal abolition in the Gold Coast. When the British abolished slavery in 1874, various Fante groups had been developing local anti-slavery views and strategies closely connected to the evolution of a Fante ethnic identity fashioned against the “barbaric” Asante. Tensions arose between the Fante intelligentsia, which spearheaded local abolitionism, and British colonial elites. The article examines the rise of local abolitionism among the coastal Fante through specific ideas, individuals, and events, and discusses subsequent dynamics in the “first age” (1874–1900) of colonial abolitionism in the Gold Coast. It shows that the 1874 abolition was opposed by members of the Fante anti-slavery movement not—as has been argued—because Fante intellectuals were pro-slavery or opposed to the idea of abolition, but because they held different visions of emancipation and were critical of British abolition laws that, unlike in the West Indies, did not compensate slaveowners.

探索非洲废奴主义:十九世纪黄金海岸家庭奴隶制的方特视角
本文利用各种原始资料,首先说明了十九世纪中叶非洲废奴主义在方特地区的兴起,然后将当地废奴主义者置于黄金海岸殖民法律废除奴隶制的背景下。当英国于 1874 年废除奴隶制时,不同的方特团体已经在当地形成了反奴隶制的观点和策略,这些观点和策略与方特人反对 "野蛮 "阿桑特人的民族认同感的演变密切相关。引领当地废奴主义的方特知识分子与英国殖民精英之间出现了紧张关系。文章通过具体的观点、个人和事件研究了当地废奴主义在沿海方特人中的兴起,并讨论了黄金海岸殖民废奴主义 "第一时代"(1874-1900 年)的后续动态。研究表明,1874 年的废奴运动遭到了方特反奴隶制运动成员的反对,这并不是因为方特知识分子支持奴隶制或反对废奴思想,而是因为他们对解放持有不同的看法,并对英国的废奴法律持批评态度,因为与西印度群岛不同,英国的废奴法律没有对奴隶主进行补偿。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
1.10
自引率
12.50%
发文量
42
期刊介绍: Law and History Review (LHR), America"s leading legal history journal, encompasses American, European, and ancient legal history issues. The journal"s purpose is to further research in the fields of the social history of law and the history of legal ideas and institutions. LHR features articles, essays, commentaries by international authorities, and reviews of important books on legal history. American Society for Legal History
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