Gold Coast diaries : chronicles of political officers in West Africa, 1900-1919 / [compiled by] Thora Williamson ; edited by Anthony Kirk-Greene.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Williamson, Thora, -1998.

Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (Anthony Hamilton Millard)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Colonial administrators--Ghana--Diaries.

Colonial administrators.

Colonial administrators--Great Britain--Diaries.

Diaries.

Ghana--History--To 1957.

Ghana.

History.

Ghana--Officials and employees--Diaries.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Diaries.

Physical Description:

xvi, 419 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Radcliffe Press ; New York : St. Martin's Press [U.S. distributor], 2000.

Summary:

This fascinating book is based entirely on the diaries of political officers who served the Gold Coast Colony and Proctorate in the early years of imperial rule. It gives a graphic, often amusing and always riveting and first-hand account of the "daily round" of administration, including the administration of justice, tax collection, solving disputes, life on trek in bush and forest, relations with chiefs and with ordinary people. The author provides a sharp, detailed, and sympathetic insight into the life of the early Colonial Service in the Gold Coast, now Ghana and the vast range of personalities involved.

Contents:

1. The Gold Coast DC 17

2. Diaries, 1900-1907: The Early Years 34

Western Frontier Preventive Service 34

Quitta 54

Black Volta 62

3. Diaries, 1913-1919: The Colony 73

Accra 73

Cape Coast 92

Winneba 103

Sekondi 108

4. Diaries, 1913-1919: Ashanti 121

Kumasi 121

Juaso 139

Sunyani 158

Wenchi 190

Goaso 199

Obuasi 201

Bekwai 226

5. Diaries, 1913-1919: Northern Territories 239

Tamale 239

Yeji 254

Bole 259

Tumu 276

Lorha 301

Navarro 310

Zouaragu 323

Bawku 340

Yendi, Togoland 345

Appendix A T. E. Fell's Letters from Accra, 1897/8 364

Appendix B Instructions to Officers in Charge of Districts, 1899 369

Appendix C Establishment of Navarro Station, 1905 372

Appendix D Instructions to Touring Officer, Sunyani, 1911 377

Appendix E Estimate for Station at Sefwi, 1914 379

Appendix F Hints on Outfits and the Preservation of Health 381

Appendix G Practical Advice for Colonial Administrators 383

Biographies (Based on the Gold Coast Civil Service Lists) 385.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-400) and index.

ISBN:

1860644511

OCLC:

45894178