EUROPEAN MORTALITY 
soldiers, who arrived at Cape Coast from the Cape of 1824-1826 
Good Hope in April 1823 only one man remained alive CHAP. XX[ 
in December 1824. Out of a second detachment that 
had arrived in November 1823 from England, only eight 
remained alive; the greater part of a third detachment 
which disembarked at Cape Coast on 12th March 1824 
died within three months of landing; only six men re-
mained alive of a fourth detachment that arrived on 
20th March; and out of the one hundred and one men 
who landed from H.M.S. Thetis on July 4th, forty-five 
died within a week of arrival. The deaths of fifteen 
officers are recorded within the same period, viz. between 
April 1823 and December 1824. As if it were not suffi-
ciently bad to send men to serve in such a climate, the 
Government actually sent out the soldiers' wives and 
children. Forty-two women and sixty-seven children 
arrived at Cape Coast in October 1823, and by December 
1824 twenty-nine women and forty-one children were 
dead, sacrificed to official ignorance, and twenty-seven 
women and children had been sent to England to save 
their lives. Well might Assistant-Surgeon Bell, of the 
Royal African Colonial Corps, who compiled this record, 
say: 'The destruction of life that has taken place ought 
to prevent any more European women and children 
being sent out .... I sincerely hope I will never rewitness 
the many trying sights I have done this year, in beholding 
the father and four or five fine children, laid up with fever 
in a small hovel of a place, totally helpless to each other, 
and gradually dying, without my being able to mitigate 
their sufferings even in a small degree.' " 1 
Now that the Ashantis had finally withdrawn, some 
of the villagers who had sought refuge in Cape Coast 
during the invasion began to return to their own districts 
to rebuild their ruined houses and cultivate their farms. 
Amongst these were the Komendas, and the Elminas 
seized the opportunity to give fresh proof of their loyalty 
to Ashanti and their undying hostility towards those who 
had espoused the English cause and fought on their side. 
1 Ellis. History ot the Gold Coast, p. 178. 
THE BATTLE OF DODOWA 
1824-1826 The majority of the Komendas returned home by sea, 
CHAP. XXI but their women and children were sent overland, and, 
as they passed through Elmina, many of them were seized 
and brutally murdered by the people. No sooner did 
news of this outrage reach the ears of Colonel Grant, 
than he wrote to Governor Last, demanding the punishment 
of the offenders. The Dutch Governor, however, replied 
that he had not sufficient force at his disposal to keep 
the people in order even, and that it was consequently 
quite out of his power to compel them to surrender the 
perpetrators of this crime. Commodore Bullen was 
anchored off Cape Coast at the time and at once placed 
H.M.S. Victor, Captain Woolcomb, at the Governor's 
service to convey Captain Ricketts and Lieutenant Atchi-
son to Elmina, where they, in the Governor's name, offered 
Mr. Last the assistance of the English troops. The offer was 
gratefully accepted, and before they left, arrangements 
had been made for the transport of the men and the hour 
of landing fixed. After they got back to Cape Coast, 
however, Mr. Last wrote to say that the Elminas were 
determined to prevent the landing of any English soldiers 
in their town, and the arrangements were cancelled at 
the eleventh hour. The Komendas were far too weak 
to have any chance of taking their own revenge, and the 
matter was dropped for the time, though not forgotten. 
Had this expedition been successfully carried out, the 
Ashantis, even if not compelled to make peace at once, 
would have been very seriously inconvenienced, for the 
Elminas were the only friends they now had among the 
coast tribes and they were dependent upon them for their 
supplies. 
On the 17th of October, Lieutenant-Colonel Chisholm, 
recently promoted, died. His loss was keenly felt, for not 
only was he a most popular officer who treated all those 
with whom he came in contact with justice and considera-
tion, but his many years of service in West Africa, since 
1809, had given him an insight into native character and 
affairs that was of the utmost value. No other event of 
any importance occurred until March 1825, when Major 
GOVERNOR TURNER'S PROCLAMATION 383 
General Charles Turner, who had recently been appointed 1824-1826 
Governor-in-Chief of the British Settlements in West CHAP. XXI 
Africa, arrived at Cape Coast. He was accompanied by 
three transports bringing a further detachment of the 
Royal African Colonial Corps from England and 200 men 
of the 2nd West India Regiment from Sierra Leone. 
Finding that the Ashantis had retired to their own 
country, the new Governor issued the following pro-
clamation. 
" By His Excellency Major-General Turner, C.B., Cap-
tain-General and Commander-in-Chief of the British 
Settlements on the Western Coast of Africa : 
" Charles Turner to the people of Cape Coast , to the 
people of the other British Settlements on the Gold Coast, 
and to the surrounding nations, friends and allies of 
England; The King of the Ashantis has, by assistance of 
the Elmina people, waged a cruel and unjust war against 
you and us: he has suffered for his crimes and rashness, 
and Elmina is only suffered to stand because the King 
of the Dutch and the King of England, my master, are 
at peace; but I have represented their conduct, and their 
fate will depend on the orders I may receive. You have 
all stood forward in defence of your rights, and I thank 
you in the name of the King, my master. England does 
not wish for any wars; she wishes the natives of Africa 
to be free, happy and rich; she wishes for nothing in 
this country but lawful trade and commerce. If the 
King of Ashanti will content himself with governing his 
own nation and his own people, and does not stop the 
trade of the interior with the coast, or attempt to oppress 
his neighbours, let him say so to me, and I will make a 
treaty with him on these terms; but I will not make peace 
with him on any other terms, nor until he gives up every 
claim to tribute or subjection from the surrounding nations. 
" Given at Cape Coast this 2nd day of April 1825. 
"By His Excellency's command 
"(Signed) WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 
" Acting Colonial Secretary. 
" God save the King." 
THE BATTLE OF DODOWA 
1824-1826 The bombastic tone of this proclamation was hardly 
CHAP. XXI justified by the facts. The Ashantis had not asked for 
a treaty and in the circumstances were not likely to do so. 
This war had been the final result of the treatment meted 
out to Osai Tutu Kwamina by Governor Hope Smith in 
the matter of the former treaties and the" notes" for the 
forts, and the actual invasion had been directed to the 
capture of Chibu, who was a revolted subject of the King 
of Ashanti. Though it is true that the Ashantis had 
met with several reverses during the campaign, yet they 
must certainly be adjudged the victors in the war as a 
whole. They had killed a British Governor and carried 
his head in triumph to their capital, where it still remained 
as evidence of their prowess; they had practically anni-
hilated his army, and had been in possession of large tracts 
of the country for not less than six months and had entirely 
depopulated and devastated them; they had compelled 
the British troops to seek the shelter of their forts and 
had been the indirect cause of Cape Coast being burned, 
and finally, when compelled by want of provisions and 
disease, they had retired of their own accord and un-
molested. In these circumstances it was not to be ex-
pected that they would sue for peace, and the boastful 
tone adopted by the Governor, in proudly declaiming that 
he would grant no peace except upon his own terms and 
demanding the renunciation by the Ashantis of all claims 
to tribute and allegiance from the various tribes they had 
subdued, was supremely ridiculous and can have deceived 
no one who chose to think. Even the Governor himself 
seems to have been none too certain what he meant; for 
in the same breath he professes willingness that the King 
should govern " his own nation and his own people," and 
yet claims that he must give up all his rights over" the 
surrounding tribes." Unless his first words are to be taken as 
an example of redundancy, the use of the word" people" 
in addition to " nation" can only be in reference to those 
tribes, not Ashantis, to whose allegiance the king was 
entitled by right of conquest, including of course, the coast 
tribes, and the latter passage then becomes contradictory;< 
RETURN OF THE ASHANTIS 385 
On the 14th of April the Governor returned to Sierra 1824-1826 
Leone, taking nearly all the Royal African Colonial Corps CHAP. XXI 
with him and sending the 2nd West India Regiment to 
the West Indies. The Gold Coast was thus left almost 
entirely without regular troops. He died in the following 
March, and Major-General Sir Neil Campbell was ap-
pointed on the 18th of May 1826 to succeed him. He 
was ordered to sail at once, as news had been received that 
another Ashanti army was advancing towards the coast. 
Reaching Sierra Leone on the 22nd of August, it was the 
19th of September before he arrived at Cape Coast, but 
by then the most important battle in the history of the 
Gold Coast had been fought and won. 
This new Ashanti army had left Kumasi just after 
the New Year, and for seven months overran Fanti, burning 
the towns and villages and plundering the farms, without 
meeting with the slightest opposition. Essikuma in 
particular was totally destroyed, for Kwesi Amankwa, 
though faithful to the Ashantis during the last invasion, 
had reconsidered his position since their return to Kumasi 
and joined the English allies. . 
At the end of July the Ashantis determined to inflict 
signal punishment on the Accras for their repudiation 
of their alliance, and concentrated their whole force a 
little to the north of the town in the neighbourhood of 
Dodowa. A large army, composed of the few men of 
the Royal African Colonial Corps that General Turner 
had left, the Cape Coast and Anamabo Militia and the 
Native Allies, was at once collected to join the Accras in 
repelling the threatened attack, and by the 7th of August 
the whole British force was encamped four miles south 
of Dodowa, where the country is an open, slightly un-
dulating, grass-covered plain with scattered clumps of 
small trees and brushwood. The English were glad to 
think that they were at last to have an opportunity of 
trying their strength against their old enemies in a pitched 
battle in the open, where they would be able to avail 
themselves of ordinary military tactics instead of having 
to encounter the many disadvantages entailed by that 
1- 2 5 
THE BATTLE OF DODOWA 
1824-1826 bush warfare, at which the Ashantis, from long experience, 
CHAP. XXI were so expert. 
The 7th of August was a Monday, a day considered 
propitious by the Ashantis, and it was confidently expected 
that they would attack. The English fighting line ex-
tended east and west for about four miles. In the centre 
were the Cape Coast Militia under Mr. John Jackson, 
the Anamabo Militia under Mr . Hutchinson, the Accra 
Militia under Mr. J. W. Hanson,l the Christiansborg 
Militia under Mr. Henry Richter, and about 60 of the 
Royal African Colonial Corps posted in the rear as a 
reserve. The Akwamus were on the right and the Denkera!'> 
and Akims on the left. All the allies were distinguished 
by strips of calico tied to the barrels of their musket!'> 
and large sea shells hanging from their necks in front and 
behind. Lieutenant Colonel Purdon was in command, 
and the other officers engaged were Captains Hingston 
and Rogers and Lieutenant Calder of the Royal African 
Colonial Corps, and Doctor Young. 
The King's drum was soon heard beating the advance> 
and at about half-past nine the Ashantis attacked from 
right to left. The native allies had been quarrelling 
amongst themselves for several days ' as to the position!'> 
they were to occupy, each tribe professing great anxiety 
to find itself opposed to the King ; but in the end they 
were all disappointed, for Okotu had been told there were 
white men in the centre and had chosen this as the place 
of greatest honour against which to lead his men in person. 
The men in the centre were the last to be attacked, and 
several of the others came up abusing and insulting them 
and charging them with cowardice, until, as they were 
seen to be getting out of hand under these gibes, they 
were pushed forward a little. They had not advanced 
more than a hundred yards or so when they were met 
with a terrific fire from the enemy and were at once heavily 
engaged. But though the Ashantis fought with their 
accustomed bravery, they could not withstand the steady 
1 Usually commanded by Mr. Bannerman, who, however, was j n. 
England in bad health. 
THE BATTLE OF DODOWA 387 
advance of the British troops and fell slowly back, stub- 1824- 1826 
bornly disputing every inch of ground. CHAP. XXI 
At one stage of the b attle a fierce hand-to-hand fight 
took place. The frenzied comb atants rushed wildly at 
each other, cutting and slashing with their knives, and a 
terrib le slaughter ensued. Men dragged each other from 
the opposing ranks and wrestled and stabbed and cut 
until one or both fell dead. Neither orders nor entreaties 
were of any avail to check the allies in their mad t hirst 
for blood. They killed t he wounded where they lay, 
knocking those of their own side on the head to end their 
misery and ripping up their fallen enemies to plunge 
their hands into their bodies and tear out their hearts; 
and while this massacre was going on, the confusion was 
still further increased by a sudden explosion as one of the 
Ashanti Chiefs blew himself up with powder, nearly in-
volving some of the Europeans in his own destruction. 
As the enemy retired, enormous quantities of plunder 
fell into the hands of the allies, who, tiring of bloodshed, 
were soon so engrossed in collecting the spoils that they 
neglected to follow up the advantage they had gained. 
But the day was not yet won; for the whole of the Danish 
Accras had already fled, and some of the Dutch Accras on 
the left of the centre now gave way and allowed the 
Ashantis to press forward into their place, thereby causing 
the greatest alarm and quickly recalling the other allies to 
a sense of duty. The enemy at the same time made a 
furious onslaught on the centre and drove it back in 
confusion, while a second division opened a heavy fire 
on it s fl ank. 
At this critical moment, when the issue of the battle 
trembled in the balance and there seemed every likelihood 
that the Ashantis would after all gain the victory, Colonel 
Purdon called up the reserve and ordered them to open 
fire with Congreve rocket s. The consternation caused 
by these terrible missiles, now used against the Ashantis 
for the first time , can scarcely be imagined. The noise 
they made, the long tail of fire they left behind them, 
the loud explosions, and the fearful wounds they inflicted, 
388 THE BATTLE OF DODOWA 
1824-1826 led the enemy to believe that the English had some great 
CHAP. XXI " fetish" and were fighting them with actual thunder 
and lightning. For a few moments they stood their 
ground, almost too astonished to act, but panic then 
seized them, they broke and fled in the wildest disorder, 
and the victory was complete. 
In the meantime, Kujo Chibu on the left had been 
fighting as bravely as ever, and though the Winnebas had 
fled at the first volley and never halted until they reached 
Accra, his Denkeras had stood firm and driven the enemy 
steadily back. On the right too, the King of Akwamu had 
driven all before him, penetrating right into the enemy's 
camp and taking him in the flank, and the issue of the 
battle on this side had never for a moment been in doubt. 
The short, dry grass had caught fire, and dense clouds of 
smoke covered his advance, which could only be traced by 
the occasional explosions and sudden columns of thicker 
smoke as one Chief after another blew himself up in despair. 
Kwesi Amankwa the Chief of Essikuma, too, performed 
prodigies of valour. He had frequently been accused of 
treachery by the other allies and was determined to give 
convincing proof of his loyalty by accomplishing no less a 
feat than the capture, either dead or alive, of Osai Okotu 
himself. He lost his life in the attempt, but not before 
he had succeeded in reaching the King's side and had 
actually laid his hand on the side of his basket palanquin 
to pull him down. He was then shot in the neck and 
secured. Okotu upbraided him for his treachery and 
ordered him to follow him, but he flatly refused, and a 
party of his men who were hastening to his support only 
arrived in time to see his head struck off. 
The people of Christiansborg who, as already stated, 
had fled at the commencement of the battle, actually had 
the impudence to return now that all danger was over and 
began to help themselves to the plunder. When re~ 
proached with their cowardice they merely said that it 
was" against their fetish to fight on a Monday," though 
it seemed rather late to remember it when the battle 
began. The value of the spoil must have been enormous' ; 
VICTORY OF THE ALLIES 
for the whole of the Ashanti camp, with all the baggage 1824-1826 
and gold, fell into the hands of the allies, but it waS never CHAP. XXI 
ascertained how much they actually got. 
About one o'clock they began to bring in the heads 
of the Ashantis who had fallen, amongst which those of 
several important Chiefs and Princes of the blood were 
recognized. Amongst the other plunder was a skull taken 
by the King of Akwapim. It was wrapped in paper 
covered with Arabic characters and a silk handkerchief, 
while the whole was enclosed in an outer cover of leopard 
skin, the emblem of royalty. It was believed at the time 
that this was the skull of Sir Charles M'Carthy, and Colonel 
Purdon sent it to England, but it became known later 
that it was really that of the deceased King Tutu Kwamina, 
which Okotu had brought with him as a powerful talisman 
after having been warned by the Tano fetish not to under-
take the campaign. He had offered a libation to it on 
the morning of the battle and implored it to cause the 
heads of all the English in the field to come and lie by its 
side. He had also caused human sacrifices to be offered 
up for each great Chief or Prince as his death was reported 
to him in the heat of the battle. 
With the exception of the officers and sixty men of 
the Royal African Colonial Corps and the officers com-
manding the militia, all the men engaged were Africans. 
The white troops, moreover, were not engaged until the 
very end, when they were called up to fire the rockets 
and some grape, and though this probably turned the 
scale, yet the only assistance the allies could possibly have 
had up to this time was that which the militia may have 
derived from the leadership of Europeans and the know-
ledge that there was a small body of white troops ready 
to support them. Contrary to the general belief, therefore, 
the victory of Dodowa was undoubtedly a native victory, 
and the battle throughout was a contest between Africans. 
The militia numbered 500 and the allies 10,820, which 
brings the total strength of the British force up to I 1,380, 
while the Ashantis are believed to have had about 10,000 
men in the field. On the British side, the Royal African 
390 THE BATTLE OF DODOWA 
1824-1826 Colonial Corps had no casualties, but Mr. Richter was 
CHAP. XXI wounded in the thigh; Kwesi Amankwa, Naboa the Tufu-
hin of Akwamu, and the Tufuhin of Akim were the only 
Chiefs killed, while of the rank and file 800 were estimated 
to have been killed and another 1,000 slightly wounded. 
The Ashantis are said to have lost fully 5,000 men, many 
of whom fell to the knife in the fearful melee that occurred 
when the allies charged. Late in the day, when they had 
become absolutely satiated with slaughter, the people 
took many prisoners; amongst whom were Ekua Pusua 
one of the King's wives, Akiawa 1 an Ashanti Princess, 
Kokowa a wife of the King of Ja bin, and many other 
important persons. 
All that night the troops lay on their arms; for the 
King had been seen walking dejectedly over the scene of 
his blighted ambitions and it was feared he might even 
yet make a last desperate attempt to retrieve his fallen 
fortunes by leading the remnant of his army to renew 
the attack. "At intervals throughout the night the drums 
of the different allied Chiefs were sounded, accompanied by 
the usual recitative of voices. Each time, the sounds 
were repeated all along the line, until they died away in 
the distance; and the hollow beat of the drums, mingled 
with the weird notes of the singers, suggestive of devilish 
and mysterious rites and human sacrifices, caused many 
of the Europeans to shudder. These melancholy sounds 
were generally followed by answering wails and lamenta-
tions from the clumps of trees and bushes in front, where 
the unhappy Ashanti women were searching for their 
relatives amongst the heaps of slain, and whose voices 
rose out of the intense blackness of the night like the cries 
of despairing spirits. It was a veritable night of horror." 2 
When day broke on the morning after the battle, no-
thing would induce the allies to follow the Ashantis as 
they might reasonably have been expected to do after so 
decisive a victory. Their one thought was to see their 
booty stored in 'a safe place, and they set out at once for 
Accra, all heavily laden. Major Ricketts indeed has < 
1 Or Akianwa. 2 Ellis, History ot the Gold Coast, p. 184. 
RESULT OF THE VICTORY 391 
recorded his belief that if the Ashantis had delayed the 1824-1826 
battle for a few weeks the coalition against them would CHAP. XXl 
have fallen to pieces, so jealous were the various units 
of each other. The Ashantis might then have marched 
into Accra practically unopposed. 
One result of this victory was that the English for the 
first time became the owners of the land on which· their 
forts and castles stood and the payments of ground rent 
on the" notes," which had been such a source of trouble 
in the past, at once ceased. These· notes having been 
claimed from the Fanti Chiefs by right of conquest, now 
reverted by the same right to the English, and the sites 
to which they referred became their absolute property. 
In the same way, they really became the owners of the 
land on which Elmina Castle, Fort Creve Creur and Chris-
tiansborg Castle stood and entitled to the rents for them. 
This right however was never claimed, and the Dutch 
at any rate continued the payment for Elmina Castle 
to the King of Ashanti: a fact that gave rise to much 
trouble in later years. 
CHAPTER XXII 
NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826 TO 1829 
1826-1829 MAJOR-GENERAL SIR NEIL CAMPBELL, the new Governor-
eHAP. XXII in-Chief, landed at Cape Coast on the 21st of August 1826, 
just fourteen days after the battle of Dodowa had been 
fought and won. He held an informal meeting with the 
Chiefs and Headmen of Cape Coast the same day and 
congratulated them on their recent victory, but beyond 
this nothing was done until the 26th of September, when 
Kujo Chibu King of Denkera, Awusuku King of Tufel, 
Amonu King of Anamabo, and Bafo one of his Chiefs, 
Aduku King of Mankesim, and the Chiefs and Headmen 
of Cape Coast were summoned to attend a meeting in the 
Castle Hall. The Governor, after thanking them in the 
name of the King of England for the parts they had played 
in the battle of Dodowa and congratulating them on the 
bravery they had shown, suggested that the present 
time, while the King was thoroughly beaten and humbled, 
would be a suitable occasion on which to send messengers 
to inform him that, should he desire peace, it would be 
granted on his giving security for his future conduct 
towards the English and their allies. 
This, after the proclamation of Major-General Turner, 
was indeed going to the opposite extreme. That officer, 
after the Ashantis had brought a victorious campaign 
to its conclusion and only retired to their country on 
account of sickness and want of provisions, had issued a 
pompous manifesto in which he asserted that he would, 
only grant them a peace and make a treaty- for which 
392 
SIR NEIL CAMPBELL'S PROPOSALS 393 
by the way, they had never asked-upon his own terms; 1826-1829 
while now, after they had met with a crushing defeat CHAP. XXII 
and been ignominiously routed, Sir Neil Campbell was 
proposing to make overtures to them for peace and to 
assure them that it would be granted upon what would 
certainly have been very favourable terms. Though such 
clemency might commend itself to certain European 
minds, it was so utterly opposed to all African precedent 
and custom that it could never be understood by the 
Chiefs. Amongst the people of the Gold Coast, as with 
other races, it is the conquered who are expected first to 
sue for peace, and the allies knew only too well, and far 
better than any newly appointed Governor could possibly 
do, that any overtures of this nature that they might 
make would only be construed by the Ashantis into a 
confession of fear, or possibly even into an admission of 
defeat, and thus render the victory they had gained fruit-
less. They, therefore, refused point blank to sanction 
any such negotiations, and although the Governor used 
every argument he could think of to persuade them that 
while such a construction might have been placed on their 
overtures if they had been made after a defeat, it was 
impossible that they could be considered in the same light 
after such a victory, and that their object in going to 
war in the first instance had been to obtain peace, nothing 
would induce them to alter their decision. 
After a great deal of argument, the Chiefs finally asked 
that the further consideration of this question might be 
deferred for twelve months and assured the Governor 
that within that time the Ashantis themselves would sue 
for peace. Subsequent events proved the truth of their 
words; but the Governor would not hear of any such 
delay and they then explained that in any case they could 
not sanction any negotiation without the concurrence 
of the other allies, the Kings of Akim, Akwamu, and 
Akwapim, who had not been summoned to the meeting 
on account of the distance at which they lived. The 
Governor objected to this on the score of the time required 
to send for them, but said that he had written to Captain 
394 NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826-1829 Hingston instructing him to meet these Chiefs at Accra 
CHAP. XXII and ascertain their views, and finally told the Chiefs that 
his orders from England were peremptory, and that if 
they would not consent to an immediate settlem~nt he 
would conclude a peace for the English vllithout making 
any stipulations on their behalf. 
The Kings and Chiefs, thoroughly dissatisfied with the 
result of this meeting, still remained in Cape Coast, and 
the Governor, in continuance of his policy, now decided to 
send presents and a letter explaining his wishes and pro-
posals to the King of Ashanti. To enable him to do this, 
the King of Cape Coast was applied to for a party of three 
men, one of whom was to be able to write, who were to 
go to Kumasi on this mission; and the Kings of Denkera, 
Tufel, Wassaw and Fanti and the Chiefs of Assin were 
each required to furnish a few men as escort. This, how-
ever, they flatly refused to do, and were reported to have 
said that if any harm befel those who went they would 
only have themselves to blame for ever having left Cape 
Coast. Kujo Chibu was, therefore, ordered to come to 
the Castle and explain his conduct; but he failed to appear, 
not from any want of respect for the Governor, but because 
he was afraid he would be made a prisoner in the Castle 
and offered to the Ashantis as the price of peace. This 
reason, however, was not understood at the time, and 
he and the King of Tufel were ordered to leave Cape 
Coast at an hour's notice. Thus this brave old man, who 
had fought side by side with the English with the most 
consistent loyalty and valour ever since the beginning 
of the war, was now hounded out of the very town that 
he had so materially assisted to defend. 
All idea of the mission to Kumasi was now abandoned; 
but these proceedings of Sir Neil Campbell, who, ignorant 
of African custom and character, had blindly adhered to 
the letter of his instructions, had a very bad effect on the 
people throughout the whole country, reawakening all 
their old feelings of distrust and alienating them from 
that friendship for the English which had so recently 
been cemented by the victory of Dodowa. So universal 
OVERTURES FOR PEACE 395 
was this feeling that, when the Governor went to Accra 1826-1829 
on the roth of October to see the Chiefs of the eastern CHAP. XXII 
districts, they refused as one man to attend the meeting. 
Thus, thwarted on every side and unable to make the 
least progress, Sir Neil Campbell returned to Sierra Leone 
on the 15th of November, leaving Captain Ricketts in 
charge of the Gold Coast. 
On the 15th of January 1827 messengers arrived at 
Cape Coast from the King of Adansi,l who said he had 
undertaken to act as an intermediary for the Ashantis in 
suing for peace and wanted the Governor to depute some 
officers to attend at Yankumasi Assin, where he would 
arbitrate between the two parties. Captain Ricketts, 
of course, declined to listen to any such proposal, and 
insisted that any palaver in which the English were so 
directly concerned must be held at Cape Coast, though 
he had no objection to the Cape Coast Chiefs going to 
Yankumasi Assin, if they so wished, to hear what the 
King of Adansi had to say. 
A great deal of unnecessary delay now occurred, during 
which numerous messengers were sent backwards and 
forwards between Cape Coast and Assin. Amongst 
others, two soldiers were sent up by Captain Ricketts to 
ask the King of Adansi through the Assin Chiefs to deliver 
the following message to the King of Ashanti: "That 
the Commandant had received orders to make peace with 
the Ashantis for the English, and for such of the native 
tribes as were desirous of being included in this pacific 
proposal; and that if the Ashantis were inclined to peace, 
he should be happy to see any of them at Cape Coast for 
that purpose; that should they be afraid of obstruction 
in their way down, he would, on being acquainted there-
with through the Assins, take measures to secure their 
safety both in coming and returning." Z Soon af~er the 
despat'ch of this message a sergeant and a small party of 
1 The Adansis were those Assins who had remained north of the Pra 
when the remainder of the tribe migrated south during the disturbances 
in 1806. 
2 Ricketts, pp. 135- 36 . 
NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826-1829 men were sent up to Yankumasi Assin as an escort for any 
CHAP. XXII Ashanti messengers who might arrive there and wish to 
be conducted to the coast; but they returned a few weeks 
later with a message from the King of Adansi repeating 
that he was the person who settled all differences between 
the Ashantis and those at war with them and again asking 
the Commandant of Cape Coast to send messengers to 
him, when he undertook to see the King of Ashanti at 
once about peace. To this Captain Ricketts replied on 
the 14th of May, thanking the King for his offer, but saying 
1/ that the King of England wants no war with the natives 
of Africa; justice is all that is required ... that if the 
King of Ashanti is willing to make peace, and if he will 
send to Adansi proper persons for that purpose, I will, on 
being acquainted therewith through the Assins, send up a 
guard to meet them half way: that the Ashantis need 
not be afraid of sending to Cape Coast, as I and the Cape 
Coast people will take care that none of them shail be 
molested, either in coming or returning; and when peace 
shall be made, all quarrels will be forgotten." 1 After 
the interchange of innumerable messages and months 
of tedious haggling, during which it was more than once 
rumoured that Ashanti messengers were on their way to 
the coast, a few men did at length reach Yankumasi Assin 
early in September and were detained there until the 
Lieutenant-Governor, Lieutenant-Colonel Lumley, arrived 
from Sierra Leone on the r rth of October, when they were 
called down to Cape Coast, where they arrived on the 23rd. 
At the meeting with Colonel Lumley in the Castle Hall, 
the chief messenger, who was a near relative of the King 
of Ashanti, when called on to state his business, took 
his monkey-skin cap with the gold plate on it and handed 
it with a great deal of ceremony to the King of Adansi, 
by whom it was passed through several of the Fanti Chiefs 
to the King of Cape Coast who finally delivered it to the 
Governor. The messenger then stated that he was author-
ized by the King of Ashanti to say that he was very sorry 
for what he had done and hoped the English would pardon. 
1 Ricketts, p. 137. 
TERMS OFFERED 397 
him; that he now realized that it was useless for him to 1826-1829 
attempt to fight against white men, and therefore wished CHAP . XKn 
to be under their control, and that in token of his submis-
sion he had sent his cap to be laid at the feet of the King 
of England. The Governor, on receiving this message, 
explained that he could arrange nothing definitely until 
the allied Chiefs were all present, and the discussion of 
the. actual terms of peace was therefore postponed until 
.they could be assembled. 
On the loth of December, a second meeting was held 
a t which the Kings of Denkera, Tufel, Wassaw, Fanti, 
Assin, Anamabo and Cape Coast and many other less 
important Chiefs were all present. The terms of peace 
which should be offered to the Ashantis were then agreed 
on as follows: 
I. That they should lodge 4,000 ounces of gold in the 
Castle at Cape Coast as security for their good conduct in 
the future; 
2. That in the event of their again commencing hos-
tilities, this sum should be forfeited and used for the pur-
chase of arms and ammunition for the British allies; and, 
3. That two members of the Royal Family of Ashanti 
should be sent to Cape Coast as hostages. 
The only allies who wet ~ not represented at this meeting 
were the Kings of Akwamu, Accra, and Akwapim and the 
Queen of Akim; but their messengers arrived a few days 
later, and the terms having been explained to them, 
signified their approval on the part of their respective 
Chiefs . It was, of course, understood that the allied 
tribes included in these arrangements were in future to 
be entirely independent of Ashanti rule. . 
While these messengers had been in Cape Coast, several 
attempts had been made to glean a few particulars of 
the different engagements in the recent war; but they 
seemed suspicious of each other and nothing could be 
learned beyond the fact that there were in Kumasi a white 
man who had been taken at Efutu and a Cape Coast 
mulatto captured at Insamankow. The release of these 
men was, therefore, demanded before anything else would 
NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826-1829 be done, and the messengers returned to the capital accom-
CHAP. XXII panied by John Carr and John Buckman two educated 
Cape Coast men, and messengers representing most of the 
allied Chiefs. They arrived in Kumasi on the 4th of 
February 1828, and the captives were sent down soon 
afterwards. They proved to be Private Patrick Riley of 
the Royal African Colonial Corps, whose capture at Efutu 
on the 25th of April 1824 has already been mentioned,! 
and John Duncan, a Cape Coast Militiaman.2 Carr and 
Buckman at the same time sent a very favourable report, 
saying they had been accorded a public reception and were 
being very well treated by the King, while the people as. 
a whole showed every sign of satisfaction at the prospect 
of peace . 
I t now seemed as though peace must speedily be con-
cluded; but just as all the preliminaries had been satis-
factorily arranged, a hitch occurred in the negotiations. 
which delayed the final settlement for some months. 'The 
Fantis had never forgotten their old grievance against 
the Elminas for having seized and sold Fanti fugitives. 
in 1807, and their resentment had been increased by the· 
murder of the Komenda women in 1824. The Elminas 
had , moreover, fought beside the Ashantis in the engage-
ments at Efutu, Beula and Cape Coast, and had supplied 
them with powder, which, in defiance of the Dutch 
Governor, they obtained by night from American ships_ 
Now that they had leisure to attend to such matters,. 
therefore, and the Ashantis were no longer in a position 
to give their friends any assistance, the allies determined 
to demand reparation for these injuries and represented 
their grievances to Colonel Lumley, saying they would 
be satisfied if the Elminas paid compensation. He accord-· 
ingly wrote to the Dutch Governor on the subject, who· 
replied that the Elminas denied all the charges against 
them and absolutely refused to pay any sum whatever_ 
The allies therefore encamped around the town and so 
completely blockaded it that, after the local plantations 
had been destroyed, the inhabitants were entirely de--
1 Vide p . 369. 2 Capt.ured at Insamankow. 
ELMINA BLOCKADED 399 
pendant for provisions upon what they could grow under 1826-1829 
the guns of the forts or import by sea. CHAP. XXII 
This was the state of affairs when the released prisoners 
arrived from Kumasi. With them the King sent a message 
pointing out that, in order to prove the sincerity of his 
overtures for peace, he had released these men immediately 
on being told of the Governor's wishes, and asking in 
return that his chief wife and several other members of 
the royal family who had been taken prisoners at Dodowa 
might be given back to him, and that Atjiempon and the 
other Ashantis who were at Elmina and unable to leave 
on account of the blockade, might also be sent up to 
Kumasi. On the arrival of these people, he promised to 
try to collect the sum required as security so as to conclude 
peace without further delay. 
These requests were certainly fair and reasonable, but 
unfortunately it was found impossible to comply with 
either of them. The King's wife was in the hands of the 
Chief of Christiansborg, whose people had not been in-
cluded in the negotiations for peace because they were 
dissatisfied with the terms that had been offered to the 
Ashantis and hoped to utilize their possession of this im-
portant prisoner as a means of extorting even better 
conditions for themselves. The allies, too, who were 
encamped around Elmina, absolutely refused to allow 
any Ashantis to leave until the required security for the 
King's peaceable behaviour had actually been deposited 
in Cape Coast Castle; for they fully realized that while 
the two prisoners whom he had just surrendered were of 
no importance to him, yet those he was now asking in 
return were persons of some consequence, and they were 
afraid that if he once gained his ends and had these people 
safe in Kumasi, he might repudiate the terms of peace 
altogether, or at any rate greatly delay its conclusion. 
The blockade of Elmina was therefore maintained. 
Both Captain Lumley and Captain Ricketts had now 
gone to Sierra Leone, and Captain Hingston was in charge 
of the Gold Coast. At the end of April 1828 a letter 
arrived from the King, in which he entered a formal protest 
400 NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826-1829 against the action of the allies in blockading Elmina, 
CHAP. XXII pointing out that he had supposed that all his subjects, 
amongst whom were the Elminas, would be included in 
the peace. He also complained that the sum demanded 
as security, namely, 4,000 ounces of gold (equivalent to 
nearly £16,000) was excessive, but offered to deposit 400 
ounces and promised to send it down immediately on the 
return of his messenger . 
This contention of the King that the Elminas were his 
subjects and should be considered as included in the 
peace equally with the Ashantis themselves was a just 
one. There can be no doubt that they not only did, but 
always had owed allegiance to Ashanti, and as the British 
allies were all to participate in the peace on the one side, 
the Elminas, as the allies of Ashanti, were certainly entitled 
to be similarly included on the other. In these circum-
stances, the action of the allies in establishing hostile 
camps around the town must be regarded as a distinct 
act of war against Ashanti and a breach of the armistice, 
to which the King was perfectly justified in taking excep-
tion. Captain Hingston, however, ignored this subject 
altogether in his reply and, having been instructed by the 
Governor to make no alterations in the terms of peace 
that had been offered. merely stated that no other terms 
than those originally proposed, namely the deposit of 
4,000 ounces of gold in the Castle and the delivery of two 
hostages of royal blood, could be acceded to; that At-
jiempon and the other Ashantis would not be allowed to 
return to Kumasi until these conditions had been fulfilled; 
and that only then would an effort be made to co-operate 
with the Dutch Governor in settling the dispute between 
the Fantis and Elminas. This letter was written on the 
1st of May, and the King was told he must send back the 
messengers from the allied tribes within twenty days if 
he did not intend to agree to these terms. 
No reply had been received from the King when Major 
Ricketts returned from Sierra Leone on the 5th of June, 
and he, therefore, wrote to Osai Okotu, saying he was sorry< 
to find peace had not yet been concluded and asking to 
MEETING AT ELMINA 401 
be informed what he intended doing. Four letters were 1826-1829 
received from Carr and Buckman during July, from which CHAP. XXI! 
it was abundantly evident that the King had no intention 
of concluding peace so long as the blockade of Elmina 
was continued. His chief grounds of complaint were : 
That he had surrendered Mr. Williams after the battle of 
Insamankow without demanding any ransom; that he 
had also released Riley and Duncan at the first request, 
but that the return of the Ashantis whom he had asked 
in exchange had been refused; that he had reason to 
believe that the English and their allies were not so sincere 
in their desire for peace as they professed to be, but in-
tended to kill the Ashantis at Elmina; and lastly, that 
no reduction had been made in the amount of the security 
that had been demanded. No African ever names the 
price he really wants in the first instance or dreams of 
paying that first asked, and this strict adherence to the 
original amount was so contrary to all local custom that 
the King was apparently unable to understand it and 
possibly suspected some trickery or was afraid that, after 
he had paid the English, he might have to meet similar 
demands from all their allies as well. 
The chief obstacle, however, was undoubtedly the 
blockade of Elmina; and in order to facilitate matters 
as far as possible, Major Ricketts did everything in his 
power to induce the allies to break up their camps. For 
this purpose he again visited the town and met the Elmina 
Chiefs and the Ashantis quartered there, with the Dutch 
Governor in the Castle. The Elminas said they would 
be willing to meet the allied Chiefs and bind themselves 
to act with them in the event of any future aggressions 
on the part of the Ashantis, for they agreed that in no 
other way could the peace of the Gold Coast be assured; 
but they evidently held the Fantis in profound contempt 
and said they could not be trusted and would as likely 
as not themselves join the Ashantis on some other occasion. 
The Fantis, on the other hand, refused to put faith in any 
promises the Elminas might make, and the negotiations 
consequently fell through. 
1-26 
402 NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826-1829 The Home Government now decided to abandon its 
CHAP. XXII Possessions on the Gold Coast altogether. A man-of-war 
was sent out to remove the merchants and their property, 
and Major Ricketts was ordered to destroy the forts 
before he left. This decision was the immediate outcome 
of the late war. The length of time this had lasted, the 
heavy expenses and the disasters incurred, and the ex-
tremely unsatisfactory state of affairs that still existed, 
had thoroughly sickened the Government of its Settle-
ments in the country and made it only too anxious to 
retire from so unprofitable a Possession; and since the 
disgraceful defeat at Insamankow had now been amply 
avenged by the victory at Dodowa, it was able to take 
this step without incurring the imputation of cowardice . 
These arrangements, however, by no means suited 
the merchants. They had calculated the risks of trade in 
such a country before they embarked in it, and although 
that trade had involved them in many heavy losses, yet 
they could only regard the prospect of abandoning it now, 
at the very time when, owing to the defeat of the Ashantis, 
they seemed likely to reap the reward of their patience, 
with the greatest dissatisfaction. Moreover, they must 
have realized by this time that the Ashantis were far too 
much alive to the advantages of having a convenient source 
of supply of the numerous articles that they required 
ever to think of driving them from the country or seriously 
interfering with their business, and consequently, that 
whether they eventually conquered the Fantis and ruled 
the coast or not, their own prospects would be almost equally 
good. The outlook was even more alarming still to the Fantis 
and other coast tribes, who pictured themselves thus left 
unprotected and at the absolute mercy of their enemies. 
The merchants, therefore, represented their position to 
the Home Government, and their views and arguments 
were so well supported by Major Ricketts that a middle 
course was adopted and the forts on the Gold Coast were 
handed over to them on certain conditions.1 The affairs 
1 Report 0/ Select Committee on the West Coast 0/ A/rica (1842), 
part ii, Appendix, pp. I, :. 
COMMITTEE OF MERCHANTS 
of the forts were to be managed principally by a com- 1826-1829 
mit tee of three London merchants nominated by the CHAP . XXII 
Government. They were allowed a grant of £4,000 1 
annually to enable them to maintain Cape Coast Castle 
and James Fort Accra, which were still to be considered 
Dependencies of Sierra Leone . They were to appoint 
officers, subject to confirmation by the Government; to 
render accounts of the manner in which the grant had 
been spent and returns of the trade, by which the amount 
of future grants would be estimated; and all correspon-
dence from the Coast was to be addressed to them . The 
local establishment was to consist of a Governor or Pre-
sident of the Council at £620 a year, who was to be assisted 
by a Council of Magistrates elected annually on the 24th of 
June from among the merchants on the Coast; a surgeon 
and an officer to command the garrison at £200 each, 
and a commandant for James Fort at £100 . Messrs . 
Barnes, Brown and Forster were appointed to the London 
Committee. They were not. paid, but their Secretary had 
£200 a year, and Mr. Barnes drew up a code of rules Z for 
the regulation of affairs on the Coast, which was approved 
by the Secretary of State. The grant, for the proper 
expenditure of which the London Committee was re-
sponsible, was to be used for the payment of salaries, 
repairs to the forts, t.he maintenance of a schooJ,3 and 
pay and presents to the Fanti Chiefs. It was stipulated 
that the harbours of Cape Coast and Accra should be 
open to all vessels without the payment of any duty what-
ever, and the Senior Naval Officer on the Wes1; African 
Station was to make an annual inspection of the forts and 
report on their condition to the Government. British 
law was to continue in force within the forts, but the 
Council of Magistrates was forbidden to "exercise au-
thority or jurisdiction over the districts and natives 
under the immediate influence and protection of the forts, 
1 From 1834 to 1839 only £3,500 was granted. 
2 Parliamentary Paper, Report of Committee on West Coast of Africa 
(1842), part ii, pp. 147-8 . 
3 There were 165 boys attending a few years later. 
404 NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE 
1826-1829 but solely in the forts, roadsteads or harbours thereunto 
CHAP. XXII adjoining, as well as over the persons residing therein." 
Thus the peculiar system was originated by which, 
while the Gold Coast still continued technically a De-
pendency of Sierra Leone, its actual government was 
entrusted to a Committee of Merchants in London; and 
while they corresponded with and issued orders to their 
own officer on the spot, who was their servant, the Govern-
ment of the Crown had to rely upon them for any informa-
tion it desired as to what went on there. 
Pending the appointment of a Governor, the oldest 
trader on the Coast, Mr. John Jackson, who had been 
in the service of the old Company, was chosen to act as 
President of the Council, and Major Ricketts handed over 
to him the forts and such of the garrison as desired to 
take service under the new Government 1 on the 25th of 
June, though he himself did not leave for Sierra Leone 
until the 20th of September. During his term of office 
he had done much to improve Cape Coast. He had had 
all the houses overlooking the Castle pulled down and 
cleared a large open space around it, and made several 
good streets through the town, where the houses had 
hitherto been crowded together· without any attempt at 
orderly arrangement. 
Towards the end of I 829 the allies, who were beginning 
to find the passive occupation of their camps at Elmina 
rather dull, were joined by a number of the Cape Coast 
Militia, who came over in defiance of orders and made 
an attack on the town. They were very easily driven back, 
ho~ever, and the guns of Fort Conraadsburg converted 
their retreat into a veritable rout. 
1 18S of the Royal African Colonial Corps engaged for three years. 
CHAPTER XXIII 
GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY AND GOVERNMENT 
MR. JACKSON'S term of office did not last long; for though 1830-1887 
the Committee of Merchants in London offered to confirm CHAP. XXIII 
his appointment, it was his opinion, as well as that of 
the other traders on the Coast, that the officer at the head 
of affairs should have no local interests and be able to 
devote his whole time to his duties as Governor. They 
decided, therefore, that it would be better to appoint 
someone from outside and petitioned the Government 
to offer the post to Captain George Maclean, an officer in 
the Royal African Colonial Corps, who had come under 
their notice when he accompanied Colonel Lumley to 
the Gold Coast in 1826 as his Military Secretary. He 
accepted the appointment and arrived in Cape Coast on 
the 19th of February 1830. 
The new Governor, on his arrival in the country, found 
its affairs in a most unsatisfactory state. Although the 
freedom from actual invasion had enabled the people to 
recultivate their farms and reoccupy many of the bush 
villages, yet there could be no real sense of security, for no 
peace had been made and everything was still in a very 
unsettled condition. The Gold Coast trade was abso-
lutely annihilated; for intercourse with Ashanti had 
never been renewed since the war, and such trade as the 
Ashantis now engaged in was carried on at Assini. The 
Ashantis themselves were still digesting their defeat at 
Dodowa and brooding over the wrong done them by the 
Fantis in investing Elmina ; but, though they had hitherto 
40 5 
406 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 remained sullenly inactive and given no sign of open 
CHAP. XXIII aggression, there was no guarantee that this state of 
affairs would continue much longer, nor was it likely to 
do so. Indeed, there was every probability that the conduct 
of the Fantis, who, as Cruikshank says, never knew any 
half-measures but were" ever in the extreme of hopeless 
dejection or arrogant assumption," and were now boast-
fully singing of their victory and vaunting their own in-
vincibility, would eventually so exasperate the Ashantis 
that they would make a desperate effort to wipe out their 
defeat and resubdue the coast tribes. Had they done so, 
the latter were now so engrossed with intertribal quarrels and 
disputes that it is very doubtful if they could have repeated 
the v\ctory gained by their former combination. Their 
repulse from Elmina, too, had by no means extinguished 
their hatred of the Ashanti allies, nor their hopes of ulti-
mately being able to visit on them some of the sufferings 
they themselves had endured in the past. 
The authority of the English, such as it had ever been, 
had now almost ceased to exist; and it was only by the 
appointment of a man of exceptional ability that the 
situation could be saved and order restored out of the 
chaos that reigned. It was indeed fortunate for the 
Gold Coast people that such a man had been found in 
the person of Captain Maclean, who was undoubtedly one 
of the ablest, if not indeed the ablest, and at the same 
time one of the most maligned Governors the country has 
ever had. Cruikshank, who served under him, thus 
describes his character; "Calm and deliberate in forming 
a judgment, and carefully canvassing in his own mind all 
the bearings of every subject under review, his caution in 
coming to a conclusion appeared to a superficial observer 
to amount almost to timidity. He listened with attention 
to, and courted the discussion of, every argument, which 
could be adduced on both sides of a question; not with 
the intention of adopting the views of either disputant, 
but of quietly storing his mind with all its pros and cons, 
and of afterwards submitting them to the ordeal of private 
rumination. Opinions thus formed, became a portion of 
MACLEAN'S CHARACTER 
his faith, which it was next to impossible to shake. In 1830-1837 
proportion to the strength of his conviction, was the CHAP . XX!ll 
decision which he displayed in carrying out his resolutions. 
Once fully satisfied that the course which he was pursuing 
was morally correct, and that he was adopting measures 
most likely to lead eventually to beneficial results, he 
shrank from no difficulty in the path . Endowed with 
.an extraordinary degreee of moral courage, and with a 
persevering firmness which failures never daunted, he 
steadily prosecuted his schemes, convinced that sooner 
or later the result would answer his expectations; for he 
had a most abiding belief in the over-ruling direction 
of Providence. While enemies were maligning his con-
duct, blackening his fame, and attributing motives and 
.actions to him which his heart had never conceived, strong 
in conscious rectitude, his constant reply to his anxious 
friends was: 'I assure you, this gives me no uneasiness 
.at all; sooner or later the truth will appear, and God 
would never permit such wickedness to prosper.' And 
in this belief he reposed with a careless indifference, which 
others less interested than himself found much difficulty 
in practising. The same feeling gave rise to the converse 
idea, also firmly implanted in his mind, that a: good object, 
undertaken from pure and disinterested motives, and 
prosecuted without injustice, would be crowned with 
success. It will be easily perceived how invaluable this 
disposition was to a person intrusted with the government 
of such a country as the Gold Coast at that time. It 
rendered him insensible to difficulties, which would have 
.appalled a weaker mind, and led him to undertake measures 
which to ordinary men, would have seemed to require the 
slow process of time and progressive civilisation. He 
thus jumped to difficult results; and prudently fortifying 
his new position, and firmly holding every inch of ground 
which he had gained, prepared for another step . The 
strongholds of iniquity, which had refused the impress of 
a single ameliorating influence for ages, were thus cap-
tured by a series of skilful coups de main, and an opening 
made for the introduction of a new and better regime. 
408 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 By never allowing himself to be foiled in any measure, 
CHAP. XXIII but by resolutely persevering towards the desired object, 
regardless of temporary obstructions and delays, every 
new enterprise carried with it the prestige of his never-
failing success, until, at last, throughout the length and 
breadth of the land , his fiat became as irrevocable as the 
laws of the Medes and Persians." I Cruikshank's estimate 
of Maclean's character is no exaggeration, and explains at 
once how it was that this remarkable man was able, with 
the small means at his disposal and in spite of apparently 
insurmountable difficulties and the worry and anxiety 
of private troubles, to effect a change in the condition of 
the Gold Coast greater by far than any single man had 
ever done. before or has done since, and lay the foundation 
of the widespread authority and jurisdiction that has. 
since developed. 
Maclean quickly realized that before any hope of re-
newed trade or the restoration of law and order on the 
coast could be entertained, it was essential that some 
proper understanding should be come to with the Ashantis. 
and a definite peace concluded. He, therefore, turned 
his whole attention to the accomplishment of this object. 
Fortunately the Ashantis and Fantis were equally anxious 
to see an end put to the present unsatisfactory state of 
affairs and to be able to renew their trade . Maclean> 
therefore, had little difficulty in convening a large meeting 
at Accra, which was attended by deputies from Kumasi 
and all the Fanti Chiefs; but it was by no means so easy 
to persuade the opposing parties to come to any agreement 
as to the terms on which peace should be made, and many 
stormy debates took place before he eventually succeeded 
in reconciling their views. The Ashantis, on the one 
hand, found it hard to treat on equal terms with the-
coast tribes, whom they had been accustomed to conquer 
whenever they liked and to hold in such absolute sub-· 
jection and contempt; while the Fantis, on the other, 
were so elated by their victory, and now thought them-
selves so strong, that they were unwilling to accept any 
1 Cruikshank, vol. i, pp. 171 et seq. 
THE TREATY SIGNED 
mere guarantee of future security from molestation, but 1830-1837 
wanted to claim compensation for all the losses they had CHAP. XXIII 
suffered in the past. The revolt of the Denkeras and 
Assins, however, had so weakened the Ashantis and 
strengthened their enemies, that this, combined with the 
fact that many of the King's relatives were still prisoners 
in Cape Coast Castle, at last compelled them to listen 
to reason. The Fantis were then induced to moderate 
their demands, the Governor plainly hinting that if they 
failed to do so and thus obstructed the conclusion of the 
negotiations, the English might very possibly withdraw 
their protection . Their alarm at the prospect of abandon-
ment when the Crown gave up the government of the 
country was too recent for this argument to fail. Maclean 
also warned the Ashantis that any undue delay on their 
part might lead to a renewal of hostilities, when greater 
efforts than ever would be made to crush them once and for 
all. Thus, after most tedious negotiations, terms were 
finally agreed to and the following treaty was signed at 
Cape Coast on the 27th of April 1831, when a salute of 
twenty-one guns was fired from the Castle to celebrate 
the conclusion of peace. 
"TREATY OF PEACE, 27th APRIL 1831 
" WE the undersigned, namely: 
" The Governor of Cape Coast Castle and British Settle-
ments, on the part of His Majesty the King of England; 
the Princess 'Akianvah,' and the Chief 'Quagua,' on 
the part of the King of Ashantee; 'Aggery,' King of 
Cape Coast; 'Adookoo,' King of Fantee; 'Amonoo,' 
King of Annamaboe; , Chibboe, , King of Dinkara; , Ossoo 
Okoo,' King of Tufel; 'Animinee,' King of Wassaw; 
'Chibboo,' King of Assin; the Chiefs of 'Adjumacon' 
and' Essacoomah,' and the other Chiefs in alliance with 
the King of Great Britain, whose names are hereunto 
appended, do consent to, and hereby ratify the following 
Treaty of Peace and of Free commerce between ourselves 
and such other Chiefs as may hereafter adhere to it. 
410 ~OVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 "I. The King of Ashantee having deposited in Cape 
CHAP. XXIII Coast Castle, in the presence of the above-mentioned 
parties, the sum of 600 ounces of gold, and having delivered 
into the hands of the Governor two young men of the royal 
family of Ashantee, named' Ossoo Ansah,' and ( Ossoo In 
Quantamissah,' as security that he will keep peace with 
the said parties in alI time coming, peace is hereby declared 
betwixt the said King of Ashantee and all and each of the 
parties aforesaid, to continue in all time coming. The 
above securities shall remain in Cape Coast Castle for 
the space of six years from this date. 
" 2. In order to prevent all quarrels in future which 
might lead to the infraction of this Treaty of Peace, we, 
the parties aforesaid, have agreed to the following rules and 
regulations for the better protection of lawful commerce. 
(( The paths shall be perfectly open, and free to all persons 
engaged in lawful traffic; and persons molesting them 
in any way whatever, or forcing them to purchase at 
any particular market, or influencing them by any l,mfair 
means whatever, shall be declared guilty of infringing 
this Treaty, and be liable to the severest punishment. 
" Panyarring, denouncing, and swearing on or by any 
person or thing whatever, are hereby strictly forbidden, 
and all persons infringing this rule shall be rigorously 
punished; and no master or chief shall be answerable for 
the crimes of his servants, unless done by his orders or 
consent, or when under his control. 
"As the King of Ashantee has renounced all right 
or title to any tribute or homage from the Kings of Dinkara, 
Assin, and others formerly his subjects, so, on the other 
hands, these parties are strictly prohibited from insulting, 
by improper speaking or in any other way, their former 
master, such conduct being calculated to produce quarrels 
and wars. 
" All ' palavers' are to be decided in the manner men-
tioned in the terms and conditions of peace already agreed 
to by the parties to this treaty. 
" Signed in the Great Hall of Cape Coast Castle this 
27th day of April 183 I, by the parties to this Treaty, 
PANYARRING 411 
and sealed with the great seal of the Colony III their 1830-1837 
presence. CHAP. XXYII 
" (Signed) GEO. MACLEAN, Governor. 
" Their marks 
" X AKIANVAH, Princess of Ashantee. 
" X QUAGUA, Chief of Ashantee. 
" X AGGERY, King of Cape Coast. 
" X ADOOKOO, King of Fantee. 
" X AMONOO, King of Annamaboe. 
" X ABOOKOO, Chief of Akomfee. 
" X OTTOO, Chief of Abrah. 
" X CHIBBOO, King of Assin. 
" X CUDJOE CHIBBOO, King of Dinkara. 
" X GEBEL, Assin Chief. 
" X Osso OKOO, King of Tufel. 
" X ApOLLONIA, Chiefs. 
" X AKINNIE, Chief of Agah." 
The custom of panyarring 1 referred to in this treaty 
consisted in seizing persons or their goods in order to 
obtain payment of debts or the return of property that was 
being unjustly withheld. It was very common on the 
Gold Coast and was frequently abused and did an im-
mense amount of harm. If a resident of Anamabo was 
indebted to a ~ape Coast man and neglected or refused 
to pay the debt, or improperly withheld property of any 
kind from him, the creditor might panyar the first Cape 
.coast man he could lay hands on and hold him as security. 
This usually had an immediate effect, for the relatives 
of the man panyarred would at once bring pressure on 
the debtor to compel him to pay and release the security. 
The process, however, was a costly one and while the 
sbwe trade existed it was no uncommon thing for a man 
to be thus panyarred and sold off the Coast before his 
family could ascertain his whereabouts or to which par-
1 "Panyarring (pronounced payaring) is rather a law than a custom, 
.and although sometimes prostituted to bad purposes, is frequently the 
only way to recover a just debt. If exercised unlawfully, the amount 
of damages to be paid as satisfaction is so much as to cause the financial 
.ruin of the wrong-doer." (Sarbah, Fanti Customary Laws, p. 116.) 
412 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 ticular captain he had been sold. Such cases gave nse 
CHAP. XXIII to protracted and very expensive palavers, which fre-
quently terminated in the sale of a whole family. 
The prisoners taken at Dodowa were now released and 
returned to Ashanti, and the gold he had deposited in 
the Castle as security was given back to the King at the 
end of the stipulated time. This, in conjunction with the 
fact that it had never been disturbed but was handed 
back to his messengers in the original packages, went far 
to reassure the Ashantis and induce them to renew their 
faith in British honour, which had been so rudely shaken 
by Governor Hope Smith's conduct. Of the two Ashanti 
princes handed over as hostages, Ansa was a son of the 
late King Tutu Kwamina, and Inkwantabissa of the reigning 
monarch Okotu. They were granted a pension of £100 
a year each and sent to England-where they were pre-
sent at the Coronation of Queen Victoria-to be educated.l 
Inkwantabissa died ~ soon after their return to the Coast , 
but Ansa lived for many years and played his part in 
subsequent history. 
According to Reindorf, the proceedings at Cape Coast 
were marred by quarrels just as those at Accra had been. 
He says that a stick and stone fight occurred between 
some of the Wassaw Chiefs, and that Maclean, to quell 
the disturbance, ordered a hundred lashes to be given 
to each Chief who had allowed his people to fight; where-
upon one of them, Boampon, felt the disgrace so keenly 
that he went behind a house in the town and committed 
suicide by cutting his throat. If this account is true, 
it may seem to have been a rather high-handed pro-
ceeding on the part of Maclean; but after the long and 
difficult negotiations at Accra had been brought to a 
successful conclusion and the much-desired peace was at 
last about to be made, he doubtless saw in these disturb-
ances the beginning of a fresh series of delays, or even 
danger of an assault on the Ashanti delegates, which 
might have ended in the abandonment of the treaty or 
1 They were placed in the charge of the Rev. Thomas Pyne. 
• 8th of January 1859. 
TERMS AND CONDITIONS 
an actual renewal of the war, and felt compelled to adopt 1830-1837 
extreme measures and treat the offenders with a degree CHAP. XXIU 
of severity that he might not otherwise have shown. 
Exactly what is meant by the last paragraph of this 
treaty which refers to " the terms and conditions of peace 
already agreed to," is none too clear. The question, indeed, 
arose at a later date. There is little doubt, however, that 
it really refers to the terms that had been offered on the 
loth of December 1827, but which the Ashantis,after 
some hesitation, had rejected. These terms, therefore, 
were never signed and must be regarded as an abortive 
treaty. The new treaty modifies them in some respects, 
but the manner in which future disputes were to be settled 
now appears to have been agreed to, and this rather vague 
reference made to it instead of embodying the actual terms 
in the new document. The following extract from this 
former memorandum is, at any rate, the only proposal 
or agreement now extant that seems to cover the ground, 
with the exception of the similar stipulations in the treaty 
of 1817, which, apart from its having been abrogated by 
the subsequent war, was too sore a point with the Ashantis 
to have been referred to now. 
" 5. To prevent as much as possible any future war, 
it is agreed that in case of any of the parties subscribing 
to these articles committing an act of aggression, and 
complaint being made thereof to the Governor-in-Chief 
of His Britannic Majesty's possessions on this coast (or 
in the absence of the said Governor from Cape Coast, to the 
Commandant of Cape Coast Castle for the time being, 
as his representative), any satisfaction which the circum-
stances of the case may require, will be adjudged to the 
aggrieved party by the said Governor-in-Chief or his re-
presentative; who will also call to his assistance two or 
more of the adjacent kings or chiefs as a council. 
" 6. If any of the allied kings or chiefs shall be the 
aggressor or aggressors as aforesaid, and if such an aggressor 
or aggressors shall refuse to abide by the decision of the 
Governor, or his representative, with the chiefs assembled 
with him in council; in that case he or they will no longer 
414 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 be considered as of the confederacy, and must arrange 
CHAP. XXIII his or their disputes as they best can. 
" 7. In the event of the Ashantees becoming the aggres-
sors, and refusing to abide by the decision of the Governor 
(or his representative) and council aforesaid, then the sum 
of money lodged in Cape Coast Castle, for the purpose 
named in the 4th article of these terms shall be forfeited 
for ever, and the said sum of money may, if it be deemed 
expedient, be expended in the purchase of arms, am-
munition, and other warlike stores, for the purpose of 
carrying on war against the King of Ashantee and his 
people." 
Assuming, therefore, that these are the conditions 
referred to-and this is a point on which there is little 
room for doubt-then this treaty mutually binds the 
three parties, British, Ashantis and Fanti allies, by precise 
rules, and the superior authority of the former is definitely 
acknowledged by the implied agreement of the other 
two to accept the Governor as referee in any case of dis-
pute. There was also a tacit understanding that the allies 
would be afforded British protection in the event of any 
further aggression on the part of the Ashantis. 
Having thus secured the peace of the country, Mac-
lean now had time to turn his attention to the coast tribes 
and did everything in his power to improve and elevate 
them, to encourage trade, to ensure the impartial adminis-
tration of justice, and to discourage, and in course of 
time abolish those of their 'customs that were objection-
able. 
The task he had set himself was not an easy one. The 
eradication of customs that have been in use from time 
immemorial and which are, moreover, the outcome of, or at 
least intimately connected vvi.th, the religious beliefs of 
the people who practise them, can never be accomplished 
in a day; and the advancement in civilization of a savage 
race must always be a slow and gradual process, to be 
effected by time and the increasing knowledge of the 
benefits to be derived from such improvement rather 
than by the sudden and rigid enforcement of new laws 
MACLEAN '5 RULE 
and prohibitions. Maclean fortunately realized this fact 1830-1837 
and thoroughly understood that, although the state of CHAP. XXIII 
society with which he had to deal sorely needed speedy 
and drastic remedies, yet the desired changes could only 
be effected by slow degrees and by the exercise of patient 
tact and toleration and a confident belief in better things 
to come. He was careful, therefore, to interfere only 
with those customs which affected the rights and liberty 
of the individual and with those laws which seemed to 
err unduly on the side of harshness. Moreover, he effected 
his reforms gradually, by exposing the unfitness of the 
existing state of affairs rather than by sudden prohibitive 
orders, which, if disregarded, he would have been unable 
to enforce. He firmly believed in the capabilities of 
the people under his care, and it was this conviction of 
the possibility of improving them that enabled him to 
persevere, and in a large measure to succeed, where another 
might probably have given up in despair. 
In order to carry out these reforms it was essential 
that the authority of the Governor should be paramount, 
and that whenever he did give a definite order it should be 
obeyed. Maclean ruled, therefore, with a firm hand and, 
while he carefully avoided giving any needless or vexatious 
commands, required and enforced implicit obedience 
to such orders as he found it necessary to issue. A soldier 
was stationed in each of the principal towns throughout 
the whole Protectorate, and in this way the country was 
for the first time policed and a general supervision main-
tained by the Government. Acts of oppression or defiance 
of the Governor's orders were reported, the roads rendered 
safe for travellers, trade encouraged, and a simple means 
provided by which the Governor's wishes or commands 
could be communicated to the various Chiefs. A court 
was established in Cape Coast Castle, where Maclean 
sat as judge, usually assisted by some of the Chiefs. Here 
justice was cheaply and impartially administered, either 
in strict accordance with the Akan customary law, or, in 
those cases in which amelioration of severe laws was 
deemed advisable, according to a compromise between 
416 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1887 this and British law. Much good was done in this way, 
CHAP. XXIII and the people soon learned to appreciate the benefits they 
could thus obtain and appeals from the decisions of Chiefs 
became more and more frequent. Apart from this direct 
administration of an impartial and temperate justice, 
the court enabled the Governor to do something towards 
the extinction of many superstitions, such as the belief 
in witchcraft; superstitions which it would have been 
impolitic, and in fact impossible, to have attacked directly, 
but which could to some extent be undermined by his 
constant opposition to the infliction of punishment in such 
cases and his expressed contemptuous ridicule of these 
beliefs. The court, too, was frequently attended by the 
Chiefs of outlying districts with their retinues, so that in 
course of time, Maclean's ideas of justice became well 
known and widely disseminated throughout the length 
and breadth of the country. 
I t is true that this exercise of jurisdiction and authority 
beyond the forts themselves was contrary to the ·strict 
letter of the conditions on which they had been handed 
over to the merchants; but Maclean realized that, if good 
were to result, they must not be interpreted too literally, 
and by thus blending an absolutely impartial justice vnth 
the Fanti law, he did an incalculable amount of good, and 
the people's appreciation was alone sufficient to justify 
such deviation from the original instructions. 
There was also another point on which the conditions 
of transfer were disregarded. It had been stipulated 
that the harbours of Cape Coast and Accra should be 
" open to all vessels without payment of any duty what-
ever," but it appears. that a duty of 2! per cent on British 
and 5 per cent on foreign imports with extra duties on 
spirits and a charge of two dollars for port dues was levied 
at about this time, but countermanded by the Committee 
in London; for a petition by the local merchants is extant 
praying for a renewal of these "foreign and transient 
duties once in force," to enable them to maintain fifty 
militia, the lighthouse on Fort William and canoes for 
boarding ships. This petition evidently had some effect, 
MACLEAN'S RULE 
for on the loth of December 1839 an Ordinance was passed 1880-1887 
at Sierra Leone, which came into force on the 22nd of CHAP. XXIII 
April 1840, imposing an ad valorem duty of one-half per 
cent on all imports, whether sold ashore or afloat, and a 
charge of three dollars for every vessel anchoring, payable 
only once by the same ship within anyone period of six 
months. A return of the amount thus raised was to be 
rendered on the 31st of December in each year. 
The export slave trade had now been absolutely abo-
lished; and although it was a well-established fact that 
up to a very short time before this slavers were taking in 
cargoes within sight of the British forts and in open de-
fiance of the law, there was not a single instance in which 
a slave was known to have been shipped off the Coast 
during the whole time of Maclean's administration. Human 
sacrifices, too, which hitherto had been frequently made 
by the Fantis, even in Cape Coast itself, were rigidly put 
down, and though not entirely abolished, so much was 
done to deter the people from this practice and to ensure 
the punishment of offenders, that the custom became 
much less frequent and could only be carried out with 
great secrecy. 
Writing of the changes effected among the people by 
Maclean, Cruikshank says: "Nothing could more forcibly 
demonstrate their need of a disinterested superior, and 
their estimation of the advantages derived from his super-
intending justice, than the fact, that with a corps of one 
hundred and twenty men, natives of the country, and 
with pecuniary resources not exceeding, annually, £4,000, 
Governor Maclean maintained for a series of years an 
undisputed sway over an immense extent of territory, 
comprising a numerous population, composed of different 
tribes, speaking different languages, and many of them 
possessed of great physical power. There have been few 
instances in the history of the world of such an extensive 
influence, so completely the result of moral force." 1 
Yet, though Maclean with his limited means undoubtedly 
accomplished a marvellous amount of good without having 
1 Cruikshank, vol. ii, p. 6. 
1- 2 7 
418 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 recourse to arms, it must not be supposed that he either 
CHAP. XXIII did or could effect all this without meeting \vith occa-
sional instances of opposition and revolt. Many of the 
Chiefs lived in distant parts of the country where it was 
not easy to maintain constant supervision and they were 
consequently difficult to control, while they all realized 
that their own personal dignity and authority suffered 
by comparison with that now assumed by the Governor, 
and soon found that they could no longer enrich them-
selves easily by the extortionate methods they had hitherto 
practised under the cloak of administering justice. The 
fetish-men, too, saw that with the gradual realization of 
the Governor's plans their own power and influence must 
be proportionately diminished and therefore urged the 
Chiefs and people to resist these innovations. 
Hence, individual Chiefs from time to time attempted 
to reassert their independence and defy the authority of 
the Governor. But though during the first few years of 
his administration these outbreaks were of frequent 
occurrence, little or nothing ever came of them. The 
people were too much alive to the advantages they enjoyed 
under the new conditions to give their own Chiefs any 
enthusiastic support, while the other Chiefs were only 
too ready to assist the Governor rather than see one of 
their rivals successfully defying the authority to which 
they themselves had to submit. The malcontents would 
then be cut off from all external communicatiori and, thus 
shut up in their own districts, were soon compelled to 
give in. Fines were then inflicted or the Chief deposed, 
to be reinstated later when he had given security for his 
good conduct in the future. Eventually the system of 
requiring deposits of gold from the Chiefs as security was 
resorted to, so that in the end it came about that nearly 
every Chief of importance, including even those of Cape 
Coast who lived under the very walls of the Castle and 
were under the immediate supervision of the Governor, had 
a larger or smaller sum in gold deposited in the Castle, 
which was liable to forfeiture in the event of his dis-
obedience or failure to preserve order in his district. In 
INCREASE OF TRADE 4 19 
these circumstances, if a complaint was lodged against 1830-1837 
any Chief, Maclean only had to send a soldier with a CHAP. XXIIl 
message to obtain his attendance in Cape Coast; but he 
was careful never to summon a Chief in this manner 
except for some valid and important reason. 
Under these improved conditions of security, the people 
were able to travel up and down the country in perfect 
safety and trade increased to an enormous extent, bene-
fiting not only those who directly engaged in it, but also 
providing employment for a large number of others as 
carriers. The manufacture of palm oil had only been 
engaged in within the last t en or fifteen years and had 
been carried on to but a small extent; but this trade now 
rapidly increased, and cowrie shells were introduced for the 
first time as a medium of exchange for small quantities 
of the oil and other articles of trifling value which had 
hitherto been paid for either in gold-dust or trade goods. 
In 1831 the value of the imports at Cape Coast had been 
£130,851 3S. II id., but by 1840 it had increased to £423,17°. 
The value of the exports showed a similar increase from 
£90,282 9s. 6d. in 1831 to £325,008 in 1840. 
During 1834 a number of complaints were made against 
Kwaku Akka the King of Apollonia . The fact that the 
English had built a fort in his country in about 1750, 
though it had long since been abandoned and was now a 
mere ruin, led both the natives and the Dutch to regard 
it as British territory, and some of the Apollonian Chiefs 
appear to have signed the tri-partite treaty of 183 I as 
delegates for their King, though it is possible there may 
be another explanation of the appearance of their mark 
on this document. 
Mr. Frank Swanzy, the Commandant of Dixcove, which 
was now the nearest English fort, sent in several reports 
of the barbarities constantly being committed by Akka, 
and the captains of ships who had called on the Apollonian 
coast occasionally arrived at Cape Coast and lodged 
complaints, saying they had been grossly insulted and 
robbed by the people. It was, therefore, absolutely 
necessary for the Governor to take some steps to put a 
420 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 stop to such proceedings; but Maclean was reluctant to 
CHAP. XXIII appeal to arms until he was actually compelled to do so, 
and therefore sent several letters to Akka remonstrating 
with him on his conduct. But no notice was taken of 
them and Kwaku Akka refused to accept the Governor's 
last letter and returned it unopened. Just before the 
arrival of the soldier who brought it, some Wassaw 
traders who were passing through the country had been 
seized by the Chief, who had caused twelve of them to 
be anchored in the sea and left to perish as they became 
exhausted, while twelve more had been crucified on the 
beach and left to wither in the sun. The Governor's 
messenger was now shown the bodies of these unfortunate 
men and told that they and sights like them were the 
King's only answer. Soon after his return to Cape Coast 
with this report, messengers arrived from Enimil the King 
of Was saw complaining of the outrage against his people, 
and Maclean then decided to waste no more time in fruit-
less negotiations, but to lead an expedition against .Akka 
and take summary vengeance. 
Early in 1835 therefore, every man who could possibly 
be spared was withdrawn from the garrisons of the different 
forts, and a small detachment under Mr. P. Bartells was 
also lent by Colonel Lans, the Dutch Governor. Mr. 
Frank Swanzy was the only other officer who accom-
panied the Governor. The strength of this combined 
force was absurdly small, amounting to only 180 men; 
but no more could be spared and they advanced towards 
Apollonia. They had barely crossed the border however, 
when, upon the very first sign of danger, the whole of the 
Cape Coast Militia, who, of course, were Fantis, were 
seized with panic, refused to fight, and deserted. Mac-
lean was thus left with such an insignificant force that 
it would have been madness to go any farther and was 
compelled to retire on the Dutch fort at Axim. This 
misfortune, however, did not turn him from his purpose. 
Mr. Swanzy was sent out to find the deserters and suc-
ceeded in bringing them back and order was restored. 
In the meantime H.M.S. Britomart had arrived at 
EXPEDITION TO APOLLONIA 42I 
Cape Coast under Commander Quin, who, at the request 1830-1837 
of the merchants, at once sailed westward to co-operate CHAP. XXIII ' 
with the Governor. A second advance was then made 
with complete success . The Apollonians were engaged 
and driven along the b each for miles under a steady fire 
from the British force, which reached the ruins of Apollonia 
Fort in safety that night, though the men were completely 
exhausted by their long march without food or water 
throughout the heat of the day . 
Although the fort was now occupied by a British force 
and his people had been routed, Kwaku Akka was still 
in arms and refused to come in and make submission. 
Maclean therefore, took a bold step and went in person 
to the Apollonian camp, which was situated some miles 
from the fort. He was accompanied only by a corporal's 
guard, though he well knew that the King had offered 
a reward of 200 crowns for his head. This was precisely 
one of those acts that are only justified by success and 
in any other circumstances are called foolhardy and rash . 
Maclean, however, was an excellent judge of African 
character and thought this plan offered a good prospect 
of success and, though he well understood that it must 
necessarily be attended 'by considerable risk to himself, 
believed that the object he had in view justified it. Events 
proved his opinion correct; for he entered the enemy's 
camp and returned in safety after having had an interview 
with the Chief, at which a treaty was drawn up binding 
Akka to pay all the expenses of the expedition and to 
deposit a large sum in gold in the Castle at Cape Coast 
as security for his future conduct. This complete victory, 
gained as it was without any help from the other tribes, 
had an excellent effect on them by increasing their opinion 
of the Governor's determination to punish evil-doers at 
any cost, and convincing them of his power to carry out 
his intentions independently of them. 
As has already been hinted, there is some room for 
doubt whether the Apollonians were among the original 
parties to the treaty of I 83 I. The occurrence of the 
words "and such other chiefs as may hereafter adhere 
422 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1830-1837 to it," plainly shows that it was intended to include others 
CHAP. XXlII at a later date if necessary. The Apollonian signature 
is the last but one, and therefore, if any further parties 
were added after the 27th of April 183 I, the Apollonians 
and the Chief of Egya must be they. There is no mention 
of Apollonia elsewhere in the treaty and the question, 
therefore, arises whether it was agreed to and this signa-
ture added at the end of this expedition, and not in 183 I 
when it was first drawn up. If the latter had been the 
case, it seems hardly likely that Maclean would have 
wasted so much time in sending letters instead of taking 
active measures at once. The fact that Kwaku Akka's 
name does not appear as the person who signed is quite 
in accordance with this theory, for the treaty itself would 
have been in Cape Coast and not carried on a punitive 
expedition, and if he now agreed to it, it would have 
fallen to the lot of the Chiefs who were afterwards sent 
in with the gold for deposit in the Castle to sign on behalf 
of the tribe.' . 
In the meantime, a great civil war had broken out in 
Ashanti between Kumasi and J abin. This, according 
to Ashanti tradition, was the third or fourth such war that 
had occurred, but it is the first of which anything was 
known on the coast. Yow Sekyiri the King of Insuta 
had been amongst those who fell in the battle of Dodowa 
and there were rival claimants to the vacant stool, one 
party being favoured by Osai Okotu and the other by 
Buatin the King of Jabin. It is not quite clear whether 
this Buatin, in whose time the trouble began, was Buatin 
Penin who was alleged to have signed the treaty of 18 I 7, 
or his successor Kofi Buatin, but it was certainly the 
latter who was reigning towards the end of the time. 
Buatin was invited to Kumasi for the case to be settled, 
and went. It is alleged that Mafo, the claimant supported 
by Osai Okotu, proved that for years past his rivals had 
been in the habit of murdering and robbing Kumasi 
traders as they passed through Insuta on their way to 
Salaga, and that not fewer than eighty persons had thus 
1 Vide p. 4I9. 
KUMASI-JABIN WAR 
been done away with. The offenders and their relatives 1830-1837 
to the number of about sixty were, therefore, seized and CHAP . XXIIl 
put in irons and subsequently put to death at dead of 
night. When Buatin heard what had been done, he was 
so enraged that he left the capital immediately and re-
turned to J abin. 
Soon after this, one Kotiaku , a great friend of Kofi 
Buatin, intrigued with three of his favourite wives and 
fled to Kumasi; whereupon he demanded not only the 
head of the adulterer, to which by Ashanti law he was 
entitled, but those of all his family also. This exorbitant 
demand was refused by Okotu, who, after the resulting 
quarrel had lasted three years, sent messengers to Buatin 
asking him to come to Kumasi and settle the case. This 
Buatin flatly refused to do, giving as his reason that he 
had not forgotten what had happened in the Insuta stool 
case. Kotiaku and his people were then sent back, and 
a force left Kumasi for J abin at the same time . Buatin 
ordered the execution of Kotiaku and his people while the 
Kumasis were actually outside his town and a battle im-
mediately ensued in which the J abins were utterly defeated 
and Buatin and his people forced to fly for refuge to Akim. 
After this, frequent skirmishes took place between the 
Jabins in Akim and parties of Kumasis, until at last an 
embassy was sent by Okotu to arrange a peace. 
Maclean and the Danish Governor, Mr. Morek, were 
asked to assist in the negotiations, and a meeting was held 
at Accra on the 27th of May 1835, at which peace was 
concluded. In spite of this, however, Kofi Buatin would 
not return to Ashanti, though frequent messages were sent 
by Okotu begging him to do so and he sent some of his 
people back . Prior to his flight, a misunderstanding had 
arisen between him and his two cousins, " Aberidwesi " 
and" Neribihi," and he now required their execution and 
that of their whole families before he would consent to 
return. It is said that, although Osai Okotu strongly 
objected to such a proceeding, yet, so anxious was he for 
the return of the exiles that some seventy persons were 
executed in compliance with this demand. The Jabins 
424 GOVERNOR MACLEAN'S TREATY 
1880-1887 then, in 1839, set out on their return journey; but Kofi 
CHAP. XXIII Buatin died on the way under a strong suspicion of having 
poisoned himself rather than set foot again in Kumasi. 
He had no brother living, and his mother J abin Saiwa 
succeeded him and reached Kumasi in November 1841, 
where a great welcome was accorded her and her people. 
In the following January the work of rebuilding J abin 
was begun. This was carried out on a far grander 
scale than before and much help was given by Okotu 
for this purpose. 
The presence of the J abin fugitives in Akim during 
all these years had been a source of great anxiety to the 
English; for Buatin's constant refusal to return in accord-
ance with the terms of the agreement made in 1835 had so 
annoyed the King that they had been living in constant 
dread that he would lose patience and send an expedition 
against him; indeed, he had once sent down to the Governor 
warning him that he need not be surprised if he soon 
did so. Maclean had used every argument to prevent 
this threat being put into execution; for he clearly saw 
that, if Buatin were attacked in Akim, he would at once 
retire on Accra and involve the English in the quarrel. 
They would have been forced to choose between giving 
him up, and giving him their protection and thus making 
an enemy of the King and almost certainly bringing about 
another war with Ashanti. Fortunately Maclean's efforts 
were crowned with success, and the death of Buatin and 
return of his people put an end to a state of affairs that 
had been a constant menace to the peace of the country 
for many years. 
It was during Maclean's governorship that the first 
serious attempt 1 was made to introduce the Christian 
religion among the people of the Gold Coast. The Basel 
Mission first sent out missionaries to Christiansborg in 
1827, but they soon succumbed to the climate and the 
sole survivor returned to Europe in 1833, so that it is not 
until 1843, when they made a fresh start, that this Mission, 
then working under the protection of the Danish 
1 With the exception of the early efforts of the Portuguese. 
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
Government, can really be said to have commenced its 1880-1887 
work. CHAP. XXIII 
As early as 1751 a clergyman of the Church of England, 
the Reverend Thomas Thompson, had come out to Cape 
Coast, where he remained for four years and acted as 
chaplain to the garrison; but beyond taking a few natives 
to England to be educated he accomplished nothing. 
One of these natives, by name Philip Quacoe, was educated 
at Oxford and subsequently returned to Cape Coast, where 
he acted as chaplain for not less than fifty years.l He too 
met with no success among his countrymen, and it is even 
said that on the approach of death he himself lost faith 
in the religion he professed to teach and reverted to fetish-
Ism. 
I t was not until May 1835, therefore, when the first 
Wesleyan missionary, the Reverend Joseph R. Dunwell, 
arrived in Cape Coast, that missionary work among the 
people living under British protection can really be said 
to have begun. Mr. Dunwell lived less than six months, 
dying on the 24th of June of the same year, and was 
succeeded on the 15th of September 1836 by Mr. Wrigley, 
who came out with his wife and was quickly followed, in 
January 1837, by Mr. and Mrs. Harrop. The two latter 
and Mrs. Wrigley were attacked by fever a fortnight 
later and all three died. Mr. Wrigley was thus left alone 
and he also died in the following November. The founda-
tion stone of the Wesleyan Chapel in Cape Coast was laid 
by Mr. Wrigley in 1836, and the completed building was 
formally opened and dedicated by Mr. Freeman on the 
loth of June 1838. 
1 Vide p. 280. 
CHAPTER XXIV 
MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION ATTACKED AND VINDICATED 
I837 TO I843 
1837-1843 IN June I836, some time after his return from Apollonia, 
CHAP. XXIV Maclean went to England for the benefit of his health, 
leaving one of the merchants, Mr. William Topp,! in charge 
of affairs ,during his absence. While he was in London 
he met Miss Letitia Elizabeth Landon, better known as 
L. E. L. the poetess, who was then at the zenith of her 
fame and popularity. She was staying at Hampstead 
with Mr. Forster, M.P. for Berwick. He was one of the 
members of the Committee of Merchants in London to 
whom the government of the Gold Coast had been entrusted 
and was consequently well acquainted with all that had 
recently passed there. He had Maclean's report on his 
Apollonian expedition and gave it to her to read, telling 
her that it would serve as an introduction to the writer, 
who was to dine with them that night. The story so 
impressed her that she seems to have been prepared to 
fall in love with Maclean at once. At any rate she married 
him very soon afterwards and decided to return with him 
and share his life at Cape Coast. 
At this time, there were no European ladies on the 
Coast, and the conditions under which even the officers 
had to live were very far from satisfactory. Nevertheless, 
in spite of the warnings and entreaties of her friends, who 
prophesied all manner of evil consequences and said she 
would certainly come home by the next ship, L. E. L. 
adhered to her decision and she and Maclean landed at 
Cape Coast on the 15th of August I838. In spite of the 
many inconveniences attendant on Coast life at that time, she 
1 Afterwards Commandant of James Fort, Accra. 
426 
DEATH OF L. E. L. 
quickly settled down and seems to have enjoyed the novelty 1837-1843 
of her new surroundings. But it was not to be for long. CHAP. XXIV 
After living but two months in Cape Coast, she died 
with appalling suddenness on the morning of the 15th of 
October, and the mystery surrounding her death in this 
little-known country gave rise to the grossest calumnies 
in England against Maclean, which were only too eagerly 
believed by a scandal-loving and credulous public. 
Nothing shows more clearly how entirely without 
foundation these reports were, than the very full account 
of these events given by Cruikshank. He was then Com-
mandant of Anamabo Fort and was staying in Cape 
Coast with Mr. Topp prior to proceeding to England on 
leave. During this time, and also at an earlier date, he 
saw a great deal of Mr. and Mrs. Maclean, with both of 
whom he was on the most intimate terms. On the 14th of 
October he dined with them at the Castle, and at eleven 
o'clock that night went into the long gallery, where he 
walked with Mrs. Maclean for half an hour. She then 
seemed in excellent spirits, and the Governor joined them 
for a few minutes; but he was afraid to remain exposed 
to the night air for long, as he had been in bad health 
for some time past, and soon returned to his room, where 
the others joined him a little latter . Cruikshank left the 
Castle at about half-past eleven. 
Next morning, while he was having breakfast with 
Mr. Topp at about nine o'clock, a servant came to say 
that they were wanted in the Castle as Mr. Maclean was 
dead. They set out at once, meeting Messrs. Swanzy, 
Jackson and Hutton on the same errand; but it was not 
until they reached the Castle gate that they learned for 
the first time that it was Mrs. Maclean and not the Governor 
who was dead. This news was even more surprising; for 
she had been in excellent health and spirits, whereas the 
Governor had been ill for some time, though his condition 
had not been sufficiently serious to cause any alarm. 
Mrs. Maclean's death was so sudden and unaccount-
able that it was at once decided to hold an inquest. 
Cruik~hank says: "All that could be elicited, upon the 
428 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1887-1843 strictest investigation, was simply this; It appeared that 
CHAP. XXIV she had risen, and left her husband's bedroom about 
seven o'clock in the morning, and proceeded to her own 
dressing-room, which was up a short flight of stairs,! and 
entered by a separate door from that leading to the bed-
room. Before proceeding to dress, she had occupied 
herself an hour and a half in writing letters. She then 
called her servant, Mrs. Bailey, and sent her to a store-
room to fetch some pomatum. Mrs. Bailey was absent 
only a few minutes. When she returned, she found 
difficulty in opening the door, on account of a weight 
which appeared to be pressing against it. This she dis-
covered to be the body of her mistress. She pushed it 
aside, and found that she was senseless. She immediately 
called Mr. Maclean. Dr. Cobbold was sent for; but from 
the first moment of the discovery of the body on the 
floor, there had not appeared any symptom of life. Mrs. 
Bailey farther asserted that she found a small phial ·in 
the hand of the deceased, which she removed and placed 
upon the toilet-table. Mrs. Maclean had appeared well 
when she sent her to fetch the pomatum. She had ob-
served in her no appearance of unhappiness. 
" Mr. Maclean stated, that his wife had left him about 
seven o'clock in the morning, and that he had never seen 
her again in life. When he was called to her dressing-
room, he found her dead upon the floor. After some 
time, he observed a small phial upon the toilet-table, and 
asked Mrs. Bailey where it had come from. She told 
him that she had found it in Mrs. Maclean's hand. This 
phial had contained Scheele's preparation of prussic 
acid. His wife had been in the habit of using it for severe 
fits of spasms, to which she was subject. She had made 
use of it once on the passage from England to his knowledge. 
He was greatly averse to her having such a dangerous 
medicine, and wished to throw it overboard. She en-
treated him not to do so, as she must die \ivithout it. There 
had been no quarrel nor unkindness between him and his wife. 
" Dr. Cobbold, who had been requested to make a 
1 In the tower now known as L. E. L.'s Tower. 
INQUEST OF L. E. L. 
post-mortem examination, did not consider it at all neces- 1837-1848 
sary to do so, as he felt persuaded she had died by prussic CHAP. XXIV 
acid. He was led to this conclusion from the appearance 
of the eyes of the deceased; and he believed he could 
detect the smell of the prussic acid about her person. 
"My own evidence proved, that I had parted from Mr. and 
Mrs. Maclean at a very late hour on the evening before, and that 
they appeared then upon the happiest terms with each other. 
" There was found upon her writing-desk a letter not 
yet folded, which she had written that morning, the ink 
of which was scarcely dry at the time of the discovery of 
her death. This letter was read at the inquest. It was for 
Mrs. Fagan, upon whom she had wished me to call. It was 
written in a cheerful spirit, and gave no indication of un-
happiness. In the postscript-the last words she ever wrote 
-she recommended me to the kind attentions of her friend. 
"With the evidence before them, it was impossible 
for the 'jury to entertain for one instant the idea that the 
unfortunate lady had wilfully destroyed herself. On the 
other hand, considering the evidence respecting the phial. 
her habit of making use of this dangerous medicine, and 
the decided opinion of the doctor, that her death was 
caused by it, it seemed equally clear that they must attri-
bute her death to this cause. Their verdict, therefore, 
was, that she died from an overdose of Scheele's prepara-
tion of prussic acid taken inadvertently. I concurred 
in this verdict at the time; but I must confess that I 
have since then had reason to doubt of its correctness. 
I learned, upon my arrival in England, that L. E. L., 
previous to her marriage, had all but died in a sudden fit, 
which was likely to recur . 
" It was also afterwards proved that Mrs. Bailey, upon 
her return to England, with the view of attracting atten-
tion to herself and gaining notoriety, had made some 
flagrantly false statements in reference to this event, and 
that she was altogether a person undeserving of credit. 
I then remembered that she had made no mention of the 
phial having been in Mrs . Maclean's hand until some time 
after she had found her mistress on the floor, and only 
430 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 then in answer to a question from Mr. Maclean; and it 
CHAP. XXIV occurred to me that such a suspicious circumstance, as 
a phial being found in the hand of a person suddenly 
deceased, could not fail to be immediately noticed and 
mentioned without any inquiry. These considerations 
induced me to discredit Mrs. B;:tiley's testimony altogether, 
and to believe that the phial had not been found in Mrs. 
Maclean's hand at all." 1 
Cruikshank's criticisms seem well founded, and although 
it is, of course, quite possible that the verdict returned 
may have been entirely correct, there is much room for 
doubt. The fact that Mrs. Maclean had previously suffered 
from attacks of some kind, for the relief of which she had 
been in the habit of using this medicine, .renders it at least 
possible that she may now have had a further attack and 
have resorted to it again; but it by no means follows that 
she took an overdose and thereby brought about her 
sudden end, nor indeed is this likely. The very fact that 
she was accustomed to the use of the drug and was well 
acquainted with the dose makes it improbable that she 
would have taken it in poisonous quantities, especially 
when its nature is borne in mind. All preparations of 
prussic acid are very dilute and keep badly, and it is almost 
certain that it would have lost much of its strength after 
having been kept for even a short time in so hot a climate 
as that of the Gold Coast, and consequently, a much 
larger dose than usual would have been required to produce 
any therapeutic effect and still more to cause death. As. 
Mrs. Maclean was accustomed to use this drug and was 
doubtless well aware of its dangerous nature, it seems. 
incredible that she could have inadvertently increased the 
dose to such an extent as to cause almost immediate death 
with a deteriorated sample, and it is far more probable 
that, if she had a recurrence of one of her previous attacks: 
and took the usual dose from which she had formerly 
obtained relief, the perished medicine would have failed 
to act and the attack itself may have proved fatal. This 
probable loss of strength is further borne out by Cruikshank's. 
1 CruikShank, vol. i, pp. 224 et seq. 
L. E. L.'S GRAVE 43 1 
statement that the but recently emptied bottle retained 1837-1843 
only a very faint odour, and it is not improbable that CHAP. XXIV 
the doctor may have been misled by the production of 
this bottle and predisposed to believe that he could detect 
the smell of the drug about the body-a smell that others 
failed to perceive although that of prussic acid is fairly pun-
gent and quite unmistakable . No weight can be attached to 
the medical evidence as to the appearance of the eyes, for 
there is nothing distinctive about them in prussic acid 
poisoning . On the other hand, it must be admitted that 
if Mrs. Maclean took the medicine for the relief of some 
sudden symptom and detected its loss of strength , she 
may have increased the dose; but even then it is hardly 
likely that she would have done so to the r eckless extent 
necessary to cause death. 
Mrs . Maclean was buried the same evening in the court-
yard of the Castle. Mr. Topp read the service and all 
but Cruikshank were soon afterwards driven to their 
houses by a heavy storm' of rain . He alone remained 
wrapped in his cloak under a temporary shelter of tar-
paulins to see the work of bricking in the arch over the 
coffin completed by torch-light. The Letters" L. E . L." 
cut on a large slab of stone in the paving of the courtyard 
still mark the spot, and a marble tablet on a wall near by 
bears the following inscription 
" Hic jacet sepultum 
Omne quod mortale fuit 
LET1TIAE ELIZABETHAE MACLEAN. 
Quam egregia ornatum indole 
Musis unice amatam, 
Omniumque amores secum trahentem 
In ipso aetatis flore, 
Mors immatura rapuit, 
Die Octobris XV A . D. MDCCCXXXVIII 
Aetat . XXXVI 
Quod spectas, viator, marmor, 
Vanum heu doloris monumentum 
Conjux moerens erexit." 
432 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 On the 23rd of October 1837 the Ahantas, under their 
CHAP. XXIV Chief Bonsu/ rose against the Dutch and treacherously 
murdered the Dutch Governor Mr. H. J. Tonneboeyer 2 
and the Commandant of Fort Batenstein at Butri, at 
Buyamrom on the 28th of October. The first attempt 
of the Dutch to avenge these. murders was a failure, for 
the Ahantas defeated them near Takoradi, killing four or 
five officers and a great number of men; but in the follow-
ing July a second expedition was sent against them which 
utterly defeated them and took Bonsu prisoner.3 
In January 1838 two more Wesleyan missionaries, Mr. 
Freeman and his wife, arrived at Cape Coast, where they 
learned for the first time of the death of Mr. Wrigley. 
Forty-eight days later, Mrs. Freeman also died, but her 
husband, who was a West Indian mulatto, though very 
ill for a time, managed to survive. On the 30th of January 
1839 he went to Kumasi with the object of establishing 
a mission station there. The King, of course, had heard 
of him as a " white fetish-man" and viewed the prospect 
of his visit to the capital with great mistrust, firmly be-
lieving that his journey was prompted by some secret 
and sinister motive which boded no good to him and his 
kingdom. Consequently, Mr. Freeman was stopped by 
his orders at Kwisa and again at Fomana on the Ashanti 
frontier, where he was detained for a long time and his 
every movement closely watched and reported to Kumasi 
by some of the King's boys who were constantly with 
or near him in the hope of discovering his real object. 
It was only after a delay of six weeks, when he threatened 
to return to Cape Coast if he was kept waiting any longer 
and did in fact start down the road, that he was at last 
given permission to proceed to Kumasi, the King fearing 
1 Baidu Bons u II (Asuankai). 
2 He was on his way to attack Bonsu at Bushua to avenge the deaths 
of two Dutch Agents, Cremer and Maason, who had been sent to arrest 
Bonsu, but had been captured near Takoradi, taken to Bushua, and 
there murdered. 
3 Another version is that the expedition of July 1838 met with no 
opposition and burned Sekondi and Bushua. Bonsu and some other 
Chiefs were then betrayed into the hands of the Dutch and executed. 
FREEMAN'S VISITS TO KUMASI 433 
that a persistent refusal, by rousing the" fetish-man's" 1837-1848 
anger, might be attended by even worse results than his CHAP. XXIV 
visit . It was to be a contest between two powers how-
ever, and as he entered the capital he passed between two 
fresh mounds of earth, one on either side of the road, the 
graves of two victims who had been buried alive in order 
to avert allY evil that might otherwise result from his 
arrival. He was received with the customary ceremonies 
accorded to important persons; but although he remained 
for some time in the capital, he was constantly subjected 
to the most rigid supervision and regarded with great 
suspicion as a man possessed of unknown powers, and in 
the end was obliged to return to the coast without having 
attained his object. He reached Cape Coast again on 
the 23rd of April. 
In January I840 Mr. Freeman was joined by three more 
missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Mycock and Mr. Robert Brook-
ing, and a mission station was· soon afterwards opened at 
Anamabo. In 184I John Ansa and William Inkwanta-
bissa, the two Ashanti princes who had been delivered to 
Governor Maclean ten years earlier, returned from England, 
and Mr. Freeman made a second visit to Kumasi in their 
company, taking Mr. Brooking also with him: Presents 
from the Queen of England and a carriage sent out by the 
Wesleyan Society as a gift to the King were also taken 
up, but the latter caused much delay on the narrow paths. 
It was taken to pieces and the various parts carried separ-
ately for the first twenty miles, but they made such awk-
ward loads that it was finally put together again and 
completed the journey on its own wheels. A party of 
pioneers then had to be sent on ahead to clear the road, 
while the King, who knew of the approach of this gift, 
had the road between Kumasi and the Pra similarly 
widened. Osai Okotu hi::d died in 1838 and been succeeded 
by his nephew, Kwaku Dua. The two princes, therefore, 
were cousins of the present King and what they told him 
probably went far to reassure him and gain the party 
a favourable reception. At any rate Mr. Freeman was 
now granted a piece of land on which to build a mission 
1- 28 
434 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1887-1848 house and Brooking was left in charge. About the end 
CHAP. XXIV of May 1842 he was joined by Mr. Thomas Rowland, who, 
however, died within a few weeks of his arrival and was 
thus not only the first missionary who died in Ashanti, 
but also the first white man who had visited the country 
of his own accord and died there. 
Kwaku Akka, the King of Apollonia, remained quiet 
for some time after the return of Maclean's expedition, 
but then began to resume his former ill-treatment of 
travellers and traders and committed a number of fresh 
outrages . Maclean wanted to lead another expedition 
against him, but the Committee in London would not 
allow it, and nothing was therefore done beyond the for-
feiture of the gold that had been deposited in the Castle. 
The false rumours against Maclean that had been 
freely circulated and readily believed in England after the 
death of his wife have already been alluded to. It was 
alleged that he had treated her with persistent unkindness 
and cruelty, that he had constantly neglected her for 
orgies in the town and for native women, and that there 
was one part of the Castle, to which she was never admitted, 
where he gave himself up to all kinds of debaucheries. 
In short, it was plainly insinuated that he had driven her 
to commit suicide. 
The mere fact that Maclean had been ill during nearly 
the whole time that his wife was on the Coast should 
alone be sufficient to dispose of such ridiculous reports. 
There is, however, in addition to this, the testimony of 
Cruikshank-which seemingly represents the unanimous 
opinion of the European residents-that Maclean and his 
wife lived together in the most perfect harmony. Hutch-
inson 1 says he visited the room in which L. E. L. was 
found dead, with" one of the most respectable merchants 
of Cape Coast," 2 who had been an intimate friend of hers, 
had seen her the night before her death, and to whom 
she had written a note early on the morning of her death 
1 Western Africa, pp. 60-62. 
• Probably Mr. Topp with whom Cruikshank was staying, and who 
would therefore have been likely to accompany him the night before. 
RUMOURS AGAINST MACLEAN 435 
asking him to come and see Mr. Maclean who was not well. 1887-1848 
It was while going to the Castle about an hour later that CHAP. XXIV 
he heard the news that she herself was dead and it was 
he who picked up the empty prussic acid bottle. l He 
had absolutely no doubt that her death was accidental and 
indignantly repudiated the charges made against Maclean, 
explaining that the Accra woman with whom he had 
formerly lived had returned to her native place long before 
Mrs. Maclean came out and that he had never since held 
any communication with her. If Maclean had had the 
slightest ground to suspect that his wife had any cause to 
complain of his condu,ct, he would hardly have allowed 
the letters she had written just before her death, which 
were found on her writing-table, to be sealed in his presence 
by Cruikshank and forwarded to her friends in England, 
as was in fact done. It is much to be regretted that these 
reports should again have been circulated in England, 
and with numerous additions, at the time when public 
attention was directed to the Gold Coast during the Ashanti 
War of 1873-74. Even those who make them do not 
appear to know their own minds. Winwood Reade in 
one of his books 2 says: "They quarrelled, and Maclean 
grew tired of her: he had a passion for intrigue, which 
almost amounted to disease ... in fact he spent every 
night at orgies in the town;" yet in another book 3 the 
same writer says: "A disgraceful and groundless charge 
was made against Governor Maclean." How he would 
propose to reconcile such contradictory statements, or 
what evidence he could possibly have gathered more than 
a quarter of a century after the event to induce such a 
change of opinion, it is difficult to imagine. 
Ridiculous though these rumours were, they were 
eagerly believed, and Maclean's reputation in England 
soon became so evil that nothing was considered too bad 
to be attributed to him nor too improbable to be un-
hesitatingly believed. There can be no doubt that L. E. L. 
1 Again contrary to Mrs. Bailey's statement. 
2 The Ashantee Campaign (r874), p. 64. 
3 Savage Africa (r863), p. 39. 
436 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1887-1848 was an exceedingly popular authoress and held a high 
CHAP. XXIV position in the affections of the public, who, now that they 
had lost their idol, were readily stirred by these false 
recitals of her wrongs to seek a means of avenging her by 
bringing her husband into disgrace. His every act was 
carefully scrutinized with the one idea of finding fault 
with it; but he himself knew nothing of what was going 
on while he was on the Coast and had no opportunity of 
contradicting these aspersions on his character. In fact, 
he was quite unaware of their existence until they had 
been current for some months. 
It was not long before these people found the opportunity 
they sought. One of Maclean's earliest acts on first 
assuming the government of the country had been to 
discourage and by all possible means put down the practice 
of offering human sacrifices, a custom that was by no 
means confined to Ashanti, but was universal along the 
coast also. By his continual efforts he had almost 
succeeded in putting a stop to it in the case of the Fantis, 
though isolated instances still occurred from time to time 
in which it became known that sacrifices had been made 
with more or less secrecy. 
Soon after the death of Mrs. Maclean, the mother of 
Kujo Chibu died. This was the Denkera King, who had 
recently removed from his own country and been allowed to 
settle at Ju kwa near Cape Coast, where he and his people 
enjoyed the same protection and privileges as the other 
coast tribes. He now sent a message to the Governor 
informing him of the death of his relative and assuring him 
that his wishes would be respected and no human sacrifices 
made. This of course was very satisfactory, and Maclean 
sent a present to the King to encourage him to keep his 
promise, warning him at the same time that, should he fail 
to do so, he would assuredly be punished; and, knowing 
very well the kind of saturnalia the people always held 
at these big funeral customs, and thinking it possible that 
in their excitement sacrifices might even yet be made, he 
sent a soldier back with the King's messenger, with in-
structions to stay in J ukwa until the custom was over 
HUMAN SACRIFICES 437 
and watch their proceedings. Although Kujo Chibu 1837-1848 
repeated his promises of obedience, the Governor's fears CHAP . XXIV 
were justified; for the King, yielding either to his own 
conscience or to the superstitious fears and entreaties of 
his people, caused secret sacrifices to be made, which were 
reported to the Governor in spite of all his precautions . 
Nor is it i.n the least surprising that he should have done 
so; for it must be remembered that, according to his 
religious beliefs, had he failed to provide these victims, 
he would have been offering a gross insult to his own 
mother and the first woman in his kingdom, and have been 
sending her into the next world very ill provided for. 
The belief held by all the Akan peoples is that every 
man has a dual personality, the actual corporeal man and 
a tenanting and to some extent protecting spirit known as a 
1/ kra." When the man dies, an intangible shadowy man 
or 1/ sraman," in all respects similar to the man himself 
during life, is evolved, and the kra is liberated and be-
comes a " sisa " or kind of wandering spirit . This idea of 
the kra closely corresponds to the European conception of 
a soul, and the sraman to that intangible form, a belief 
in which still persists among many, commonly called a 
ghost. Among the Akan peoples however, it is the sis a 
that is believed to remain on earth and have the power of 
annoying the living in various ways, while the sraman 
goes to the spirit world (Sramanedzi), where it continues 
its existence in the same social position as that held by 
the individual during life . It is this belief that has given 
rise to the custom of offering human sacrifices at funerals 
and on certain other occasions, the idea being to liberate 
the spiritual forms (asraman) of the victims and thus 
enable them to accompany and wait upon that of the 
deceased. Hence, at the funeral of a Chief or other great 
person who has been accustomed to be attended by a 
number of slaves during life, a proportionately large 
number of victims is slain. Similarly, the slaughter of 
prisoners that always follows a victory does not arise from 
wanton cruelty, for all these men would be of some value as 
slaves, but is intended as a thank-offering to the gods, to 
438 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 whom it is believed prisoners of war are specially accept-
CHAP. XXIV able as having fought on the side of their own opposing 
gods. Others again are killed to wait on the chiefs who 
have fallen. This custom, therefore, owes its origin to 
feelings of love and respect for the dead and veneration 
for the gods, and not to any inherent cruelty of disposition. 
Human sacrifices are, in fact, prompted by the purest 
motives. 
Kujo Chibu was at once brought to Cape Coast and 
heavily fined for what he had done, and a similar punish-
ment was inflicted on one of the Fanti Chiefs who was 
proved to have provided one of the victims. 
Mr. Jackson was strongly opposed to the Governor's 
decision in this case, and, according to him, the sacrifices 
were not made secretly but quite openly, though even so 
they constituted a distinct breach of the promise Kujo 
Chibu had voluntarily made. In reference to thi.s matter, 
he wrote: " I would like to draw the attention of the Com-
mittee to the fact that the acts for which the King of 
Denkera is accused were not done in secret, but at noon-
day in the presence of thousands of Denkeras and Teufels 
and strangers from all the surrounding country .... They 
know not that they are committing a crime; their money 
is taken from them, and they are irritated at the circum-
stance, but they believe the object sought is their gold, 
for the attainment of which the other is a mere excuse. 
Milder measures should, in the first instance, be resorted 
to. You are dealing with a nation, not an individual. 
They should be reasoned with, which, aided by the assist-
ance of their friends in endeavouring to convince them of 
their error, would in time succeed with these as it has 
done with others." 1 
There can be no two opinions about the general wisdom 
of these remarks. In the introduction of any reforms the 
" milder measures" should always be tried first; but if 
they fail, a time must come sooner or later when stronger 
action must be taken. The Government had for a long 
time set its face against human sacrifices, and the question 
1 Sarbah, Fanti National Constitution, p. r84. ..' 
THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S VIEW 439 
as to how soon severer measures are called for in such 1887-1848 
cases is one upon which there will always be room for an CHAP. XXIV 
individual difference of opinion . The real point of the 
whole difficulty, as has already been shown, lay in the. fact 
that this custom was not practised from caprice or any 
trivial motive, but was intimately connected with the 
very root of the national religion. 
These matters were now reported by the enemies of 
Maclean to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and it 
was represented that these and other similar measures 
were acts of oppression, and that the Governor had no 
right whatever to punish Kuj'O Chibu as he had done . They 
asserted that the position the English held in the country 
did not warrant such interference with the customs of 
the people, and in this they were in a great measure 
correct; for the country had never been conquered by the 
British, .nor ceded to them, facts from which it was now 
argued that the people could in no way be amenable to 
English law. 
The Secretary of State seems to have had no idea of 
the circumstances of the English in the country, nor how 
they maintained their position there, and adopted the view 
that Kujo Chibu must either be a British subject, in which 
case he should have been punished by death as a murderer, 
or that he was an entirely independent chief, in which case 
the Governor had no authority whatever to fine him. 
"This view was, howev@r, quite a mistaken one. The 
King of Denkera was neither a British subject nor inde-
pendent . He was one of several chiefs who had, in return 
for British protection-; surrendered a portion of their in-
dependence and submitted to British control. This 
control had for years been exercised for the suppression 
of inhuman customs, and Mr . Maclean was only following 
out a policy that had been continuous since r8r7."1 
The most that could have been said was that the English 
had no power, either by their legal rights in the country 
or by the conditions on which they held the forts from 
the Crown, to interfere with the customs of the people, 
1 Ellis, History of the Gold Coast, p. 204. 
440 ,MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1848 and had indeed been specially enjoined by the latter not 
CHAP. X XIV to do so except by persuasive means. The position, 
however, was not so much one for the consideration of' 
strictly legal rights as of policy. It was essential that the 
Governor's authority should be recognized as paramount, 
and it would no longer have been so had such disobedience 
been overlooked. Noone understood this better than 
Maclean. In a letter to the Secretary of State, dated 
13th April 184 I, he wrote: "Were the Government 
not to exercise control over the adjoining districts, or 
were it to refuse to exercise judicial authority over them; 
the labour of many years would be overthrown in one 
month and consequences would ensue too horrible to be 
contemplated . The Forts would become isolated ... 
trade and communication with the Ashantee and the 
Interior would cease ... oppression, rapine, murder and 
human sacrifices would take the place of that peace, 
good order and security of person and property which we 
have with so much labour and pains established through-
out the country." 1 But though the Secretary of State thus 
defined his views on the subject, he did not go so far as 
actually to disapprove of the Governor's action; but he 
warned him to be extremely careful how he attempted to 
put down or interfere with any native customs, and gave 
him distinctly to understand that he would have to accept 
all responsibility for any such measures. 
These agitators in England, who probably knew little 
or nothing about the Gold Coast and were ready to make 
any allegations that suited their purpose, upon however 
slight a foundation, and who seem, moreover, to have 
been actuated by feelings of spite against Maclean person-
ally rather than by any motives of philanthropy towards 
the natives, now brought a further accusation against 
the local government and charged it with encouraging 
slavery . Thus, the very people who had made such an 
outcry against the Governor because he had tried to 
abolish the horrible practice of offering human sacrifices, 
now blamed him for not having interfered with the equally 
1 Maelean's letter-book at Christiansborg Castle. 
ALLEGATIONS OF SLAVERY 441 
old-established and infinitely less objectionable custom of 1837-1848 
keeping domestic slaves; for this was the only form of CHAP. XJ!:IV 
slavery that still existed on the Gold Coast, the old slave 
trade having been completely suppressed along the whole 
line of coast over which British jurisdiction was exercised . 
It was, moreover, an institution with which the Crown 
Government that had preceded the present administra-
tion had never made any attempt to interfere, but had, 
on the contrary, openly abetted and recognized it by 
frequently employing the slaves of private persons and 
paying their owners for their services. 
Complaint was also made that a Spanish slaver, the 
Dos Amigos, and other vessels employed in the traffic, 
had been allowed to purchase stores on the Gold Coast . 
They, however, had no slaves on board at the time and 
only obtained ordinary stores and not slave-trading 
equipment, so that Maclean had felt it difficult, if not 
impossible, to take any action in the matter. He could 
neither have proved that the vendor was aware of the 
buyer's occupation, nor that the goods purchased were 
in fact intended for use in the slave trade. His own 
letters, written about 1840, long before any enquiry was 
thought of, are sufficient proof of his good faith and the 
care he habitually exercised to guard against rendering 
any assistance to slave traders. 
In a letter to the Committee, dated Cape Coast Castle, 
17 June 1839, he wrote: "It is perfectly true, and I 
have stated the fact at least fifty times in my official 
correspondence, that slave vessels (that is, vessels destined 
to convey cargoes of slaves from the leeward coast) do 
frequently anchor both here and at Accra. But has Her 
Majesty's Government ever invested the authorities here 
with power to interfere with such vesseis? We are neither 
at war with Spain, Portugal, nor Brazil: by what authority, 
upon what pretext, then, could I prevent vessels belonging 
to those countries from anchoring at any of our ports? 
These vessels, though fitted up for the slave trade, do not 
come here to purchase or ship slaves, but to purchase 
goods to enable them to carry on the slave trade to leeward. 
442 ; MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 But you are well aware that I possess no power to prevent 
CHAP. XXIV this, so long as the masters of those vessels comply with 
our port regulations; and that if I did presume to interfere 
with them, a memorial to the Secretary of State would 
(justly) ensure my being heavily censured, if not dis-
missed. 
"But I repel, with indignation, the insinuation (if 
such has been made) that these slave-dealers receive any 
aid or encouragement whatever from the authorities here. 
" I, on the contrary, assert that we have discouraged 
the slave trade by every means in our power; a triumphant 
proof of which is exhibited in the total abolition of that 
traffic throughout the whole line of our coast, 150 miles 
in extent; a consummation which neither Sir Charles 
Macarthy, nor his immediate successors, were able to 
effect, when they possessed twenty times our means, and 
fifty times our physical power. 
"If Her Majesty's Government disapprove of slave 
vessels being allowed to trade with this colony, let the 
order be given; and I shall take care that it shall be 
obeyed. 
" With a small armed vessel at my command, I would 
undertake to prevent slave traders resorting to any part of 
the Gold Coast ." 1 
Judge Stephen pointed out in reply that Maclean had 
" an undoubted right to seize all such vessels, and to 
send the masters and crews to Sierra Leone for trial," and 
the authority for such action would be the "British 
statute, to which, within the British dominions, all persons 
... are bound to yield obedience." 2 He omitted to say, 
however, how this was to be done in the absence of any 
armed vessel and with only the small force that Maclean 
had. 
Maclean's position was also supported by Lord John 
Russell's letter, dated Downing Street, 14 July 1841, in 
which he wrote: "The laws of Great Britain are, of 
course, binding only within the British dominions 
1 Report 011 the West Coast 01 Africa (1842), part ii, p. 127. 
• Ibid ., p. 128. . 
DOMESTIC SLAVERY 443 
but I do not understand that · a British subject would 1837-1843 
incur any penalty which would be enforced against him CHAP. XXIV 
in British courts of justice, by holding men in slavery 
within the limits of any country, by the law of which 
slavery is permitted . .. . Her Majesty's dominion on 
that coast (Gold Coast) is .. . of very narrow local range 
... it extends only to the forts themselves ... beyond 
the very walls of the forts there is no sovereignty, properly 
speaking, vested in the British Crown ... . Whether the 
residents within Her Majesty's dominions on the Gold 
Coast are Europeans, mulattoes or natives, the rule of 
law that no man can be holden in slavery there, is peremp-
tory and inflexible, and must be rigidly enforced . With 
regard to persons living in the vicinity, but not within the 
British dominions, the same rule does not apply . If the 
laws or usages of those countries tolerate slavery, we have 
no right to set aside those laws or usages, except by per-
suasion, negotiation and other peaceful means ." 1 
Domestic slavery was a well-established custom and 
had probably existed on the Gold Coast for as long as it 
had been inhabited, and still exists. It formed so integral 
a part of the social life of the people, whose whole system 
of society was based upon it, that any sudden attempt to 
interfere with it would have been bound to fail and would 
have caused such serious disturbances and have evoked 
such strenuous resistance and determined opposition that 
the ability of the English to maintain their position on 
the Coast must have been seriously endangered. No one 
understood this better than Maclean, who a:lso appreciated 
the vast difference that existed between slavery as it is 
ordinarily understood in European countries, where the 
slave is a mere drudge and chattel, and domestic slavery 
as it exists on the Gold Coast, where the slave is almost 
invariably well treated and regarded rather as a member 
of the family than as a servant and not infrequently 
succeeds in accumulating a considerable amount of per-
sonal property, and may, in certain circumstances, even 
1 Report of Select Committee on West Coast of Africa (1842), part ii, 
P·139· 
444 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 inherit that of his master. Other considerations had 
CHAP. XXIV also induced the Government to tolerate this internal 
slave trade. A large number of these domestic slaves 
were of course born in servitude on the coast, but nearly 
all fresh importations, and most of the class originally, 
came from Ashanti and were persons who had either been 
paid in tribute by subsidiary provinces or captured in war. 
In Ashanti, such men, when not immediately required 
for sacrifice, were kept as slaves and lived in constant 
danger of being chosen for sacrifice on some other occasion. 
By allowing the coast tribes to purchase and hold them 
therefore, their position was very materially improved; 
for they no longer ran this grave risk of being offered as 
victims to the gods and their good treatment as slaves 
was also fairly assured ; added to which was the further 
important consideration that these slaves and their issue 
greatly increased the population of the British pro-
tected area and provided a large number of men whose 
services would be available in the event of further trouble 
with Ashanti. Maclean, therefore, had very wisely re-
frained from any open interference with this institution 
and had merely endeavoured by every possible means to 
better the condition of the slaves themselves and ensure 
their good treatment, thus paving the way for the intro-
duction of greater reforms at some future time, should 
they be found necessary. In this he succeeded; and so 
soon as it became known that cruelty to slaves would not 
be tolerated, it quickly ceased. Maclean himself wrote 
to the Committee on this subject: " I am certain that no 
wise and prudent man, no true philanthropist, would 
hastily and rashly endeavour to force upon a people a 
state of society for which they are as yet wholly unpre-
pared, and which would inevitably plunge them into a 
worse condition of barbarism than that from which they 
are now so happily emerging." 1 
The people who propagated these reports, however, 
made it appear that the Gold Coast was a British Colony, in 
which the Governor tolerated and even encouraged slavery. 
1 Report on West Coast 0/ A/rica (1842), part ii, p. 149. 
COMPANY FIGHTS 445 
As a matter of fact, neither of these statements was cor- 1837-1843 
reet: the Gold Coast was not a British Colony, and the CHAP. XXIV 
Governor encouraged no form of slavery and only tolerated 
the comparatively harmless domestic form from sheer 
necessity and motives of good policy. The mere fact 
that they were incorrect, however, did not prevent a very 
widespread belief in them. It is difficult to conceive 
anything more inconsistent or ridiculous than the conduct 
of these agitators against Maclean, and the only point 
that can be urged in extenuation of their folly is that 
public feeling in England then ran very high on the subject 
of slavery, so that it was only necessary to make use of 
the word in order to arouse the greatest indignation, quite 
regardless of the question whether there was any true 
foundation for the assertion that slavery in the ordinary 
sense existed or not. They might with just as much 
reason have accused Maclean of encouraging the people 
to fight and exterminate each other because company 
fights occasionally occurred. 
The inhabitants of every town on the Gold Coast are 
divided into companies; and it was, and indeed still is, 
not an uncommon thing for one or more of these com-
panies, between whom a certain amount of jealousy and 
ill-feeling nearly always exists, to insult each other and 
fight. Besides the company flag proper, which they all 
have, each one usually possesses a number of other flags, 
the designs on which are emblematic of and commemorate 
some event in its history, which, while redounding to its 
own credit and glory, is often most distasteful to other 
rival companies by referring to some past defeat or the 
origin of some long-standing feud. These subsidiary flags 
are made and exhibited from time to time and almost 
invariably cause trouble, either by the implied insult or by 
actually infringing the design of one of another company's 
flags. The members of rival companies, too, have a taste 
for composing and singing annoying and insulting songs 
about each other, and when they are sung publicly, or 
the objectionable flags paraded through the streets, it 
. frequently happens that the insulted company will take 
446 , MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 up the challenge and a more or less serious riot ensues. 
CHAP. XXIV This result is all the more certain if such actions take place 
in the rival company's quarter of the town. The severity 
of these conflicts varies considerably. They may take 
the form of little more than a disorderly crowd, or assume 
the magnitude of a big armed riot or even a pitched battle 
on chosen ground. An instance of the latter occurred 
in 1841 at Kormantin, where two companies who had long 
been jealous of each other's strength took the field after 
due preparation and began to fight a regular battle, which 
would probably have ended in the decimation or extinc-
tion of one or other of them had not Mr. Cruikshank hurried 
over from Anamabo and intervened before much damage 
had been done. Yet, although he stopped the battle thus 
early, twenty-two men had already been killed when he 
reached the scene. 
The final result of this continued agitation against 
Maclean was the appointment of a Commissioner, Doctor 
R. R. Madden, who was sent out by the Home Government 
to enquire into and report on the state of the British 
Settlements on the West Coast. 'Some idea of the effect 
of the oft-repeated calumnies against Maclean, and the 
spirit in which a certain section at least of the public 
regarded Dr. Madden's mission, may be gained from the 
tone of some verses that were addressed to him at the 
time of his departure. 
"God speed the herald on his way, 
To whom the task is given 
To check oppression's iron sway, 
That mocks at earth and Heaven! 
The word he bears tram Britain's Isle 
Shall Nature's rights .estore, 
And Freedom's long-forgotten smile 
Revisit Afric's shore! 
Strike off those fetters from her hand ! 
Break off those withering gyves! 
Then see how native mind expands, 
How the crush'd heart revives! 
The blind shall see, the dumb shall sing, 
The slave forget his woe; " 
Etc., etc. 
SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED 447 
Considering the facts, it would be difficult to imagine 1837-1843 
anything more absurdly hysterical and misleading than CHAP. XXIV 
these lines. 
Dr. Madden only stayed a very short time on the Coast, 
and the brevitv of his visit,l combined with the fact that 
he was in very bad health at the time, made it quite im-
possible for him to form any accurate opinion on the 
matters he was to enquire into or realize the true relation-
ship in which the Government stood to the people. It was 
sufficient, however, to enable him to obtain some little 
superficial knowledge; and because he found that a form 
of slavery existed that was both recognized and tolerated 
by the Governor, and that the administration of justice 
was effected by a compromise between British and Fanti 
law, his report was most unfavourable to the local Govern-
ment. 
On his return to England, a Select Committee of the 
House of Commons was appointed to rep'ort to Parliament 
on the state of the West African Settlements. After very 
lengthy proceedings, this committee eventually agreed 
upon a report which entirely exonerated the local Govern-
ment and did justice to Maclean and his administration. 
"We fully admit the merits of that Administration, 
whether we look to the officer employed, Captain Maclean, 
or to the Committee under whom he has acted, which, 
with a miserable pittance of between £3,500 and £4,000 
a year, has exercised, from the four ill-provided forts of 
Dixcove, Cape Coast, Anamaboe and British Accra, manned 
by a few ill-paid black soldiers, a very wholesome in-
fluence over a coast not much less than 1-50 miles in extent, 
and to a considerable distance inland; preventing within 
that range external Slave Trade, maintaining Peace and 
Security, and exercising a useful, though irregular, Juris-
diction among the neighbouring tribes, and much miti-
gating and in some cases extinguishing some of the most 
1 He devoted one day only to his " enquiry" at Cape Coast. Vide 
Maclean's letter to the African Committee dated Cape Coast Castle, 
17th of January 1842. He arrived at Cape Coast on the 19th of February 
1841, while Maclean was at Accra, and left on the 26th of March, having 
been-continuously sick for all except the first and last few days. 
448 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 atrocious practices which had prevailed among them 
CHAP. XXIV unchecked before. 
" We would give full weight to the doubts which Captain 
Maclean entertained as to his authority, until specifically 
so instructed, to prevent vessels, suspected of being in-
tended for the Slave Trade, · but not having slaves on 
board, from trafficking in lawful goods within his juris-
diction; 1 and we do not infer from that circumstance, 
that the Government of these Forts had any partiality 
for an abominable Traffic, which, on the contrary, they 
have done so much to check; but we think it desirable, 
for the sake of enlarging the sphere of usefulness of these 
Settlements, and of giving greater confidence in the char-
acter and impartiality of their Government, that it should 
be rendered completely independent of all connection 
with Commerce, by a direct emanation of authority from 
the Crown, and that it should be placed, with increased 
resources, in direct and immediate communication with 
the general Government of the Empire . . .. 
" . . . The Judicial Authority at present existing in 
the Forts is not altogether in a satisfactory condition; 
it resides in the Governor and Council, who act as Magis-
trates, and whose instructions limit them to the adminis-
tration of British law, and that, as far as the natives are 
concerned, strictly and exclusively within the Forts 
themselves ; but practically, and necessarily, and usefully, 
these directions having been disregarded, a kind of irregular 
jurisdiction has grown up, extending itself far beyond 
the limits of the Forts by the voluntary submission of the 
Natives themselves, whether Chiefs or Traders, to British 
Equity; and its decisions, owing to the moral influence, 
partly of our acknowledged power, and partly of the 
respect which has been inspired by the fairness with 
which it has been exercised by Captain Maclean and the 
1 The Act by which such interference could alone be justified was 
never sent to or published in Cape Coast, because in 1833 " the Govern-
ment were ignorant of the existence of slavery in any of the British 
settlements on the western coast of Africa." (Vide Lord John Russell's 
letter; Report 0/ Select Committee on West A/rica (1842), part ii, p. 140 .) 
RECOMMENDATIONS 449 
Magistrates at the other Forts, have generally, we might 1837-1843 
almost say, uniformly, been carried into effect without CHAP. XXIV 
the interposition of force." 1 
In addition to recommending that the Crown should 
resume the control of the Gold Coast,' the Committee 
advised the reoccupation of some of the abandoned forts, 
such as those at Beyin (Apollonia Fort) and Winneba, not 
with any view to an extension of the territory under British 
influence, but in order to obtain better control over the 
Chiefs. They also advised the appointment of an inde-
pendent judicial officer, who should not be restricted in 
his administration by the technicalities of British law, 
and made various other recommendations for the increase 
of the military forces on the Coast, the employment when-
ever possible of acclimatized Europeans or educated 
Africans, the provision of better facilities for educating the 
people, and the gradual discouragement of domestic 
slavery , 
Accordingly, in 1843, the government of the Gold 
Coast was once more undertaken by the Crown and the 
Settlements were replaced under the control of the Governor 
of Sierra Leone. Winneba Fort was reoccupied, but no 
other forts were either rebuilt or garrisoned, and a large 
number of native clerks were employed. A company of 
the West India Regiment was sent from Sierra Leone to 
garrison the forts, and the general condition of the soldiers 
was materially improved.' Under these new arrange-
ments, Commander Hill, R.N., was appointed Governor 
and Captain Maclean Judicial Assessor.' 
1 Report of Select Committee (1842). part i, pp. iv, v. 
2 In June 1840 a suggestion had been made that an agent of the 
Crown should live at Cape Coast to watch and report upon the Merchant 
Government. 
3 In 1845 instructions w~re received for "the enlistment of the 
Militia or Armed Men into the 1st West India Regiment." This was 
done on the 1st of February, but only seven of the whole number that 
volunteered passed for enlistment. Many of the others , thus disap-
pointed, soon became mutinously inclined and a number of them were 
discharged. 
• This officer derived his powers from the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 
of 1843. 
1-29 
450 MACLEAN'S ADMINISTRATION 
1837-1843 No stronger proof of the justice of Maclean's govern-
CHAP. XX I V ment nor of his extraordinary abilities as an administrator 
could possibly be found than that afforded by the fact 
that he had governed this country for not less than four-
teen years and had only once had to resort to arms; and 
in spite of his having assumed control at a most un-
fortunate and difficult time, when the Ashantis were still 
smarting under their first serious defeat and were believed 
to be likely to make an attempt to retrieve their fortunes, 
and when the tribes on the coast itself were at war with 
one another and openly defying all authority, yet he had 
succeeded in restoring and preserving peace and good 
order, and est ablishing general security and prosperity 
throughout the whole country, to an extent to which they 
had never existed before. All this he had done without 
losing the respect and love of the people ; and although 
there must have b een an enormous amount of prejudice 
against him personally a t the time of the Commission of 
Enquiry, yet he em erged from this ordeal, not onlyexoner-
ated, but even praised to a great extent for what he had 
done . In 1828 the Government had abandoned the Gold 
Coast as an undesirable and useless Possession, and it was 
solely due to Maclean's wise administration that British 
influence had been so extended and strengthened and 
the country as a whole brought into so satisfactory a 
condition, that the Crown now found it worth while to 
revert to its former policy and resume control. 
Thus the long and eminent services of Captain Maclean 
at last received some official recognition. His duties 
now were to sit with the Chiefs in all cases in which 
Africans alone were concerned and to try such cases with 
them in accordance with the Fanti Customary Law in so 
far as this w as applicable and not at variance with the 
general princi pies of British justice. The Secretary of 
State, in his despatch defining the jurisdiction of the 
Assessor, laid down that his duties were to " consist in 
combining with an impartial investigation of the cases. 
brought before him, a mitigation of the severity of the 
sentences which, in such cases, would be awarded by 
MACLEAN VINDICATED 45 1 
native judges, in the event of conviction ," and t he 1837-1843 
Assessor was to be specially ca utioned of " the necessity C HAP . XXI V 
for a lenient exercise of the discretion entrust ed t o him ." 1 
T his mode of administ ering justice was identical with that 
originated and for so m any years carried out by Maclean, 
and it thus came ab out that t he very m ethods which he 
had inaugurat ed, but which had been so much cavilled 
at , were now sanctioned and legalized by an Act of P arlia-
m ent and continued under Crown rule. 
The Crown , moreover , adopted Maclean 's policy in 
dealing with · t he problem of domestic slavery; for n o 
active interference with the syst em was m ade, but the 
Judicial Assessor continued to use his influence t o ensure 
good treatment t o the slaves and discourage by every 
m eans in his p ower those defect s and abuses that a t times 
occurred. The old difficulty that had always been felt 
still exist ed, namely , that the British had no legal claim 
to t erritory or jurisdiction beyond the actual forts , and 
although some argued that the boundary extended to the 
limit of the range of the guns, this was too vague a de-
finition t o be of any practical benefit. The principle 
laid down by Lord John Russell, therefore , still h eld good, 
that "if the laws or usages of those countries tolerat e 
slavery, we have no right to set aside those laws or usages 
except by persuasion, negotiation, and other peaceful 
means. " 
In I 843 a carriage road, built by Henry Barnes of 
Anamabo from that town to Akrofu , a distance of ten 
miles , was completed . It had been begun three years 
earli er and was intended to facilitate the transport of 
timber to the coast for shipment, Barnes having been 
the first t o engage in this trade in 1830. 
1 P a rliamentar y Pa per, Report of Select Committee 01< W est Africa, 
J865 , p . 438 . 
CHAPTER XXV 
DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844 TO 1849 
1844-1849 COMMANDER HILL had not long been Governor when he 
CHAP. xxv determined to make some agreement with the Fanti 
Chiefs whereby they might be brought under better con-
trol and their relations with the Government be more 
clearly defined. To this end a treaty was drawn up 
and explained to them, to which they readily agreed, and 
it was signed at Cape Coast on the 6th of March 1844. 
This treaty is usually referred to as the Bond of 1844 and 
reads as follows: 
" BOND, 6TH MARCH 1844 
" Whereas power and jurisdiction have been exercised 
for and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen of Great 
Britain and Ireland, within divers countries and places ad-
jacent to Her Majesty's forts and settlements on the 
Gold Coast; we, chiefs of countries and places so referred 
to, adjacent to the said forts and settlements, do hereby 
acknowledge that power and jurisdiction, and declare that 
the first objects of law are the protection of individuals 
and of property. 
" 2. Human sacrifices, and other barbarous customs, 
such as panyaring, are abominations, and contrary to law. 
" 3. Murders, robberies, and other crimes and offences, 
will be tried and enquired of before the Queen's judicial 
officers and the chiefs of the districts, moulding the customs 
of the country to the general principles of British law. 
" Done at Cape Coast Castle before his Excellency the 
45 2 
THE BOND 453 
Lieutenant Governor, on this 6th day of March, in the 1844-1849 
year of our Lord 1844. CHAP. xxv 
" Their marks: 
" X CUDJOE CHIBBOE, King of Denkira. 
" X QUASHIE OTTOO, Chief of Abrah. 
" X CHIBBOE COOMAH, Chief of Assin. 
" X GEBRE, Second Chief of Assin. 
" X QUASHIE ANKAH, Chief of Donadie. 
" X AWOOSSIE, Chief of Domonassie . 
. " (Signed) QUASHIE ANKAH . 
. " Their marks: 
" X AMONOO, Chief of Anamabo. 
" X JOE AGGERY, Chief of Cape Coast. 
" Witness my seal on the 6th day of March 1844, and the 
7th year of Her Majesty's reign. 
" (Signed) H. W. HILL, Lieutenant Governor (L.S.). 
" Witnesses, and done in the presence of : 
" (Signed) GEORGE MACLEAN, J.P. and Assessor (S .). 
It F. POGSON, Lieut., 1st W. I. R egiment (S.) 
Commanding H . M. Troops. 
" S. BANNERMAN, Adj utant of Militia (S.)." 1 
No innovations were introduced by this treaty ; it 
conferred no new territorial rights; but it legalized and 
defined that jurisdiction in purely criminal matters which 
had been continuously exercised over the towns around the 
British forts ever since the commencement of the century 
and which Maclean had gradually extended to the whole 
Protectorate. But although nothing new was gained , 
it was none the less a very necessary step; for as time 
went on, it became more and more necessary to have 
documentary evidence of every agreement or arrangement 
made with the Chiefs and people, many of whom, in the 
coast towns especially, were now being educated and 
could no longer be regarded and treated as simple savages 
as had been the case in the past. 
Soon after Governor Hill's arrival, about December 
1 The signatures of the Chiefs of Dixcove were added on the 21St of 
August, and those ofthe Chiefs of Lower Wassa w on the 2nd of December . 
454 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 1844, a party of Ashantis was returning through Assin 
CHAP. XXV with trade goods from the coast, when a woman carrying 
a few gallons of rum, who was a little in advance of the 
others, was suddenly attacked by an Assin, who knocked 
her down and then, throwing her into the bush, left her 
for dead and carried the rum back to his village. The 
other Ashantis, on reaching the village and failing to find 
the woman there as they had expected, went back to 
search for her. They found her lying in the bush, but, 
though still breathing, she was quite unable to speak 
and died soon afterwards. Near the body they found a 
piece of cloth which had been dropped by the murderer. 
Taking this with them, they returned to the village, where 
they showed it to several people, saying they had found 
it lying on the road and were afraid they might be sus-
pected of having stolen it if it were found in their posses-
sion. A man soon claimed it as the property of his brother, 
who was then sent for but denied that it was his. It was 
proved, however, to belong to him, and he was at last 
forced to acknowledge it; whereupon the leader of the 
Ashanti party explained the circumstances in which it 
had been found and accused him of the murder. He was 
at once seized and taken before the Chief of the village, 
who sent him to Chief Chibu of Assin, who, however, said 
the case was far too serious for him to deal with and sent 
the man under escort to the Governor at Cape Coast. 
On their arrival in Kumasi, the Ashantis of course 
reported what had happened to the King. The news 
was speedily confirmed and feeling ran high against the 
Assins, whose independence since 183 I had always been 
a sore point with the Ashantis. Their resentment was 
soon turned against the Governor also; for he had omitted 
to comply with the customary rule of etiquette by sending 
to inform the King of his assumption of government, and 
now, as time went on and nothing was heard from him 
about this murder, they regarded his silence as more than 
a slight and an actual infraction of the treaty of 183 I. 
They knew that the criminal was in his custody, and 
expected him to notify the King officially of the murder.of 
FEARS OF INVASION 455 
one of his subjects within the protected territory and 1844-1849 
then punish the offender in accordance with the terms CHAP. xxv 
of the treaty. He did neither; and after waiting a reason-
able time, the King called a meeting of all his Chiefs to 
consider what should be done. 
There was in Kumasi at this time a Wesleyan mis-
sionary, George Chapman, who had come up with Mr. 
Freeman in August 1843 and been living in the town ever 
since. He was on very friendly terms with the King and 
Chiefs, and, being about to return to Cape Coast, was asked 
to be present at this meeting in order that he might hear 
all that passed and be able to state the King's views to 
the Governor. The Chiefs, after hearing the statement 
of the leader of the trading party and learning that the 
King had received no message from the Governor, were 
greatly excited. Two of them stood up and asked per-
mission to take the great oath that they would at once 
lead their men against the Assins and exterminate them ; 
but they were over-ruled by Kwaku Dua who said that, 
since Mr. Chapman had consented to act for them, they 
must first wait and see what the result of his negotiations 
might be; but he promised that if redress was not forth-
coming, he himself would lead his army against the Assins 
and go through and through their country until no living 
thing was left in it. 
On reaching the frontier at Fomana, all the Ashantis 
with Mr. Chapman were turned back by the Chief, who 
had orders from Kumasi to close the road and allow no 
one to leave the kingdom until the dispute had been 
settled. Orders had also been sent to the Ashantis then 
trading on the coast to buy up all the guns and ammuni-
tion they could find and return at once to the capital. 
Parties of men heavily laden with these warlike stores 
were met all along the road, and when Cape Coast was 
reached the traders were found in a state of great alarm 
and fearing an immediate invasion. The discovery had 
just been made that every store had been depleted of 
powder, while even in the Castle there was only enough 
to fire a few rounds of cannon and no more was expected 
456 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 for at least three months. Worse management cannot 
CHAP. xxv be imagined, and if the Ashantis had advanced they must 
have had everything their own way. 
The Governor alone ridiculed the idea of an Ashanti 
invasion and professed to believe that it would be easy to 
defeat any army the King could send with 3,000 or 4,000 
Fantis and Assins. Mr. Chapman's statements, however, 
soon dispelled this absurd idea, so that when three Chiefs 
arrived a little later with the King's message they found 
him prepared to treat the matter seriously. The mur-
derer was sent up to the place where the crime had been 
committed and there executed in the presence of the 
King's messengers, who then returned to Kumasi and 
reported that the terms of the treaty had been kept and 
the murder avenged. Thus, what at one time threatened 
to involve the country in another war was satisfactorily 
and easily settled by compliance with the perfectly just 
demands of the Ashantis and removing their fears that 
the English were about to disregard yet another treaty. 
Towards the end of 1845 Commander Hill resigned his 
appointment and was succeeded in the following year by 
Commander Winniett, R.N., Mr. James Lilly 1 having 
acted during the interval. 
In 1846 a company fight occurred at Elmina, which 
assumed such a serious aspect that it was only by firing 
the Castle guns that it could be stopped and thirty people 
were killed; and on the 6th of September in the same 
year a serious riot broke out at Accra between the people 
of James Town 2 and those of the Dutch town, during 
which the greater part of the latter was burned and several 
lives were lost on either side. 
Early in 1847 Governor Winniett visited Abomi, and 
on the 5th of April concluded a treaty 3 of friendship and 
commerce with Gizu the King of Dahomi. A year later, 
in 1848, as a result of a motion by Lord Fermoy in the 
1 Colonial Surgeon and Acting Secretary to the Governor. 
2 British Accra. 
• For full text see Report of Committee of House of Commons (I86S) . 
.A ppendix 3, p. 4I9· 
DON JOSE MORA 457 
House of Commons to endeavour to stop the barbarous 1844-1849 
practices so common on the West Coast, Mr. Cruikshank CHAP . xxv 
was sent on a mission to Gizu to try to induce him to 
abandon the slave trade and abolish human sacrifices; 
but he met with no success, the King pointing out that 
such innovations would endanger his throne and the 
very existence of his kingdom by removing the principal 
and almost sole source of his revenue 1 without providing 
any means of replacing it. 
Although the export slave trade had been entirely 
suppressed along the whole of the British coast line, it 
still continued in the eastern districts in spite of the efforts 
of the Danish Government to abolish it. In 1839 Governor 
Giede heard of the doings of a Portuguese slave trader 
named Don Jose Mora, who had established himself near 
the mouth of the River Volta, and led a force of sixty 
men against him. Mora was secured and his goods and 
slaves confiscated, but was subsequently released on 
undertaking never again to carryon the slave trade within 
the jurisdiction of the Danish Government. Three years 
later, however, in 1842, he was found to be carrying on 
his old business at Wei and Governor Wilkens, with a force 
of about ISO men, sailed down in an American ship and 
landed there by night. Mora escaped by jumping through 
a window, but his goods and such slaves as he had col-
lected were seized and taken to Christiansborg, where 
the latter were given their freedom and employed as 
Government labourers. 
In 1844 the Danish sergeant in charge of Fort Prin-
zenstein at Kitta heard that this same Mora, who had 
now been joined by two other slave traders, was still 
carrying on his business at Wei and prepared to arrest 
him. But before any attack could be made, the slave 
dealers got news of his intentions and moved. S~on 
afterwards, however, Mora openly defied the Danes by 
marching past the fort with a gang of slaves and was 
stopped. The slaves were brought into the fort, but he 
1 About 8,000 slaves were exported annually from Dahomi, the 
transit and export duties bringing the King a revenue of 300,000 dollars. 
458 , DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 himself was again allowed to go. He and his fellow 
CHAP. xxv traders now bribed the Awunas to assist them, and they 
forced their way into the fort, which was in a very bad 
state of repair, and compelled the sergeant to surrender 
the slaves he had taken . Some men, under an officer, 
were therefore sent from Christiansborg to repair the 
fort preparatory to taking steps to punish the people 
for this act; but while this was being done, a quarrel 
broke out between the garrison and the Awunas, who 
came up in great force and blockaded it, 
Mr. Schmidt had now succeeded Mr. Wilkens as 
Governor, and so soon as he heard of this outbreak, set 
out in person for Kitta with about 120 men and entered 
the fort without opposition. The Chiefs were sent for 
and asked to explain their conduct. They asked for 
time in which to prepare their answer and returned to the 
town promising to bring their reply the next day; but 
instead of doing so, they collected their men and laid 
siege to the fort , The town was bombarded and laid 
in ruins, but the garrison were soon reduced to great 
straits and were on the verge of starvation, when the French 
warship Abeille put in and relieved them just in time. 
The Governor then returned to Christiansborg and great 
preparations were made to crush the Awunas. A large 
force was collected, and a man-of-war, the Ornen, sent 
out to assist; but the Awunas, disheartened by the last 
struggle and the damage then done to their town and 
property, were in no mood for further hostilities and sued 
for peace. This was granted on payment of a fine, and 
the slave traders then removed to Popo. 
On the 22nd of May 1847 Maclean died of dysentery at 
Cape Coast after thirteen days' illness, and such was the 
universal respect that he had inspired by his long and just 
administration, both as Governor and Judicial Assessor, 
that for fourteen days after his death every store was closed 
and all business in the town suspended, while the people 
held a great funeral custom in his honour and the dis-
charges of musketry were almost continuous. Nor was 
this feeling confined to the inhabitants of Cape Coast, 
DEATH OF MACLEAN 459 
but it extended equally throughout the whole Protectorate 1844-1849 
and even penetrated beyond its borders into Ashanti. CHAP. xxv 
The Ashantis had long regarded Maclean as their fri end 
and protector; for he had never r efused to listen to any 
just complaint nor failed to give them satisfaction, and 
their traders had always been able to travel through the 
Protectorate to the coast without fear of molestation or 
robbery and with a degree of general security that they 
had never known before. The King, indeed, had con-
sidered his friendship of such paramount importance that 
he had been in the habit of making regular sacrifices in 
order to ensure its continuance. For weeks and months 
after his death parties continued to arrive from the out-
lying districts, and every Chief considered it his duty to 
take up a position in front of the Castle gate and fire 
several volleys as a mark of respect for the memory of the 
lil.te Governor before proceeding to attend to his business. 
Maclean was buried in the courtyard of the Castle, where 
a large stone slab bearing the initials" G. M." may still 
be seen marking his resting-place alongside that of L. E. L. 
Mr. J. C. Fitzpatrick succeeded him as Judicial Assessor. 
The mere forfeiture of his gold by Maclean had had 
no effect on the conduct of Kwaku Akka; but Governor 
Hill had been unable to take any further proceedings 
against him because the senior naval officer on the station 
refused to co-operate with him. Akka, therefore, was 
still in open revolt when Commander Winniett arrived 
at Cape Coast. He made several attempts to open com-
munication with him in the hope of inducing him to listen 
to reason and moderate his conduct; but in vain. Akka 
imprisoned his messengers and openly defied his authority. 
But these acts were as nothing compared to the outrages 
he committed soon afterwards, which quickly brought 
matters to a crisis and forced the Governor to take decisive 
action against him. Besides offering a reward of two 
ounces of gold for every head brought to him and murder-
ing a party of Was saw traders who had come down, Akka 
went still farther and kidnapped a number of the people 
of Axim, who were, of course, Dutch subjects, and also 
460 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 waylaid and murdered the French Commandant of Assini. 
CHAP. xxv Finally, he sent a message threatening to attack Cape 
Coast Castle, raze it to the ground, and dine off the 
Governor's liver. The Governor, therefore, determined to 
raise a sufficient force and march against him. It was 
known that Akka had about 2,000 well-armed men, whereas 
the only troops on the Gold Coast were the single company 
of the Ist West India Regiment that had been sent from 
Sierra Leone and about thirty armed police. It was 
necessary, therefore, to call upon the Chiefs for assistance, 
and they responded to the appeal so well that the only 
difficulty the Governor found was in limiting his force to 
reasonable numbers and refusing the services of those who 
were not required without giving offence. An expedi-
tionary force of between 4,000 and 5,000 men was thus 
quickly raised and left Cape Coast on the 24th of March 
I848. 
It is over a hundred miles along the beach from Cape 
Coast to Axim; but the whole of the troops 1 had reached 
there by the 3rd of April and entered the enemy's country 
three days later. The Apollonians disputed the passage 
of the Ankobra River on that day, the 6th, but were driven 
back; and a similar attempt to check the English advance 
at the Abmussa River the day after was equally unsuc-
cessful. Having been decisively defeated on two occa-
sions, the enemy quickly realized that further resistance 
was useless and sought to make terms. Akka had fled 
and · hidden himself in the bush-the advancing troops 
firing on his body-guard as he left Ateabu; but his many 
cruelties and consistently oppressive rule had not tended 
to win the love of his subjects nor increased their anxiety 
to run any serious risks on his behalf, and, still further 
stimulated by the offer of a reward of IOO ounces of gold, 
they now seized and surrendered him as the price of peace. 
An old captain, named Bahini, who had been instrumental 
in his capture, was elected by the people to succeed him, 
1 Two divisions of Fanti Allies under Messrs. Brodie Cruikshank and 
Francis Swanzy, and a company of the 1st West India Regiment under 
Lieutenant Bingham. 
APOLLONIAN EXPEDITION 
and became responsible to the Government for the good 1844-1849 
order of the country. It is, of course, just possible that CHAP. xxv 
it was not until now that the Apollonians became parties 
to the tripartite treaty of 183 I, but in that case Governor 
Winniett 's signature would probably have appeared, so 
that the date previously given 1 is the one most likely to 
be correct. On the 18th of April the troops returned 
with their prisoner to Cape Coast, where he was tried by 
the Governor and Fanti Chiefs on the 19th of December 
and condemned to death; but the sentence was com-
muted to imprisonment for life, and he died in Cape Coast 
Castle on the 28th of December 1851.2 
It seems extraordinary, but it is none the less a fact, 
that the Secretary of State blamed Governor Winniett 
for having undertaken this expedition and even threatened 
to make him pay its whole cost. It was only after its 
successful conclusion that a reluctant approval was at 
last extorted. It is difficult to understand in what possible 
way the Governor could have been expected to avoid 
acting as he did, or how he could even have been justified in 
delaying matters for the three months then necessary 
to communicate with the Secretary of State and receive 
a reply; nor is it easy to guess to what limits the evil 
might have extended had he done so. Governor Winniett 
rightly wrote in his despatch on the subject that "to 
allow a day to pass without .. . crushing rebellion and 
establishing good order ... would be to temporize with a 
case pregnant with incalculable mischief to the well-being 
of the British Settlements here." 3 It was not only the 
Wassaws and other tribes, but the Dutch and French also, 
who naturally and rightly looked to the English Governor 
for redress, and their opinion of his government could be 
better imagined than described had he been content to 
remain inactive in the face of all tha't Akka had done. 
Other Chiefs also might have been tempted to revolt had 
1 Vide p. 42I. 
2 He lost his reason in prison, and was a helpless idiot for some time 
before his death. 
• Winniett's letter book at Christiansborg Castle. 
462 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
I B·U-IB49 they seen Akka successfully defying the Government , 
CHAP. xxv whereas the ease and promptitude with which the neces-
sary force had been raised and the rebellion crushed could 
not fail to have a very beneficial effect on them .l 
In 1848 an attempt was made, in accordance with 
special instructions that had been sent out by the Secretary 
of State, t o induce natives of the Gold Coast to go as free 
emigrants to the West Indies . It was hoped that they 
would obtain an extensive practical knowledge of tropical 
agriculture, which would prove useful when they r eturned 
after a few years. Nothing came of the scheme however" 
for neither the Chiefs nor the people themselves were in 
favour of it. The Chiefs, because they failed to appreciate 
or foresee its possible advantages, and estimated their own 
power and importance by the number of men they had 
under their command or as domestic slaves in their retinues , 
and the people, because they already had plenty of land 
in their own country, which produced all they required, 
and were averse t o leaving it for any problematical benefits 
to be obtained in a strange one. 
Governor Winniett had received special instructions 
t o put down human sacrifices by every possible means , 
and, affairs on the coast now being quiet, he left Cape 
Coast with Mr. Freeman and an escort of one company of 
the 1st W est India R egiment and the band, under Captain 
Powell , on the 28th of September 1848 for Kumasi, where 
he hoped to be able to come to some agreement with the 
King of Ashanti for their abolition. In this he met with 
no success; but Kwaku Dua seized the opportunity of the 
Governor's presence in his capital to try to regain his 
authority over the Assins and asked that they might 
now be returned to him . The Governor promised to, 
consult the wishes of the people themselves and be guided 
by their decision, and accordingly, on his return to Cape 
Coast , sent for the Assin Chiefs and told them of the 
1 It appea rs that the Apollonians were m a de to bea r the cost of the 
expedition, for there is an entry in one o~ the old letter-books at Chris-
tiansborg Castle that the Apollonia Chiefs" on the r6th of iHay r848 
h ad made themselves responsible to the Crown for the sum of 
[r,I70 45 . 5id ." '.' 
EFFECTS OF SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 463 
King's request. But they preferred to remain under 1844-1849 
British protection, and the King was soon afterwards CHAP. xxv 
notified by Acting Governor Fitzpatrick that they had 
elected to remain as they were and must, therefore, be 
considered entirely independent of Ashanti. This visit 
to Kumasi, the first ever undertaken by a Governor, was 
not a very politic m easure; for it was claimed by the 
Ashantis that the Governor, by coming to see their King, 
had admitted his own inferiority . The coast tribes, too, 
regarded the matter in much the same light; for on the 
Gold Coast, and especially in Ashanti, where court etiquette 
is always most strictly observed, it is ever the inferior who 
visits his superior. All things considered, therefore, this 
visit probably did more harm than good. 
When the Basel Mission first began work on the Gold 
Coast they confined themselves to Christiansborg; but a 
little later, one of their missionaries, Ries, visited Kumasi 
but met with no success. The Society then began to work 
among the tribes in the Volta River district in the hope of 
ultimately being able to penetrate to Ashanti by this 
route, and in 1864 Klauss crossed the river and founded 
a station on the top of a hill at Anum. 
The effects of the establishment of a school at Cape 
Coast and of mission stations both there and elsewhere 
now began to manifest themselves . While it would be 
unjust to blame the missionaries for all the results that 
were directly or indirectly the outcome of their settlement 
in the country, it cannot be denied that the first comers 
at any rate seem to have been actuated by a very large 
amount of indiscreet zeal and but little foresight; and 
though it must be remembered that they had very many 
difficulties to contend with, they did undoubtedly, though 
quite unintentionally, bring about some distinctly un-
fortunate results. These men were strangers to the 
country, knew nothing of its people, and allowed their 
anxiety to gain converts to lead them into error. In-
stead of taking the trouble to study the beliefs the people 
already held and then trying to eliminate the defects from 
their creed and engraft something better in their place, 
464 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 they rashly and erroneously concluded that because they 
CHAP. xxv made use of certain inanimate objects in connection with 
their worship, they must be idolaters and the whole system 
essentially corrupt; a conclusion that a little careful study 
and enquiry would have given them good reason to modify. 
In their efforts to gain converts, therefore, they tried to 
expunge every trace of these natural beliefs before pro-
pounding a faith which, to an African, cannot be easy to 
understand, and thus left the majority of their subjects 
floundering in a sea of doubt and mystification from which 
they frequently tried to save themselves by grasping once 
more at their own beliefs, while many of those who adopted 
Christianity had a most perverted idea of what it really 
was. 
It was at this time, too, when education was first intro-
duced to any large extent, that the "Coast scholar" 
appeared. This term is usually regarded, and commonly 
used, as one of contempt or derision; but if it is applied 
indiscriminately in this sense a great injustice is done. 
On the Gold Coast, as in other parts of the world, the 
amount of knowledge acquired by different individuals 
varies within the widest possible limits, from the man who 
can merely read or write, or perhaps scrawl his own name 
in the most laborious and imperfect manner, to men who 
have acquired a thorough mastery of the English language 
and read widely. Such men have educated and trained 
their minds to such a degree that their opinions, especially 
when given on subjects concerning their own people and 
customs, must always carry weight and be entitled to the 
greatest respect. These men are thoroughly well educated, 
and their services in various capacities are invaluable and 
indispensable. But they are exceptional. It is to the 
youth who, either from a disinclination for honest work, 
or from a mistaken idea that by acquiring a smattering 
of the rudiments of education and aping the European 
in dress and manners, believes that in some mysterious 
way he will add to his dignity and better his position, that 
the term " scholar" is correctly applied in its local and 
restricted sense. He it is who, having learned sufficient at . 
EFFECTS OF SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 465 
school to enable him to make some show of education and 1844-1849 
impose in various ways on the entirely illiterate, lacks CHAP . xxv 
sufficient energy or means to complete his education and 
leaves. His scanty store of knowledge is not enough to 
gain him employment as a clerk or qualify him for any of 
the other positions open to the more energetic and ambitious; 
yet he feeb that he must get some return for the money 
and time he has spent, and being too proud to do any 
manual labour, is soon driven by necessity to prey upon the 
wholly illiterate, who seem to regard him with a kind of 
superstitious awe as a person possessed of wonderful and 
mysterious powers. Such education as he has acquired, 
moreover, too often merely enlarges the scope of any 
criminal instincts he may possess by enabling him to 
perpetrate various fraudulent offences impossible to the 
more ignorant. At best, such men do an immense amount 
of harm to other quite innocent persons, by indulging 
in all kinds of extravagances and involving their families 
in debt, and by giving an erroneous impression of the effects 
of education on the African. 
When the missions were first started, the pay given 
by the missionaries to those whom they were compelled 
to employ as interpreters and teachers, and_to the numerous 
carpenters, masons and labourers who were required to 
erect the necessary buildings, fully equalled, even if it 
did not exceed, the wages they could obtain elsewhere. 
Employment at the missions, therefore, became so popular 
that great numbers of people were induced to join them, 
the majority of whom came there primarily for what they 
could get. They then heard the teachings of the mission-
aries which, to them, were so novel and strange that it 
is not surprising that they were the cause of a great deal 
of misconception and induced the people to believe that 
by adopting this new faith they would derive many im-
portant temporal benefits. Time, of course, undeceived 
them, and so it came about that the numbers of so-called 
converts quickly fell off and the attendants at the missions 
consisted almost solely of the persons in their employ. 
But although the vast majority thus fell away, there were 
I-30 
466 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 a very few who adopted Christianity in all sincerity and 
CHAP. xxv their numbers slowly increased; a fact which seems to 
have been largely due to the more politic and temperate 
conduct of Mr. Freeman. 
The pagan inhabitants of the Gold Coast are remark-
able for their easy-going tolerance as regards their own 
religion and that of others. This is mainly attributable 
to the fact that most of the Gold Coast deities are local or 
individual ones, whose sphere of influence and power is 
limited; so that while a few are revered by a whole district, 
others are only worshipped by single communities, families 
or individuals as tutelary gods. It would be considered a 
foolish act of supererogation for anyone to waste his time 
by worshipping the local gods of another district who were 
too far away either to help or molest him, though, should 
he travel thither and thus come within their sphere of 
influence, he would probably think it good policy to pro-
pitiate them with some small offering. These early Chris-
tians, however, became imbued with a fanatical zeal in the 
cause of their new faith and a contempt for their former 
beliefs that led them into extremes, and the missionaries 
seem to have made no attempt to curb them. In the end 
these people went to such lengths that they quite over-
stepped the bounds of all reason and 'ordinary tolerance, 
and so exasperated the pagan community that serious 
trouble arose and nearly involved the whole country in 
a religious war. 
Mission stations had been opened at several places away 
from the Society's headquarters at Cape Coast, and amongst 
them was a small school at Asafa, where there were about 
ten or fifteen converts. This village was near Mankesim, 
where the great fetish Brafo dwelt, and which might, 
therefore, be regarded as the religious headquarters of all 
Fanti.l This fetish was consulted by persons from far 
and near and its priests drove a very lucrative business, 
1 Brafo is said to have been appointed by the god Bobowisi of \Vin-
neb a Hill, who is a general deity, to act as his deputy in minor matters. 
He was brought to Mankesim from Ashanti, where he had been pointed 
out by the local priests. (Ellis.) 
RELIGIOUS DISTURBANCES 467 
so that it cannot have been at all pleasant for them to see 1844-]849 
their god repudiated in the immediate neighbourhood of CHAP . xxv 
his shrine . But although this doubtless gave rise to a 
certain amount of ill-feeling, they took no active steps to 
interfere with the Christians. The latter, on the other 
hand , in 1849, moved from their own to another small 
village, stylI nearer to the sacred hollow in the forest in 
which the god was believed to dwell. Here they began 
to abuse and ridicule Brafo's worshippers, and even went 
so far as to clear the bush in the immediate neighbourhood 
of the sacred grove and make their farms there. 
This was more than the priests were prepared to stand. 
The credit of the deity and their own easy means of making 
a livelihood were endangered, and they therefore called 
upon the Chiefs and people to defend the honour of their 
god. They, however, did not consider it necessary for 
them to take any action, for they were convinced that 
Brafo would speedily avenge himself without human aid, 
and it was not until they had been disappointed in this 
belief and had seen unusually good crops growing on the 
Christians' farms, even after one of them had shot an 
antelope 1 in the sacred grove itself, that they felt it in-
cumbent upon them to do something. A council was 
therefore held, at which it was agreed that the Chiefs should 
combine to defend the honour of the fetish . Adu, the 
King of Mankesim, who lived on the spot, was appointed 
its immediate guardian, but he received the moral support 
of all the other Chiefs, who promised to share with him 
the responsibility of any action he might find it necessary 
to take . 
Soon after this arrangement had been made, one of the 
fetish priests, a member of one of the less important 
grades, joined the Christians, and he with two others 
entered the sacred grove and cut several poles there for 
building purposes. The priests, so soon as they heard 
of what had been done, went to Adu and called upon him 
to punish these men, and he, having collected his people, 
went by night to the village in which the Christians were 
1 Sacred to Erafo. 
468 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844-1849 then living and, reaching it at daybreak, burned it and 
CHAP. xxv carried ten of the Christians prisoners to Mankesim. 
These men had been going out of their way to look for 
trouble, but now that they had succeeded in finding it they 
were of course the first to complain, and the matter was re-
ported to the Governor, who had known nothing of what was 
going on. He at once sent a soldier to Mankesim sum-
moning Adu to Cape Coast to explain his conduct, while 
the Judicial Assessor, realizing that the Chief would hardly 
have ventured to such lengths unless he had received great 
provocation and taken a particularly serious v iew of the 
matter, tried to save further trouble by sending privately 
to Arnonu the King of Anamabo and asking him to use 
what influence he had with Adu to prevail upon him to 
comply with the Governor's summons and not m ake 
matters worse by a refusal. The fetish priests, in the 
meantime, were endeavouring to persuade Adu to drown 
the renegade; but he refused, and on the arrival of the 
Governor's messenger, fixed a day on which he promised to 
corne to Cape Coast and bring his prisoners with him, at 
the same time guaranteeing their personal safety and 
explaining that he could not corne at once as he required 
time to collect his people. A second messenger was then 
sent to order him to corne to the Castle immediately, who, 
on his arrival at Mankesim, found Adu on the point of 
starting and accompanied by all the Fanti Chiefs who had 
promised him their support and a great number of followers. 
On reaching Anamabo, the Chiefs wrote to Mr. Bannerman, 
who was then Commandant of the fort, pointing out the 
difficulty they would find in maintaining so many of 
their people in Cape Coast and begging that the Judicial 
Assessor would corne to Anamabo and settle the case there, 
promising at the same time to abide by whatever decision 
he might give. This request was granted, and the Assessor, 
on his arrival at Anamabo, found the whole of the Fanti 
Chiefs collected there with about 3,000 of their people. 
The facts were quite clear and were not disputed by 
either party. It was admitted that the Christians had gone 
out of their way to insult the fetish and been guilty ;>f 
TRIAL OF ADD 
conduct calculated to provoke its worshippers, and that 18U-184.9 
Adu had thereupon seized them and burned their village. CHAP. xxv 
The Court ordered Adu to pay the Christians £56 as com-
pensation for the loss of their property, and an additional 
sum of £40 to the Government as a fine for his offence, 
while the Christians on the other hand, were to pay £20 to 
the Fanti Chiefs as compensation for the insult offered 
them through their fetish . 
The Chiefs now obtained permission to retire and con-
sult together, and, on their return to the Court , acknow-
ledged the justice of the sentence with the exception of 
the order for payment of compensation to the Christians 
for the loss of their property. To this they strongly ob-
jected, urging that the losses they had suffered were an 
altogether inadequate punishment for the offences they 
had committed and that they would be compromising 
the dignity of their god if they consented to pay this sum. 
They further requested that, in deference to the already 
outraged feelings of the deity, the Christians should be 
ordered to abandon the farms and village they were occupy-
ing. The Assessor replied that his judgment had been 
based on the principles of equity, without any regard to 
the religious aspect of the case or the respective merits 
of Christianity and fetishism, and he could not therefore 
alter it ; but he was ready to mediate between the parties 
with a view to the prevention of future quarrels, and to 
advise the Christians to sell their present farms if the 
Chiefs would buy them. The Chiefs soon saw that it was 
vain for them to hope to change this decision, though they 
were far from being convinced by the Assessor's arguments, 
and merely said: " If our master prefers these ten Christians 
to the whole of the Fanti nation, we cannot help it; we 
are sorry, but we submit. II It is always hard for the 
African to believe that might does not necessarily mean 
right. Anfu Otu the King of Abra, and Amonu the King 
of Anamabo stood sureties for Adu and agreed to be re-
sponsible for the payment of the money. 
The case had been heard in the hall of Anamabo Fort, 
which could only accommodate about 200 of the principal 
4 70 DrST -RBA-\"CES OK THE COAST 
1844-1849 men, and the r emainder of the p eople had been W3.1tmg 
CH AP . x:.".W outside the gate to hear the r esult of the trial . So soon 
as the Chief- left the fort and the decision was made 
known, man] of these people seized their arms, which 
they had preYlously hidden in the houses in the tOWil, and 
Adu \,as quickly surrounded "by at lea t 1,000 armed men, 
"Who raised him up on their head- and carried him through 
the treets, defiantly proclaiming him the protector of t heir 
god and bearing a fe\l' ke.,as of powder before him as an 
intimation that he was prepared to fight. This demon-
stration had been arranged by some of the Chiefs, unknown 
to the _"\bras and .-\.namabos, and the hearing at the latter's 
town had been specially requested \lith the object of 
ayoiding the presence of an:- troops and in the hope of 
a'i\ing the _,-\sses-or by these means into gi,-ing a decision in 
accordance v,i th their "ishes " 
The _-\ssessor, fearino- they might perhaps proceed to 
extremes, and hearing occasional shouts recommending 
the massacre of the Christians, came out and ordered _-\du 
to come down from his palanquin. He obeyed; but was 
immediately hurried away by his people, who thought the 
Assessor was about to make him a prisoner, while the 
rl.n3.lllabos, fearing some harm might befall the _-\ssessor, 
seized their arm- and ranged themsel,es by his side; where-
upon the others seeing they had not all the force on their 
side, at once scattered and fled up the roads towards their 
yillages . Amonu now began to feel anxious about the 
payment of the yariou- sums for which he and Otu had 
made themselyes responsible and followed _-\du in the 
hope of being able to persuade him to return . H e oyer-
took him at Great h.ormantin, where Adu turned upon 
him and re\iled him as a traitor to his god and the compact 
they had all made when the,- met in council at ::'IIankesim, 
adding that he had only aireed to come to _-\.n3.lllabo to 
ha,-e the case heard because he had been com-inced that 
the Fantis were so firmly lea"o-ued together on this point 
that the _c\ssessor would neyer dare to giye judgment 
against him. ince he had done so, howeyer, and _-\.monu 
and Otu had been foolish enough t o encouraae and abet 
" 
DEFIANCE OF ADD 471 
him by standing sureties for the various payments, he, 1844-1849 
Adu, intended to allow them to pay. CHAP. xxv 
For four months Adu maintained an attitude of armed 
defiance, collecting large quantities of powder and lead, and 
cutting war paths through the bush, deaf alike to the 
remonstrances of the Governor and the persuasions of 
those Chiefs who sided with the authorities. Many of the 
Chiefs openly supported Adu and camped near the fetish 
grove, where they kept a constant guard lest any attempt 
should be made to destroy it or arrest their champion. 
Otu and amonu, though willing to redeem their promise 
and pay the fine, were not called upon to do so; for it 
was felt that such a termination of the affair would be 
most unsatisfactory, and the Governor preferred to let 
matters wait until time and the inconvenience caused 
by the unsettled state of the country should bring the 
revolted Chiefs to reason. It would, moreover, have been 
extremely risky to attempt to use force, for it would have 
been necessary to call on some of the Chiefs for assistance 
and it was impossible to know on whom to rely. The nature 
of the quarrel caused it to be universally regarded as a 
religious question, and few, if any, of the pepple would 
have dared to take up arms against Brafo. 
Eventually, the interruption to trade and the generally 
disturbed state of the country caused such universal dis-
content that the Chiefs who had at first supported Adu 
were inclined to be less enthusiastic in his cause, and the 
Governor considered the time had come when an effort 
might be made to settle the quarrel. He accordingly sent 
for the King and Chiefs of Cape Coast, and, after telling 
them that he was about to lead an expedition against Adu, 
called upon them for assistance. At this, as had been 
expected, they demurred; pointing out that, although 
they were willing enough to fight for the Government on 
any ordinary occasion, yet they regarded this as a very 
different matter and dared not take up arms against the 
Brafo fetish. They, therefore, begged the Governor to 
defer his plans for another week to give them time to send 
a final deputation to Adu. This suggestion was readily 
472 DISTURBANCES ON THE COAST 
1844.-1849 agreed to, but a great show of military preparations was 
CHAP. xxv made by continually exercising the troops and serving out 
ammunition. Adu's long resistance had been solely due 
to the fetish priests, whom he had consulted on each occa-
sion when messengers had reached him, but as they now 
saw that it would be useless . for them to try to hold out 
any longer, they informed him that the fetish said he 
might go without fear. Adu accordingly came to Cape 
Coast attended by most of the Fanti Chiefs and a large 
retinue. The greatest excitement prevailed in the town 
and every precaution was taken to guard against any 
repetition of the disorderly scenes that had taken place 
at Anamabo. Fort William, which commands the Castle 
and town, was garrisoned by an officer and a party of 
gunners; the whole of the Castle garrison was kept under 
arms; all sentries were doubled; a request that the case 
might be heard outside the Castle was refused; and the 
Castle gate was placed in charge of an officer's guard, who 
had orders only to open the small wicket and to admit 
none but the principal men. 
Over six hundred of the chief men in the country assem-
bled in the Castle Hall, and after the Linguist of the Cape 
Coast deputation had related what its members had done, 
Adu was brought forward and, throwing hjs handkerchief 
down at the Governor's feet in token of submission, ac-
knowledged his error and begged for mercy, pleading that 
he had not acted in his own interests but rather in the cause 
of the whole Fanti race and in defence of his faith. He 
further said that he thought the Judicial Assessor was 
prejudiced against him and asked that his case might be 
reheard. This was done; and the Governor, magistrates, 
and principal Chiefs, having retired without the Assessor 
to consider their judgment, confirmed the decision that 
had been given at Anamabo. Adu was then required to 
deposit fifty ounces of gold in the Castle as security for his 
good behaviour for two years, but was not otherwise 
punished for his disobedience. The fine and compensa-
tion to the Christians were then paid and this long-drawn-
out dispute was finally set at rest. 
FETISH PRACTICES EXPOSED 473 
While these events had been happening, a fetish man 1844-1849 
named Kofi Kuma, who had quarrelled with another priest CHAP. xxv 
about a woman, privately disclosed the whole fraudulent 
business of the priests to the Judicial Assessor and fur-
nished him with the proofs of a plot against several of the 
leading converts to Christianity, namely George Blankson 
of Anamabo ; Hayfron the fort interpreter; and William 
Parker and Stanhope, who were office-bearers at the Wes-
leyan Chapel. A secret meeting had been held at dead of 
night on the shore of the lagoon near Anamabo, at which 
it had been decided to murder these men and subscriptions 
had been collected for the hire of a fetish man to poison 
them and thus remove the chief danger threatening their 
own religion and means of livelihood . The Chiefs were, 
therefore, summoned to a second meeting, at which this 
plot and the practices of the fetish priests were fully ex-
posed by the Judicial Assessor. The priests found guilty 
of conspiracy to poison were publicly flogged in the market 
place at Cape Coast and subsequently imprisoned for 
five years in the Castle, while their female confederates 1 
received sentences of two years' imprisonment each. But 
though this exposure seems to have caused a tremendous 
sensation at the time and the people temporarily lost 
faith in their beliefs, this effect was by no means per-
manent, and a year or two later the worship of Brafo began 
to revive and was soon in as flourishing a condition as ever. 
1 Nineteen persons in all were found guilty. 
CHAPTER XXVI 
THE POLL TAX 
1850 TO 1859 
1850-1859 IN 1850, by Letters Patent dated the 24th of January, 
CHAP. XXVI the Gold Coast was separated from Sierra Leone and 
constituted a separate government, with Executive and 
Legislative Councils for the management of its affairs. 
During 1849 the Danish Government had expressed 
their willingness to dispose of their Possessions 1 on the 
Gold Coast, and negotiations had been openecl which 
resulted in the purchase of all their forts and rights in the 
country by the English for the sum of £10,000. Unfortu-
nately the records were not included and were removed 
to Denmark. It was hoped that the departure of the 
Danes would facilitate the introduction and collection of 
Customs duties on imports 2 and that the sum thus raised 
would more than suffice to meet the extra expenditure 
which the maintenance of these forts would entail. It 
was also found that the anxiety of the Danish Government 
to dispose of these Possessions was so great, that if England 
refused the offer it would be made to others Powers. They 
had, in fact, already been offered to Mr. Forster, of the firm 
of Forster and Smith, then trading on the Gold Coast, on 
condition that he would hoist the Danish flag and keep 
the forts and other buildings in repair, and there was 
every probability that the French would be given the next 
opportunity of acquiring them. It was felt, therefore, 
1 It was costing them £4,000 per annum to maintain them. 
2 The Danes had already refused to co-operate in levying a duty on 
imported spirits. 
474 
TRANSFER OF DANISH FORTS 475 
that it might possibly lead to a renewal of the slave trade, 18.50-1859 
or at least to increased difficulties in its prevention, if CHAP. XXYJ 
these forts passed into the hands of any person or nation 
less sincerely anxious than the English and Danes were 
to abolish it. Their acquisition was, moreover, desired, 
because, although the 'relations of the English and Danes 
with one another had on the whole been very friendly, 
doubts had arisen within recent years as to the extent of 
their respective jurisdictions, and a dispute in reference to 
the districts of Akim and Akwapin had been in existence 
ever since 1838. In {act, this question was constantly 
cropping up, but had never been de'finitely settled. 
All the arrangements for the transfer of the forts having 
been completed, Governor Winniett left Cape Coast on 
the 26th of February 1850 with Mr. Freeman, who acted 
as his secretary, and Dr. Dolce, and went to Accra to take 
them over; but owing to the illness of the Danish Governor 
Mr. Carstensen, it was not until the 6th of March that the 
actual ceremony took place. On that day the various 
officers, including Mr. Schamarez the Dutch Commandant 
of Fort Creve Cceur, left Accra at nine o'clock in the 
morning and marched in procession to Christiansborg. As 
they entered the Castle a royal salute was fired by the 
Danish garrison, the Danish flag was hauled down, and 
the Union Jack hoisted in its place and saluted by Fort 
Creve Cceur and James Fort. In the courtyard they 
were met by Governor Carstensen, the officers of the 
Danish garrison and the principal inhabitants of the town, 
and the keys of the fortress were formally handed over.1 
The Chiefs were then admitted and the transfer was ex-
plained to them, to which, though naturally sorry to see 
the Danes go after having lived under their flag for so 
many years, they raised no objection. Mr. Bannerman 
was left at Christiansborg as Civil Commandant, with 
Lieutenant Stokes and a small detachment of troops to 
1 Governor Winniett wrote" to meet a wish generally expressed here 
in this country," aSking that Christiansborg Castle should be renamed 
«Grey Castle" or "Castle Grey," after Earl Grey, who was then 
Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 garrison the Castle, and the next morning the Governor 
CHAP. XXVI started on a tour of inspection through the other places 
belonging to Denmark. He was accompanied by Captain 
Schiioning, who had been appointed by Governor Carstensen 
to hand them over. 
Teshi Fort, which was in bad repair, was taken over 
the same day, and Ningo Fort, which was little more than 
a ruin, the day after. On the 12th, Kitta was reached 
and the British flag hoisted on Fort Prinzenstein.1 The 
town itself was still in ruins, never having been rebuilt 
since the bombardment in 1847, and the people were now 
living in another town about two and a half miles away. 
They came in to see the Governor, however, and received 
permission to return and rebuild their old town under the 
fort provided they showed proper respect to the British 
flag. On the 15th Adda Fort, which was also in urgent 
need of repair, was taken over, and from there the journey 
was continued through Krobo and Akwapim to Akropong 
and other towns, the party returning to Accra on the 2 1St. 
None of the Chiefs or people at any of the places visited 
had raised any objections to the transfer, which was thus 
quietly effected without any trouble.2 
The property thus acquired included Christiansborg 
Castle and a Martello Tower 3 and burial-ground a few 
hundred yards to the west of it, two houses at Fredericks-
borg, about a mile inland, and a large tank in the town. 
There were also the four forts, Prinzenstein, Friedensborg, 
Konigstein and Augustaborg at Kitta, Ningo, Adda, and 
Teshi respectively; Fredericksgaor, the plantation in the 
Akwapim Mountains; and Fredericksnople and Frederick-
stadt, the abandoned plantations near Akropong and' 
Dodowa. 
All former attempts having proved abortive, the ac-
quisition of the Danish Settlements was deemed a favour-
1 Five brass guns from this fort were subsequently removed to Cape 
Coast Castle. 
2 After the transfer, the Governor moved to Christiansborg Castle, 
which then became Government House. 
3 Governor Carstensen wrote some of his letters from "Fort Pro-
vestein," Accra, which may have been this tower, or the Castle rename? 
ARREST OF BAHINI 477 
able opportunity for the imposition of customs duties. 1850-1859 
But though the Danes had gone, the Dutch still remained, CHAP. XXVI 
and, by their refusal to co-operate,l rendered the col-
lection of a revenue by this means quite hopeless; for 
their Settlements were so scattered along the Coast and 
so intermixed with those of the English, that it would 
have been impossible to prevent wholesale smuggling. 
Soon after the transfer, it became known that a man 
had been roasted alive at Ningo for witchcraft and several 
other charges of breaches of the peace were made against 
the Chiefs and people. The Chief and Headmen were, 
therefore, arrested, tried at Christiansborg, and imprisoned 
in Cape Coast Castle. Soon afterwards a similar case 
occurred at Adda, but when the Chief, Odumfu, and his 
councillors were summoned to appear at Christiansborg 
and explain their conduct, they refused to obey and im-
prisoned the messengers. The Governor, therefore, led 
a force of roo men of the rst West India Regiment under 
Captain Craig against the Addas, who then sued for peace 
and surrendered the five principal offenders, who were 
imprisoned in Cape Coast Castle. The Addas also under-
took to pay a fine of r ,600 dollars to defray the cost of the 
expedition. 
The undertaking given by the Chiefs of Apollonia to 
Mr. Cruikshank on the r6th of May r848, that they would 
pay 326 ounces 4 ackies of gold to defray the cost of the 
expedition against Akka, had never been fulfilled. By 
the end of January r 849 only 34 ounces 5 ackies had 
been paid, and an offer was then made to compound the 
balance by payment of £750, but rejected. The Judicial 
Assessor, Mr. Fitzpatrick, was therefore sent to Apol-
Ionia with orders to obtain payment, but was insulted 
and threatened by Bahini. After being constantly put off, 
Mr. Fitzpatrick finally arrested Bahini, and a most riotous 
scene took place in the yard of the house where the meeting 
was being held. Blazing fire-brands were thrown on 
1 Sir W. Winniett wrote that Governor Van der Eb was himself an 
extensive trader, having two vessels of his own, and often being absent 
from Elmina on trading expeditions. 
THE POLL TAX 
'1850-1859 the roof of Mr. Fitzpatrick's house, and the six militiamen 
CHAP. XXVI he had with him were nearly all seriously injured, while he 
himself r eceived a severe blow in the eye with some weapon. 
In the end , he was compelled to release his prisoner, 
and then demanded the return of the British flag. Another 
Chief, Amaki, however, who had throughout been doing 
his utmost to preserve order, implored him not to take 
the flag from them, and a few days later Bahini and the 
other ringleaders of the riot surrendered themselves and 
were taken to Cape Coast and tried . Bahini was sentenced 
to two years' imprisonment, another man to six months, 
and the remaining three received forty-eight lashes each in 
front of the Castle. 
In 1850 an attempt was made to grow cotton on the 
Gold Coast and an American was sent out to supervise 
the plantations: 25,000 cotton bushes were planted near 
Cape Coast, but the difficulty of obtaining labour sQon 
caused the business to be abandoned. A few years earlier, 
large quantities of coffee had been grown, but this had 
had to be given up for the same reason . The plantations 
had been worked principally by pawns, and after this 
system was discouraged it was found impracticable to work 
them any longer to advantage. 
Governor Winniett died 1 on the Coast on the 4th of 
December 1850 and, after Mr. James Bannerman had 
acted as Governor for twelve months, Major S. J. Hill 2 
was appointed in October 185 I . During his administration 
an important m easure was passed which went farther than 
anything else had yet done to define the true relations in 
which, the Government and people stood to each other. 
The failure of Customs duties 3 had made the Home Govern-
ment anxious to devise some other means of raising a per-
manent revenue for the support of the Settlements, and 
Lord Grey, had, moreover, laid down that the people 
1 Of dysentery. 
2 Afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel and Governor of Sierra Leone. 
3 The Governor r:eported that, owing to this fa ilure, there were no 
funds available to pay the salaries of the Commandants of Anamabo, 
Winneba, Kitta and Dixcove ,lind the Collector of Customs, some of 
whom were said to be " in real want." 
THE POLL TAX ORDINANCE 479 
should be expected to contribute something in return 1850-1859 
for the protection afforded them. A general meeting of CHAP. XXVI 
the Chiefs was, therefore, held at Cape Coast on the 
19th of April 1852, to consult with the Governor and 
other officers how this object might best be attained. 
This meeting first of all resolved itself into a Legislative 
Assembly with power to enact laws, and then passed several 
resolutions which were embodied in a document which 
was signed by the Chiefs and approved and confirmed by 
the Governor. This enactment became known as the 
Poll Tax Ordinance and was formally adopted by the 
Legislature as a legal ordinance of the Settlements. Its 
chief provisions were as follows : 
« I. That this meeting, composed of his Excellency 
the Governor, his council, and the chiefs and head men of 
the countries upon the Gold Coast, under British protection, 
constitutes itself into a legislative assembly with full 
powers to enact such laws as it shall deem fit, for the 
better government of those countries. 
« 2. That this assembly be recognised by Her Majesty's 
Government as legally constituted, that it be called the 
Legislative Assembly of native chiefs upon the Gold Coast, 
that it be presided over by his Excellency the Governor, 
who shall have the power to assemble, prorogue, and 
adjourn it at pleasure; and that its enactment, sanctioned 
and approved of by the Governor, shall immediately 
become the law of the country, subject to the approval 
of Her Majesty the Queen, and be held binding upon the 
whole of the population being under the protection of 
the British Government. 
« 3. That this Legislative Assembly being thus duly 
constituted, having taken into consideration the advan-
tages which the chiefs and people derive from the pro-
tection afforded them by Her Majesty's Government, 
consider it reasonable and necessary that the natives 
generally should contribute to the support of the Govern-
ment by submitting from time to time to pay such taxes 
as may be determined upon by the majority of the chiefs 
assembled in council, with his Excellency the Governor. 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 .. 4. That it appears to the chiefs at present assembled 
CHAP. XXVI in council, that the most productive, the least burthen-
some, and the most equitable tax which in the present 
state of the country can be levied, would be a poll-tax 
upon the gross amount of the population enjoying the pro-
tection of the British Government. 
" 5. That entertaining the views here expressed, the 
chiefs and head men do, for themselves and their people, 
voluntarily agree to pay annually to the Government the 
sum of IS. sterling per head, for every man, woman, and 
child residing in the districts under British protection. 
" 6. That the collection of the tax be confided to officers 
appointed by his Excellency the Governor, assisted by the 
chiefs, who, in consideration of annual stipends to be paid 
to them by the Government, agree to give, in their several 
districts, their cordial assistance and the full weight of their 
authority in support of this measure, and to aid the tax-
gatherers in taking a census of the population, and in col-
lecting the tax. 
" I I. That the revenue derived from this tax, after 
payment of the stipends of the chiefs and other expenses 
attending its collection, be devoted to the public good 
in the education of the people, in the general improvement 
and extension of the judicial system, in affording greater 
facilities of internal communication, increased medical 
aid, and in such other measures of improvement and 
utility as the state of the social progress may render 
necessary, and that the chiefs be informed of the mode of 
its application, and entitled to offer such suggestions on 
this point as they may consider necessary." 1 
Other provisions referred to the details of collection 
and authorized the Governor to collect the tax for the 
current year.2 A meeting of the Kings of Accra, Chris-
tiansborg, Akim, Akwapim and Krepi and other Chiefs 
of the eastern districts was held at Christiansborg soon 
1 Parliamentary Paper, Report of Committee, r86S, p. 420 . 
• The Governor proposed Brodie Cruikshank as Chief Collector to 
supervise at a salary of £600 per annum. 
EFFECT OF THE ORDINANCE 481 
afterwards, at which the Governor and Mr . Bannerman 1850-1859 
explained this Ordinance and its provisions were agreed to . CHAP. XXVI 
This Ordinance or Agreement was of very great im-
portance; for it established the right of the people to 
the protection of the Government , a right that was not 
clearly defined by any of the treaties then in force and 
concerning the existence or extent of which great doubts 
had existed. The convention of an assembly of Chiefs 
with power to enact laws in conjunction with the Governor 
and Council was also a great innovation and practically 
amounted to a parliament of the representatives of the 
people . What might have resulted from a continuance 
of this arrangement must always remain an open question, 
for they were never again assembled . The position of 
the people was now defined by the Treaty of 1831, the 
Bond of 1844, and this Poll Tax Ordinance, and there was 
no longer any room to doubt that, in return for their 
concessions in the modification of their laws and customs 
and their agreement to contribute towards the expenses 
incurred by the Government on their behalf, they were 
absolutely entitled to protection and the Government 
was bound to afford it and guarantee their independence 
of Ashanti. 
There is no doubt that the Governor, in forming this 
Assembly of Native Chiefs, had more in view than the 
passage of this single measure. On the 22nd of August 
1850, James Bannerman and Brodie Cruikshank had 
addressed a long letter to Governor Winniett, in which 
they said that, " It is in the nature of social improvement 
and Civil Government to advance by slow degrees, and so 
gradual have been the encroachments upon the authority 
of the Chiefs, but at the same time so decided the elevation 
of the lower classes, that partly by force, partly by reason, 
and partly by corruption, an extraordinary modification 
amounting almost to a subversion, of the rights of the 
former have been silently and acquiescently effected." 
They explained that there had been less murmuring under 
the administration of the Committee of Merchants, because 
the process had not then gone so far, and a portion of the 
1-31 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 Parliamentary grant had been appropriated to gIVIng 
CHAP. XXVI presents to the Chiefs whenever they had been sent to or 
for, and they had also been treated with more show of 
respect for their station. "Thus while his Teason acknow-
ledged the justice, his self-esteem was flattered by the 
condescension of the Government. At present, however, 
there is no fund appropriated for purposes of this nature, 
and the Government is only now known to the Chiefs as 
the instrument of their correction, and the abridger of 
their privileges." They added that it would be "per-
fectly impossible to govern the immense population of 
the Gold Coast without the instrumentality of the Chiefs" 
and recommended "a legally constituted deliberative 
assembly, to be called' the Assembly of Native Chiefs,' 
to be appointed to meet at Cape Coast Castle twice every 
year for the purpose of framing, with the assistance of the 
Judicial Assessor and other Magistrates, such laws as shall 
when sanctioned and confirmed by the Governor become 
generally binding upon the Natives of the Country." 1 
The members of this Assembly were to receive a small 
annual stipend from the Government. Governor Hill 
doubtless had this letter before him and was, to a great 
extent, acting on the advice contained in it; for he him-
self, in his despatch to the Secretary of State on the subject 
of the Poll Tax Ordinance, dated the 23rd of April 1852, 
wrote; "The Natives having agreed to the payment of 
this small Tax, I was puzzled as to the manner in which 
I could frame any law making it binding on the Chiefs 
and People to fulfil their promise, as possessing no terri-
torial jurisdiction and the Natives not being British 
Subjects, it was out of my power to frame any Ordinance 
affecting them. Under these circumstances and with a 
view to future legislation I considered it advisable to form 
the Native Chiefs into a Legislative Assembly placing 
myself at their head." He added that the "scholar" 
class, consisting of "certain educated Natives with no 
real pretensions to any power were in the practice of 
assuming an authority with the people that did not belong 
" Letter-book at Christiansborg Castle. 
THE GOLD COAST CORPS 
to their position, by such means exercising an undue 1850-1859 
influence with the Chiefs and Headmen, and generally CHAP. XXVI 
opposing in an underhand manner the efforts of the 
Governor." 1 He said that he well knew they had done 
all they could to oppose the Poll Tax Ordinance, and that 
this opposition had been successfully overcome by placing 
the chiefs in their proper position and bringing them into 
direct communication with the Executive. 
Now that there seemed to be a reasonable prospect 
of raising a revenue in the country, it was decided to 
dispense with the services of Imperial troops and enroll a 
local corps, to be called the Gold Coast Corps, to garrison 
the forts.2 It had been found that the men of the 1st West 
India Regiment, who had been doing this duty since 1843 , 
did not stand the climate well, and it was thought that 
by enlisting natives of the country it might be possible 
to provide a more efficient force. This corps was to 
consist of 300 men trained as artillerymen. They were 
armed with an Enfield carbine and sword-bayonet, wore 
a Zouave uniform similar to that of the West India Regi-
ment, and were paid 7d. a day. The officers 3 were given 
command of a company after three years' service and their 
majority at the end of six, or a captain could retire on 
a pension of £150 a year. 
The only natives of the Gold Coast who were likely to 
enlist in this corps were runaway slaves or pawns, and 
Major Hill had received orders not to return any of these 
men to their masters. Hitherto these instructions had 
not caused any trouble, for slaves would not run away 
unless they could obtain employment, and if suddenly 
emancipated could only steal or starve. Cruikshank, 
whose work was published at this time, says that nearly 
1 Letter-book at Christiansborg Castle. 
2 Headquarters and half the Regiment were stationed at Cape Coast. 
and the remainder at Accra, Anamabo, and Dixcove. 
3 Major Hill was appointed Major during his Governorship; three 
lieutenants of Colonial Regiments were appointed captains, three others 
lieutenants, and three N.C.O.'s ensigns . The establishment was sub-
sequently increased by three captains, three lieutenants, one adjutant, 
three European sergeant-majors, and six drummers . 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 all the crimes on the Gold Coast were committed by runa-
CHAP. XXVI way slaves who lived by theft and plunder and always 
gave the same excuse for their conduct, namely, that they 
had no one to look after and support them. Noone 
appreciated their position better than the slaves them-
selves; and when Dr. Madden, during his visit to the 
Coast, told a number of these men at Accra that they were 
free, they immediately asked him to provide for their 
subsistence, saying that if the Government freed them 
and did not intend to support them, they would certainly 
starve and would much prefer to remain as they were. 
By a diplomatic fiction, it was supposed that no slavery 
of any kind could by any possibility exist within the 
limits of British jurisdiction, and, consequently, that any 
slave or pawn became immediately free by virtue of 
entering one of the forts and standing on purely British 
soil. This was of course an extreme view, which, whether 
theoretically correct or not, was most unsuited to the 
circumstances and needs of the case and bound to cause 
difficulties. Major Hill, however, decided to enlist these 
men in the new corps and thereby nearly brought about 
a serious outbreak; for it no sooner, became generally 
known among the slaves and pawns that this employment 
was open to them, than numbers of them came to the 
Castle, and the Governor, acting up to the strict letter of 
his instructions, refused to hand them back to their masters 
and enlisted them as soldiers. These men, or at least 
the majority of them, were not Fantis or members of any 
coast tribe, but Wangaras, Gonjas, Grunshis, Dagombas 
and others who had been captured or taken as tribute 
and sold by the Ashantis, They were collectively known 
on the coast as Donkos. 
The wealth of many of the Chiefs and principal men 
consisted almost entirely in slaves, and it can readily be 
understood that they regarded this sudden detention of 
their property, which was against all precedent and all 
Government, as nothing less than pure robbery. A great 
outcry was raised and for a time affairs looked very threat-
ening and a serious outbreak was imminent. The Chiefs 
ASHANTI INTRIGUES IN ASSIN 485 
were determined not to submit to such high-handed 1850-1859 
interference with their property, and were moreover CHAP. XXVI 
fully prepared to use force in the defence of their rights. 
The Governor was thus driven to adopt a middle course, 
and it was arranged that the Chiefs would supply as many 
men as were wanted, but that they must be paid for by 
the Governor handing a portion of their pay to their former 
masters each month until eight pounds, which was the 
usual price of redemption, had been paid. The difficulty 
having been got over by this means-which amounted to 
an official recognition of and connivance at slavery-
the Gold Coast Corps was quickly raised and the company 
of the rst West India Regiment, which had been reduced 
by deaths to but fifty rank and file, returned to Sierra 
Leone early in r853 . It can be seen, however , from the 
amount of determined resistance that these actions evoked, 
even from persons who were not directly affected by them 
but were only defending a principle, how utterly im-
possible it would have been ever to have attempted to 
abolish domestic slavery. Nothing short of the most 
overwhelming force would ever have compelled the people 
to relinquish so ancient a custom and one that was so 
closely interwoven with their social system. 
About the middle of r852 trouble arose in Assin, where 
the Chief, Kujo Chibu/ began to intrigue with Ashanti. 
The Assins, who had revolted against Ashanti during the 
last war and fought with the Fanti allies at the battle of 
Dodowa, had had their independence declared by the 
treaty of r 831 and most of them were living a little to the 
south of the Pra, where they enjoyed the same protection 
as the other tribes who lived nearer the coast. There had, 
it is true, been earlier rumours of secret dealings between 
the Assin Chiefs and the King of Ashanti, who had more 
than once shown his anxiety to have these people returned 
to him, and as early as r835 the Fanti Chiefs had become 
alarmed and expressed grave doubts as to the propriety 
of trusting Chibu too far. He and the other Assin Chiefs 
1 Not to be confused with the loyal King of Denkera, who had now 
been dead for two or three years. 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 had then been placed under the immediate superVISiOn 
CHAP. XXVI of Anfu Otu the King of Abra , who was made responsible 
for their conduct, and this control had been maintained 
until 1843, when the Assins, having behaved well, had been 
released from further surveillance. 
I}:ujo Chibu, who was dissatisfied with the way in which 
he had been treated on several occasions and conceived, 
rightly or wrongly, that the Government was ignoring 
the power and dignity of the Chiefs too much, now took 
advantage of the King's anxiety to regain his authority 
over his people to obtain from him a bribe of 400 ounces 
of gold by promising to assist him in compelling them to 
return to their former allegiance, for the Assins them-
selves were too much alive to the advantages and freedom 
they now enjoyed to have any intention of willingly 
renewing their submission to the arbitrary rule of Ashanti. 
These proceedings reached the ears of the Governor, and 
a soldier was sent to summon Kujo Chibu to Cape Coast to 
give an account of his conduct. This messenger was 
detained by the Chief, and a small detachment under an 
officer then made a forced march by night and, reaching 
his village at daybreak, arrested Chibu and brought him 
to Cape Coast. 
The Fanti Chiefs were assembled to sit with the Governor 
and Judicia l Assessor to try him. He was charged with 
three distinct offences: first, sending a man as a prisoner 
to the King of Ashanti well knowing that he would be 
sacrificed; second, receiving a bribe from the King and 
endeavouring to persuade his Captains to accept part of 
it in order to bring them under Ashanti rule; and third, 
setting the authority of the Governor at defiance by 
detaining the soldier and telling him that he intended to 
throw off his allegiance and return to Ashanti , and that 
he did not care for anything the Governor could do. Chibu 
was found guilty on every count and sentenced to be de-
posed and imprisoned in the Castle for life, while Kobina 
Gabiri, another Chief, who was also convicted of disloyalty 
to the Government, but in a lesser degree, was punished 
by the imposition of a small fine. 
KUJO CHIBU'S POSITION 
A few weeks later, the allied Chiefs petitioned the 1850-1859 
Governor for Chibu's release and restoration to his stool. CHAP. XXVI 
While fully admitting his guilt and the justice of his punish-
ment, they considered that he now realized the enormity of 
his offence and was anxious to have an opportunity of re-
deeming his character, and they believed that if this was 
given him he would cause no further trouble. As a 
guarantee of his good conduct they proposed that the 
nephews of every Chief and Headman in Assin, who were 
the rightful heirs to the several stools, should be delivered 
to the Governor as hostages, so that the matter might 
be kept const antly before the minds of the Chiefs and 
people and it would be impossible for any repetition of 
these offences to occur. They also undertook to make 
a good road, such as the Governor should approve, from 
Cape Coast to the River Pra, and that those Assins who 
were still living on its northern bank should cross and 
settle within the Protectorate . To these t erms the 
Governor agreed, and Chibu was released in October I852 
and, with all his Chiefs and Captains, renewed his allegiance 
to the Government. 
Chibu, however, on his restoration to his stool , found 
himself in an awkward predicament ; for by accepting a 
bribe from the King of Ashanti he had by native custom 
bound himself to serve him, and he well knew that his 
failure to do so would not be overlooked. At the same 
time he had sworn allegiance to the Government, given 
hostages for his good behaviour, and still had vivid recol-
lections of his recent narrow escape from lifelong im-
prisonment. He tried to reconcile these two opposite 
positions by openly preserving an appearance of fidelity to 
the Government, and at the same time continuing his 
secret intrigues with Kumasi while he cast about him for 
some scheme whereby he might carry out his obligations 
to the King without incurring the vengeance of the Govern-
ment and Fanti allies . The King of Ashanti, meanwhile, 
knew that his anxiety to regain his power over the Assins 
had betrayed him into these underhand dealings, and 
that he could not, therefore, appeal to the Governor for 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 redress, but must either continue as he had begun or be 
CHAP. XXVI content to lose the 400 ounces of gold that he had paid . 
In accordance with his idea, Kujo Chibu now proposed 
to the King that he should send a party of Ashantis to 
Dunkwa for the ostensible purpose of making custom 
for Chibu the late King of Denkera, who had at one time 
been his subject, and that this party, on its way back 
through Assin, should assist him to escape to Ashanti 
and compel his people to accompany him. In this way 
he hoped to satisfy the King and at the same time delude 
the Governor with the belief that he was being forced to 
Kumasi against his will. This scheme was approved by 
the King, who therefore wrote to the Governor on the 
26th of March 1853, informing him that he was sending a 
party down with his brother Atjiempon to make custom 
for the late King of Denkera, and asking him to send a 
soldier to be present during the ceremonies at J ukwa to 
preserve order. This letter was sent by Atjiempon's 
party, which numbered about 300 armed men; but they 
no sooner reached Yankumasi Assin than the people began 
to suspect treachery, while Chibu, fearing discovery, and 
. in order to keep up the fiction of his fidelity to the Govern-
ment, pretended to be alarmed and fled to Dunkwa, where 
he placed himself under the protection of the Chief of 
Dominasi . His alarm, however, may not have been 
entirely feigned. It was possibly genuine enough and 
inspired by his doubts as to what kind of reception he 
might meet with in Kumasi and whether the King would 
really be prepared to overlook his failure to carry out his 
part of the first agreement. The Ashantis advanced a day's 
march beyond the River Pra to Fesu, where they were 
stopped by the Chief, who, suspecting the real purpose 
of their visit, said he could not allow so large an armed 
party to pass through his district and at once communi-
cated with the Governor. 
Atjiempon now tried to obtain permission to proceed 
to Cape Coast and there personally obtain the Governor's 
permission; but before anything had been agreed to, 
Ensign Brownell and a detachment of forty men who h:,d 
ASHANTIS IN ASSIN 
been sent up by the Governor arrived in Assin. Atjiempon 1850-1859 
then delivered the King's letter to him to be forwarded CHAP. XXVI 
to the Governor and stated the avowed object of his 
journey. Major Hill replied that the Fantis, having 
heard of the arrival of this Ashanti force in the Protector-
ate, were in such an excited state that he feared there 
might be a collision between the parties if the custom 
was proceeded with, and that he must, therefore, ask 
Atjiempon to withdraw. Chibu was sent down by the 
Fanti Chiefs to Cape Coast for safe custody, and Gabiri 
was then arrested and confronted with Atjiempon, who, 
at sight of him, lost all control of himself and disclosed 
the whole plot, accusing Chibu and Gabiri of having con-
spired together to swindle the King out of 400 ounces of 
gold. The wretched Gabiri had not a word to say in reply, 
and he, too, was therefore sent under escort to Cape Coast. 
Atjiempon still made various excuses for postponing his 
return to Kumasi and was daily being joined by reinforce-
ments, while the Fantis were so enraged by his presence 
that they seized all the Ashanti traders who happened 
to be in their villages and soon held about 400 of them 
prisoners. War seemed inevitable; but Major Hill sent 
Ensign Hill with forty-six men to reinforce Mr. Brownell 
and protect the Ashanti captives, but strict orders were 
given that in no circumstances was a shot to be fired 
except in self-defence. 
Ensign Brownell, having been assured by Atjiempon 
that the force encamped behind him had corne with no 
hostile intent, but was merely sent to cover his own retreat, 
decided to visit the camp and settle the matter on the 
spot. On his arrival, he was surprised to find an army 
of fully 6,000 men, but was well received and arrangements 
were made for a palaver to take place on the following 
day. It was then agreed that the Ashantis then in the 
hands of the Fantis should be handed over; that the 
invading force would then retire across the Pra, and that 
any dispute between the Governor and the King should 
be settled afterwards. Mr. Brownell rather rashly under-
took to remain in the Ashanti camp until the first half 
490 THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 of this agreement had been complied with, and about 400 
CHAP. XXVI Ashantis were at once collected and escorted within their 
lines; but Atjiempon still made excuses, maintaining 
that he could not leave until their property had also been 
restored. 
Atjiempon's escort was still receiving daily reinforce-
ments, and it was known that a second army under one of 
the King's sons had arrived and was encamped a short 
distance in rear of it. Major Hill, therefore, sent another 
letter to Mr. Brownell conveying an ultimatum to the 
Ashantis, and informing them tha t a ll their people's pro-
perty would be collected and restered as soon as possible, 
but that the invading force · must retire and the British 
troops be p ermitted to leave their camp within twenty-
four hours or he should consider war declared. Pre-
parations were at once made to compel obedience to these 
orders should they be disregarded. In response to a letter 
from the Governor, Commander Hasseltine arrived in 
Cape Coast roads with H.M.Ss. Britomart and Alecto and 
an army of over 10,000 Fanti allies was sent to Dunkwa 
under the command of Captain M'Court, who took one 
officer and 100 men ot the Gold Coast Corps, two field 
pieces and four rocket-tubes with him . Troops were also 
requisitioned from Sierra Leone and the Gambia and 
1,000 m en of the West India Regiment asked for, while 
orders were given to Captain M'Court, that in the event 
of his being attacked he was to retire steadily on Cape 
Coast so as to draw the enemy within range of the forts 
and avoid all risk of being himself surrounded and cut off 
in the bush. 
The Fantis had learned the advantage of combination 
at Dodowa and, instead of flocking to the forts for pro-
tection as they had formerly done on the first rumour 
of an Ashanti invasion, now answered the call to arms 
and took the field readily enough, so that the allied force 
encamped at Dunkwa was quickly swelled to over 24,000 
men. These preparations undoubtedly had a good effect 
and went far towards convincing the Ashantis that the 
coast tribes would not be the easy prey they used to find 
THE ASHANTIS RETIRE 49 1 
them. The forces, however, never came into collision. 1850-1859 
On the night of the 6th of April, a messenger arrived in CHAP. XXVI 
the Ashanti camp bringing orders from the King for 
Atjiempon's return. This messenger protested that the 
King had no quarrel with the Government and said he 
would like Mr. Brownell to wait and see his men recross 
the Pra so that he might be able to report their departure 
to the Governor. 
On the 9th the Ashantis broke up their camps, and re-
crossed the Pra on the following days. The threatened 
war was thus averted without a single shot having been 
fired, and an Ashanti army for the first time in history 
had assembled and retired without giving battle; but 
even though no engagement had taken place and war had 
never actually been declared, the interruption to trade 
was estimated to have involved the Cape Coast traders 
in losses of between £30,000 and £40,000, and twelve 
small villages in Assin and a number of farms had been 
destroyed. 
I t was afterwards ascertained from the reports of Mr. 
Laing, the Wesleyan missionary then living in Kumasi, 
that although the roads to the coast were carefully closed 
after Atjiempon's force had left the capital, yet the King 
gave out that they had only gone to make custom for Kujo 
Chibu and that the second force was despatched because 
he had heard that Atjiempon had been stopped. Atjiem-
pon left Kumasi on the afternoon of Tuesday the 15th of 
March and would have slept that night in one of the 
villages just outside the capital-probably Kasi-where 
he would have remained on the Wednesday also as this 
was a fetish day. It was, therefore, Thursday the 17th 
before he resumed his journey, and it would have been 
impossible for him to have reached and crossed the Pra, 
advanced another day's journey, been stopped, and then 
sent back a messenger to Kumasi by the time the rein-
forcements were despatched on the 21St. This argument 
has been advanced as conclusive proof of the King's real 
intentions; but it must be remembered that the Ashantis 
are not entirely dependent upon messengers for their 
49 2 THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 information but can communicate with each other by 
CHAP. XXVI drumming and other rapid means, and if the news of 
Atjiempon's reception in Assin was sent in this way it 
would have reached the capital in a remarkably short time 
-a few hours at the outside-so that these facts are not 
in themselves sufficient to prove that the King's in-
tentions were so purely hostile from the outset that he sent 
a second force to the support of the first before he heard 
from the latter. The point, however, is of no great im-
portance, for there is no room to doubt the King's main 
object, and the fact that he had allowed himself to be 
beguiled by Chibu was no excuse for his conduct. 
On the 16th of April Kujo Chibu and Kobina Gabiri 
were tried by the allied Chiefs, assisted by the Judicial 
Assessor, in the camp at Dunkwa, and having been found 
guilty of treason, were condemned to death. They were 
beheaded on the 18th in the presence of 10,000 of the allies, 
and Boaben and Kwow Abadu were then elected to the 
vacant stools. 
This is the first occasion on which a King of Ashanti 
ever contravened the terms of a treaty. Kwaku Dua 
himself was known to be a peaceable man, a fact to which 
the satisfactory termination of the affair was probably 
due; but although the King is the nominal head, his 
power is not absolute, but is controlled to a great extent 
by his Council, and it was no uncommon thing for some 
of the Chiefs when excited to take rash oaths as to what 
they would do, which they afterwards felt bound to re-
deem. In this way a peaceable King might easily be 
overruled in his Council and forced into a war for which 
he had no personal inclination. Whether this is what 
happened in the present case is doubtful, but it seems more 
likely that the King, having allowed his anxiety to regain 
his dominion over the Assins to betray him into listening 
to the wiles of Kujo Chibu, then found that he had gone 
too far to retract. Whatever Kwaku Dua's personal 
inclination may have been, there is no doubt that the 
Ashanti Chiefs as a whole were bent on war. Sergeant 
Hay of the Gold Coast Corps, who had been sent to Kumasi 
BLANKSON'S MISSION 493 
with a message by Mr. Brownell, reported on his return 1850-1859 
" that the King is the only man in Kumasi who does not CHAP. XXVI 
avow his wish to go to war with the English, all the other 
Chiefs and Captains are most anxious to commence 
hostilities ." 
It was generally felt throughout the Protectorate that 
only a temporary respite had been gained, and at the end 
of October 1853 Mr. Blankson, a native trader of Anamabo 
who knew many of the Ashanti Chiefs, was sent to the 
King to induce him to send delegates to Mansu to renew 
the old treaty or make a fresh one. He returned to Cape 
Coast on the 2nd of January 1854 with a letter from the 
King acknowledging himself to be still bound by the 
Treaty of 183 I, and in which among other things he wrote 
that he was" refusing to sign the new treaty, as I have 
good reasons in so doing; because I consider that I have 
not violated any of the rules in the old treaty since it was 
drawn up at Cape Coast Castle, until the occurrence of 
the recent excitement, caused by the evil conduct of the 
Assins, in which case I thought that I was justified in send-
ing a body of people to escort them to Ashanti country, 
at their own wish and request, without letting Governor 
Hill know of it .. .. I consider myself blameless in the 
affairs throughout, from the beginning of Governor Win-
niett's conduct and others, and have not infringed the old 
treaty, which require a new to be made or renewed, as 
you requested. In the meantime I still confirm the old 
treaty, and will act upon it, and in future also I shall never 
do anything without letting your Excellency know of it, 
as you had proposed, in reference to any injury that may 
be done to myself, or any of my subjects, the demanding 
of a debt or debts, or any other minor cases .. .. I can 
assure your Excellency also, that if I have violated the 
rules in the treaty which deserve a fine, and you asking 
me to lodge gold in the Castle, I shall not show any re-
luctance in doing so, knowing that it shall be sent to me 
again at the expiration of the period of time fixed .... 
Above all I beg your Excellency to represent the state-
ment of the case to the British Government in England, 
494 THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 that they might not think that I have done wrong III 
CHAP. XXVI these m atters, and refusing to sign the new treaty, as 
I have a lready given y ou my reasons of the same." 
In this letter the King, with a diplomacy by no means 
peculiar to Africa, a ltogether ignored his offence in having 
list ened to the overtures of · Kujo Chibu and laid stress 
on his own grievances in the case. H e, however, plainly 
avowed what his real obj ect had been in sending Atjiempon 
to Assin, and it was evident, not only from his letter, but 
also from Mr. Blankson's account of what had passed in 
Kumasi, that he had declined to admit the necessity for 
a new treaty because he clearly saw that any such admis-
sion would necessarily imply that he had broken the 
former one, an d he feared this might be made the ground 
of a claim for compensation . H e also referred to the 
cases of a soldier at Accra and a niece of Amonu the King 
of Anamabo , who had cursed him some time previoilsly, 
an offence for which Ashanti law prescribed the punish-
ment of death, but which the Judicial Assessor had per-
suaded him t o overlook. H e evidently r egarded these 
infractions of the treaty by persons under British protec-
tion as a fair set-off against his own offence. The King 
also asked that a British Resident might be stationed in 
Kumasi, and as there was no European officer who could 
be spared, an educated African, George Musgrove , was 
sent up. 
In 1853 the first Supreme Court Ordinance was passed. 
It provided for the administration of justice in causes 
both civ il and criminal and established courts under a 
Chief Justi ce . This Ordinance confined the jurisdiction 
" within Her Majesty's Forts and Settlements on the Gold 
Coast, " but in r856 this jurisdiction was extended by an 
Order in Council to the " Protected Territories" in all 
cases in which Her Majesty" might exercise (powers and 
jurisdiction) without the co-operation of any native chief 
or authority ." The same order empowered the Governor 
to make regulations by Ordinance" with respect to the 
exercise of the above-mentioned powers and jurisdiction, 
provided that equitable regard be paid to local customs." 
FAILURE OF THE POLL TAX 495 
The offices of Chief Justice and Judicial Assessor were 1850-1859 
held by one and the same person , and his jurisdiction , CH AP. X X VI 
therefore, was practically extended to a ll cases. 
The first payment of the poll t ax had been made without 
demur ; but though it had been estimated that it should 
raise a revenue of £ 20,000 a year, £7,5 67 6s . Id., the amount 
collected in 1853 , was the highest sum that was ever 
actually produced , and the payments fell off very rapidly 
until they finally ceased in 186 1, when only £1 ,552 3s. 4!d. 
was obtained . The tota l amount collected during the 
years from 1853 to 1861 , both inclusive, was £30, 286 lOS . 8d. 
Great complaints had been made, even as early as 1854, 
of the manner in which the tax was collected ; but the real 
cause of its failure was malversation; for a portion of the 
money was improperly used for the payment of salaries 
instead of being wholly devoted t o local improvem ents 
for the benefit of the people, as had been arranged. No 
census had been taken , and the collection of all this m oney 
was entrusted principally to local agen ts employed for 
the purpose. These men worked quite independently of 
the Chiefs, because it had been feared that if t he collection 
of the tax were left t o them , they might use it as a means 
of oppression and ex tortion. It does not seem to have 
occurred to anyone however, that such practices were 
quite as likely to arise , and in fact did arise , in the case 
of these paid collectors; and it is probable tha t even if 
the Chiefs had acted in the same way , the people would 
have taken it better from their natural heads than from 
men who had no political status or authority and against 
whom they had no constitutional remedy if they abused 
the powers given them. It was doubtless a choice of 
evils, but the greater of the t wo was the one chosen . The 
collection of any such tax in such a country would a t best 
be a most difficult t ask , and could only be attempted 
with any hope of success through the heads of the people . 
This tax really received its death blow when Sir Benjamin 
Pine, who was Governor in 1857, established municipal 
corporations; for they also collected taxes in the different 
districts and the two demands clashed . They in turn 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 lapsed under the next Governor and were extinct by 
CHAP. XXVI 1860. 
Early in 1854 the payment of the poll tax was for the 
first time openly resist ed . In the first week in January, 
Mr. Cruikshank, who was acting as Governor during the 
temporary absence of Major Hill, visited Christiansborg 
and informed the Chiefs that it was time for the tax to 
be collected again. They asked for the usual permission 
to retire and consult together, and promised to bring their 
answer in the course of the next few days; but when Mr. 
Bannerman sent for them after Cruikshank had returned 
to Cape Coast, they, having decided not to pay the tax, 
flatly refused to enter the Castle, and, as he declined to 
come out to them, returned t o the town . On the 14th of 
J anuary over 3,000 armed men assembled near the Castle, 
and in spite of the persuasions and arguments of the 
traders, publicly confirmed the resolution they had already 
passed. 
Mr. Cruikshank then returned to Christians borg and 
the garrison was reinforced with the intention of compel-
ling the people to submit; but before anything more was 
done, Major Hill arrived, and with the help of messengers 
from the Kings of Akim and Akwapim, who had been sent 
to reason with the rioters , peace was finally restored at 
a meeting held at Labadi on the 6th of March and a small 
fine was then exacted from the people for the disturbances 
they had made. 
Some months lat er , however, more serious riots took 
place. On the afternoon of Sunday the 27th of August, 
Captain Bird, while walking from Christiansborg Castle 
towards Accra, met some men rolling a puncheon of rum 
on which no duty had been paid and promptly seized it. 
This was no sooner reported in the town than the people 
turned out and attempted to rescue the rum from the 
soldiers who were removing it to the Castle, and, after 
a fierce struggle, in which stones were freely thrown and 
many blows struck, succeeded in recapturing it and driving 
the soldiers into the Castle . Lieutenant Brownell had 
recently arrived in Christiansborg to collect the poll tax, 
BOMBARDMENT OF CHRISTIANSBORG 497 
and the garrison having been reinforced on the 4th of 1850-1859 
September by an officer and fifty men drafted from Cape CHAP. XXVI 
Coast, he most unwisely tried to start the collection of the 
tax while the people were still excited by this dispute. A 
few traders paid; but the people were determined to resist, 
and, having posted guards to intercept any collectors 
returning to the Castle, fined the traders a puncheon of 
rum for their weakness. The people seem to have 
been under the impression that the abolition of the tax had 
been agreed to when peace was made after the last riots; 
but though the exact terms of this peace are not known, 
it does not appear that this was the case. On the 3 I st of 
August the mob tried to cut off all supplies and held up 
the people who were taking provisions to the Castle; 
This caused a second stone fight, in which one of the mob 
was killed. 
The whole of the eastern district was now in open re-
bellion, and matters had gone so far that it was decided 
to take extreme measures and bombard the town. H.M.S. 
Scourge, Commander John Adams, anchored off Chris-
tiansborg at five o'clock on the evening of the I I th of 
September, and the 13th was fixed for the bombardment . 
But though the intentions of the Government leaked out 
and were perfectly well known in the town, the people 
apparently felt confident that peace would somehow 
be made, and very few of them went away or troubled to 
remove their property. 
On the I zth, Lieutenant Hunt Grubbe landed with 
two seamen and helped the garrison to improve their 
defences and prepare for the bombardment, and on the 
morning of the 13th the Scourge weighed anchor and sailed 
towards Labadi. This had the immediate effect of draw-
ingoff the people of Teshi and Labadi to the defence of 
their own towns, and at seven o'clock that morning the 
ship began to bombard Labadi, while the guns of the 
Castle simultaneously opened fire on Christians borg . 
The women and children were at once hurried into the bush 
for safety, while the men seized their arms and prepared 
to attack the Castle. There were several stone houses 
1- 32 
THE POLL TAX 
1850-1859 within about thirty yards of the walls, and here the hunters 
CHAP. XXVI and all the best shots entrenched themselves and kept 
up so brisk and accurate a fire that the garrison were quite 
unable to work their guns and by noon the batteries were 
silenced. The Scourge was now bombarding Teshi, but 
the garrison could not signal to her for help, because the 
flag-staff halyards had been cut by a shot from one of the 
besiegers. This damage, however, was repaired at con-
siderable risk, and the Scourge returned in the evening and, 
after shelling the houses in which the enemy had concealed 
themselves, bombarded the whole town. During that 
night the defences of the Castle were improved so as 
to afford better protection to the gunners, and on the 
14th and 15th the bombardment was continued, while the 
Scourge sailed for Cape Coast, returning on the 17th with 
another officer and fifty more men of the Gold Coast 
Corps and fresh supplies for the garrison. Having once 
more bombarded Christiansborg, she sailed on the I9th 
and burnt Teshi. 
The people had now deserted the town and retired to 
the bush. The whole place was soon plundered by the 
soldiers and the houses near the Castle were pulled down ; 
yet, though the town had been reduced to ruins and the 
people had lost all their property, the casualties were 
very few. The Christiansborg people lost only five men 
and two women, while six men had been killed at Labadi 
and a few more wounded at each of the places attacked. 
The Castle garrison however, out of a total strength of 
I 3 I , lost seven killed and had twenty-three more 
wounded, including Captain Bird and Lieutenant Hunt 
Grubbe. 
Governor Hill arrived on the 27th of October with more 
warships and reinforcements from Sierra Leone, intending 
to land some marines and attack the people in the bush. 
But through the intercessions of King Taki, this project 
was abandoned, and after the heirs to the several stools 
had been delivered to the Governor as hostages, peace 
was concluded. The people, however, did not return to 
Christiansborg nor attempt to rebuild their houses until 
THE KROBO REBELLION 499 
some time later, when Mr. Freeman, the Wesleyan mission- 1850-1859 
ary, was Civil Commandant. CHAP. XXVI 
In 1855 Accra narrowly escaped a similar fate due to 
a like cause, and a Commissioner was sent in 1856 to 
enquire into and report upon the local state of affairs. 
He found that although the Accras were loyal enough 
in a general sense, yet they positively refused to pay 
the poll tax, and in 1857 a mob of the townspeople plun-
dered the French factory in James Town.' 
In 1857 the designation of the Gold Coast Corps was 
changed to "The Gold Coast Artillery Corps," and the 
colours of the uniform and facings were changed. A late 
Lieutenant of the Osmanli Horse Artillery was attached 
to the regiment for one year as Instructor of Artillery, 
and was then succeeded by a regimental Lieutenant as 
Instructor of Musketry. 
In 1858 Ologo Patu, the Chief of South Western Krobo, 
led a rebellion against the Government. This also owed 
its origin partly to the strong objection the people of the 
eastern districts had to paying the poll tax, and partly to 
a quarrel with Odonkor Azu, the Chief of Eastern Krobo, 
whom Patu attacked. The Gold Coast Corps, under 
Major Bird who was Acting Governor, was moved to 
Accra, and contingents having been raised in Accra, 
Eastern Krobo, Akwapim and Akwamu, the whole force 
was concentrated at Prampram early in September. On 
the 11th an advance was made, and on the 13th the army 
encamped near the Krobo Mountain, but the Akwapim 
contingent deserted the same night. On the 18th Captain 
Brownell led a small detachment and attempted to occupy 
a height overlooking Ologo Patu's town; but the enemy 
drove him back aud then attacked the British camp, but 
were repulsed with great difficulty after an engagement 
lasting two hours. 
Reinforcements were now sent for, and by the 19th of 
October a large force had been collected and a fresh advance 
was made. Nearly 15,000 men were now concentrated 
at Saddle Hill, about a mile and a half to the south of the 
1 Now Messrs. Swanzy's James Town Factory. 
500 THE POLL TAX 
1850-185~ Krobo Mountain, and in the face of this overwhelming 
CHAP. XXVI force Ologo Patu surrendered. He and some of the other 
Chiefs were imprisoned as security for the payment of a 
fine of £10,000, which was imposed on the people, but barely 
half of this sum had been paid when they succeeded in 
making their escape, owing to the inexcusable carelessness 
of the officer in charge of them. 
In 1859 a serious riot took place between the Bentil 
and Intin Companies at Cape Coast. The Captains were 
prosecuted, and the Court ordered that every Company 
in the town should, within one month, send 'into the Castle 
all the flags they wished to use in future, when the Governor 
would substitute others for such as were objected to, and 
the colours and patterns of every approved flag would be 
registered in the Secretary's office, after which the use of 
any other would be severely punished. In the light of 
subsequent events, however, it would appear either that 
this order was never enforced, or that the registration of 
all lawful flags at this early date was soon forgotten. 
CHAPTER XXVII 
THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860 TO 1864 
IN 1862 the Gold Coast , always subject to slight earth- 1860-1864 
quakes, was visited by one of exceptional severity. CHAP. 
Seventeen distinct shocks were felt during a period of six XXVII 
weeks, which culminated in one of special violence on 
the 10th of June, by which all the forts and buildings along 
the coast were more or less wrecked. At Accra , where the 
greatest amount of damage was done, Christiansborg Castle 
and the other forts were almost entirely destroyed, being 
rendered no longer habitable, and the prisoners confined 
there had to be removed lest the shattered walls should 
fall upon and crush them. Another notable earthquake 
had occurred in 1858. 
On the 3rd of October in the same year, a number of 
men of the Gold Coast Corps, whose lack of discipline had 
gained them an unenviable notoriety, broke into open 
mutiny and attempted to murder several of their officers, 
who are said to have gambled with the men's pay instead 
of putting it to its proper use .' The attempt fortunately 
proved unsuccessful and the mutineers fled to Napoleon . 
Two days later H.M.S. Wye called at Cape Coast, and on 
the 7th H.M.Ss . Brisk and Mullet landed fifty more suspected 
men, who had been sent up by Major de Ruvignes from 
Accra. The Europeans, fifteen in number, occupied 
the Castle, while the sergeant-major was sent out to treat 
with the mutineers, who had now entrenched themselves 
in their position at Napoleon: but they refused all the terms 
, Ellis, West African Islands, p. 178. 
501 
502 THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 offered them . The public, however, showed them no 
CH AP. sympathy, and in fact cordially hated them, so that by 
XXVII the 9th they were compelled by want of provisions to lay 
down their arms and were then sent for trial by General 
Court Martial to Sierra Leone. One of the ringleaders 
was shot,' and another, a private, sentenced to death 
and sent back to Cape Coast, where he was executed on 
the 13th of November. Two more were sent to penal 
servitude for life, and forty-eight received various sentences 
of imprisonment. Twenty-one marines under Lieutenant 
Ogle of the Royal Marine Artillery were then drafted into 
the Castle as a safeguard against any further outbreaks, 
and order was restored . 
Since the last threatened invasion by the Ashantis, 
a lthough the east ern districts had been in a disturbed 
state owing to the resistance offered by the people to the 
payment of the poll t ax, the remainder of the Protectorate 
had ' been unusually quiet. The various Chiefs were on 
good t erms one with another, their relations with Ashanti 
were perfectly fri endly, and the whole country was in a 
very prosperous condition. Trade had never been more 
flourishing: numbers of Ashantis arrived on the coast 
daily, bringing gold, ivory and other produce, which ' they 
exchanged for European goods; and now that the rebellion 
in the east had been put down by the Krobo war, the out-
look was exceptionally brilliant, and everyone .was con-
fidently looking forward to a time of general peace and 
prosperity. These hopes, however, were soon dashed to 
the ground by the occurrence of a fresh dispute with 
Ashanti, and the country was soon afterwards involved in 
'another war, which, as an example of blundering incom-
p etence and hesitancy, and a sequence of unfortunate 
mistakes, is unique in the history of the Gold Coast . 
The trouble originated as follows: Kwesi Ja nin,' a 
Captain and subject of the King of Ashanti, was alleged to 
have found certain (( rock gold" 3 ,which, by Ashanti law, 
1 T he bugler who sounded the" assembly" at Cape Coast, He was 
s hot at Tower Hill Barracks on the loth of November. 
2 Djanin or Gainie. a Nuggets. 
KWESI JANIN 50 3 
should have been surrendered to the King, instead of 1860-1864 
which he had retained it for his own use. Some of the CHAP. 
King's messengers happened to pass through his village XXVII 
soon afterwards, and his wife had given information against 
him, swearing the King's oath that the charges she made 
were true. J anin at once confirmed the oath, thereby 
appealing for the matter to be heard before the King's 
tribunal, and the messengers accordingly ordered the 
parties to accompany them to Kumasi to have the case 
settled. Janin, however, possibly because he was conscious 
of guilt, now began to make various excuses for delaying 
his departure, putting the messengers off first for eight 
days, then for ten, and last of all for fifteen; after which, 
as he still refused to proceed to Kumasi, the King's men 
felt convinced of his guilt, and returned to the capital and 
reported what had happened to the King. Further 
messengers were then sent to bring the parties before the 
Court; but J anin had anticipated this and fled into the 
Protectorate before they could reach his village, taking 
several of his people with him. About the same time, 
too, a slave boy who was returning to Kumasi with his 
master escaped and fled to Assin, whence he was sent 
down by the Chief to the Governor. 
Early in December 1862, messengers from the King 
arrived at the Castle to make a formal demand for the 
return of these fugitives. Amongst them was the bearer 
of the Golden Axe,1 showing that the matter was regarded 
as one of more than ordinary importance. An enquiry 
was held in the Castle Hall, at which the slave boy com-
plained that he had been ill-treated by his master, and that 
having sworn the King's oath that he would not return to 
Ashanti, he would certainly forfeit his head if he were sent 
back. J anin also protested that he was innocent of the 
-charge preferred against him, and asserted that it had been 
made solely because he was a rich man, and that the King 
1 This emblematic axe was thought much of by the Ashantis: it 
. was said to have been used as a weapon by one of their earliest Kings 
before the introduction of firearms, and was kept with and carried in 
-procession before the Golden Stool. 
THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
lseO-lS64 had invented this excuse to ruin him and confiscate his 
CHAP. property . 
XXVII Governor Pine was fully alive to the difficulties of the 
position, and in his despatch to the Secretary of State 
on the roth of December 1862, wrote: "The refuge 
afforded to runaway slaves and pawns under the British 
flag has, during my long experience, proved the source 
of the greatest irritation and annoyance to native Kings 
and Chiefs, and the wound the most difficult for Her 
Majesty's representative to heal. ... Gladly would I try 
an experiment and send back these subje<;:ts to Ashantee, 
for if confidence were once created between this Govern-
ment and Ashantee, the greatest obstacle in the way of 
amicable relations between us would be removed; and 
if against the old man there were the slightest shadow of 
a prima-facie case of criminality, my course would be 
clear; but as it is, I dare not deliver him up, much less 
the runaway boy . Their blood would be upon my head; 
and yet I feel that I am estranging, if not exasperating, 
the most powerful King on this Coast, and upon whom, 
according to his ideas, I am committing a gross injustice." 
Consequently, although the messengers offered to swear 
the King's oath that if Ja nin were returned he would 
receive a fair trial and even if found guilty would not be 
injured, nor the slave boy's life forfeited, the Governor 
told them that he could not consent to deliver them unless 
he was furnished with definite evidence of their guilt, and 
the men then returned to Kumasi. 
Many people expected that war would be the immediate 
result of this refusal; but the King, following the custo-
mary policy of Ashanti, would not resort to hostilities 
until he had convinced himself that he could not gain 
his ends by diplomacy. On the 17th of February the 
messengers returned and were received in the Castle Hall 
on the following day. A letter was also sent by the King 
to the Dutch Governor at Elmina complaining of the 
treatment shown him by the English, but his offer to send 
one of his officers to Kumasi to mediate in the dispute 
was refused. At the meeting in the Castle, the chief 
EXTRADITION DEMANDED 505 
Ashanti envoy, Amankwa Akuma, delivered the King's 1860-1864 
message and a letter, and the treaties and documents CHAP. 
dealing with the relations between the Government and XXVII 
Ashanti were laid on the table and frequently referred 
to during the discussion. The history of the case was 
briefly told by Amankwa Akuma to show that J an in was 
charged with having broken the laws of his country, and 
his extradition for trial was then demanded on the ground 
that a treaty or agreement existed between the Govern-
ment and Ashanti that criminals should be mutually given 
up. The King wrote: "I think you to be my good friend, 
and always I believe you that I can get back any of my 
slaves who run away to you; but in poor George Mac-
lean's time I made agreement with him in certificate, the 
one in Cape Coast Castle, and another in my hand therein 
stated, that any Fantee person run up to me to deliver him 
and to bring him to Cape Coast. And if any slave of mine 
also run away to Cape Coast, you are to deliver him back 
also to me, as all the Governors that take charge of Cape 
Coast Castle did not move from this agreement, but always 
filled the rules of the said poor George Maclean, except 
your time has destroyed the agreement. ... But one of 
my slaves, named Quarquah, who was witness to the said 
agreement, and who was the bearer of the certificate for 
me, is absent in the town, and I have sent messenger after 
him; but when he comes I will let him come with the 
book, that you may see your guiltiness." 
The King, therefore, was either inventing a purely 
fictitious story of an agreement to suit his present purpose, 
or he genuinely believed that such an agreement existed 
and had several times been acted upon in the past. It is 
hardly likely that the former could be the true explanation; 
for the King would scarcely have based his claim on 
grounds that he knew or even suspected to be false, for 
he would have known that the copy of the treaty preserved 
at Cape Coast would at once be referred to and the deception 
exposed. It is far more probable, therefore, that these 
demands were made in perfect good faith. The allusions 
to Governor Maclean and Quarquah make it quite clear 
50 6 THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 that the treaty referred to was the Tripartite Treaty of 183 I, 
CHAP. in which the mark of II Quagua " appears on behalf of the 
XXVII King. It is true that there is no article dealing with the 
mutual surrender of criminals in this treaty; but this is 
the document in which the vague allusion is made to 
" the te,rms and conditions of peace already agreed to " 
as defining the manner in which all future disputes were 
to be settled. It must be remembered, too, that the King 
could not read the treaty for himself, and would be de-
pendent upon what he was told by " Quagua " and his 
other representatives, and if any further verbal or written 
agreement had been made at that time, they would 
probably have included its terms in their general account 
of the whole transaction, and thus have led the King to 
believe, and very probably themselves have believed, 
that such agreement was part of the actual treaty 
itself. 
Apart from all this, there is in fact evidence that some 
such agreement or understanding really did exist. Cruik-
shank, who wrote only ten years before these events 
took place, says: "Another difficulty which our Gold 
Coast Government has to contend against is the disposal 
of runaway slaves from Ashantee. It was stipulated in 
our treaties with the King that his fugitive subjects should 
be redelivered to him in the same way that Fantees 
flying into his dominions were to be restored to the 
Governor. This arrangement was necessary to 'prevent 
malefactors escaping punishment. But in many cases 
the runaway Ashantee seeks a refuge from the fate which 
is likely to overtake him at the murderous customs which 
are often taking place at Coomassie, and a natural re-
pugnance is, of course, felt about surrendering him .... 
Under these circumstances, the Governor is obliged to 
mediate as he best can, and refuses to deliver up the 
runaway, except upon condition of sufficient security 
being given that his life will be spared .... The security 
for their safety is simply , the King's great oath,' taken 
on his behalf by his messengers. There is no instance 
known of this oath given under such circumstances being 
MACLEAN'S PRACTICE 
violated." I Cruikshank had spent eighteen years in the 1860-1864 
country, had been Judicial Assessor, and had also acted CHAP. 
as Governor, and had such an intimate knowledge of Gold XXVII 
Coast affairs, especially during the period of Maclean's 
administration, that it is ridiculous to suppose that he 
would have made such a statement as this unless some 
such agreement actually existed; nor is it likely that 
Maclean, who was so anxious and did so much to restore 
law and order and to ensure justice to all, would have 
omitted to make some such arrangement as this to prevent 
the escape of criminals. In fact, Maclean himself wrote 
in a letter dated the 16th of December 1837 to the Com-
mittee of Merchants in London: " I have seldom known 
any but criminals to seek the protection of the British 
flag, and even these I have very rarely delivered; having 
almost always made it matter of personal favour with 
the King that he should allow them to be redeemed for 
a sum of money. In no case whatever have I ever delivered 
up a fugitive without receiving undoubted security for 
his personal safety; I almost always, indeed, stipulate 
for the personal appearance before me of the party at 
stated periods. Moreover, no person is given up merely 
because he is the subject of a foreign Chief; it must be 
shown he has been guilty of some crime, or that there 
exists against him some just claim." 2 Maclean, therefore, 
had given up criminals and others after their personal 
safety had been guaranteed, and the procedure described 
by Crui~shank is so exactly in accordance with the state-
ments made by the King in his letter that there can be 
no doubt that this claim was genuinely made, and if not 
made under any actual agreement was at any rate accord-
ing to established precedent. Colonel Nagtglas, too, who 
served for many years under the Dutch Government, and 
was Governor of their Possessions in 1869 and 1870, wrote 
in a letter dated February 1874: " There is an agreement 
in existence between the local British Government and 
the King of Ashanti, either oral or in writing, that on 
1 Cruikshank, vol. ii, p. 236-7. 
2 Report of Committee (1842), part ii, p. 144. 
508 THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 both sides runaway prisoners for cnme should be 
CHAP. delivered." 
XXVII Since writing the above, a despatch written by Governor 
Winniett to the Secretary of State on the 4th of June 
1850 has been found in one of the old letter-books at 
Christiansborg Castle, which settles this question beyond 
all doubt . He wrote: " I believe your Lordship is per-
fectly aware that since the close of the war with Ashantee 
an understanding has existed between the British Local 
Government and the King to the effect that all runaways 
from Kumassie are to be delivered back to the King upon 
application made by him to the Officer administering 
the Government." He went on to explain that this 
arrangement had at times given rise to serious doubts 
in his mind, but that considerations for the peace of the 
country had been sufficient to overcome his reluctance 
to adhere to it. In one case he had resisted such a demand 
in reference to a slave woman who had been ill-treated 
and run away, but the King had threatened to close the 
paths and cut off all communication with the coast, and 
he had been compelled to give in. 
Taking these independent statements in conjunction 
with the King's letter, it is evident that the claim now 
made by Kwaku Dua was one that he was perfectly entitled 
to make, and was in fact made in accordance with an 
agreement or compact of some kind that actually . existed 
and had been repeatedly acted upon for many years. Nor 
can it be denied that the crime of which K wesi Ja nin 
was accused was a serious one according to the laws of 
Ashanti. It is one of those specially mentioned by Bow-
dich. Ashanti was at this time an entirely independent 
kingdom and only bound to the British Government by 
treaty obligations; and although Mr. Pine was un-
doubtedly actuated in what he did solely by feelings of 
humanity, it is very questionable how far he was justified 
in the circumstances in refusing to comply with the 
King's request after his duly authorized messengers had 
offered to follow the usual precedent and take the King's 
oath that the lives of the refugees would be spared. So 
EXTRADITION REFUSED 
far as the slave boy was concerned, there could be no 1860-1864 
reason for refusing to give him back after the messengers CHAP. 
had sworn that he would not be injured, except that he XXTU 
was a slave. But he was a slave in a country over which 
the Government had no control, and this, above all others, 
was a case in which Lord John Russell's ruling 1 applied. 
The futile attempts that had been made to bring European 
views on slavery into line with those of the African and 
to make them fit in with African conditions had, in fact, 
already cost the English their good name for absolute 
and impartial justice on the Coast itself. There is, more-
over, plenty of evidence to prove that these oaths were 
considered binding and were invariably respected . Cruik-
shank mentions a case in which some fugitives who were 
about to be handed over to the King's messengers after 
they had taken the usual oath requested that they might 
be required to « kiss the white man's book" also, which 
they, knowing the King's oath would not be violated, 
readily consented to do. The King, however, on hearing 
that he had been bound not only by his own but also by 
the white man's oath was so alarmed lest some accidental 
harm might befall the men, that he sent them back, pre-
ferring to lose them altogether rather than incur the risk 
of an unknown danger . 
In replying to the King's letter, Mr. Pine wrote: 
" I am willing to give up criminals, although there is no 
such agreement, but I do not consider Quasie Gainie a 
criminal until you prove him so." The question was 
doubtless a difficult one . Mr. Pine would naturally have 
found it hard to hand over a man who had claimed his 
protection, even though he might be the subject of an 
independent State and have no right to it, and yet on the 
other hand this agreement undoubtedly existed and had 
been made with the sole object of dealing with cases of 
this kind. On the whole, it seems probable that the 
Governor was mainly influenced by the fact that the 
offence with which J anin was charged, though a serious 
one in the eyes of the Ashantis and a breach of one of 
1 Vide p. 442 • 
510 THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 their oldest laws, was not a crime known to English law; 
CHAP. and this fact seems to have altogether blinded him to the 
XXVII view that Ashanti was an independent State over whose 
laws the English had no control whatever. The real 
question, then, would be whether this agreement provided 
for the extradition of all criminals, irrespective of the 
nature of their offences, or only for the surrender of those 
charged with certain classes of crime. There is the 
strongest .evidence that there was some such understand-
ing; and if this was so and only certain crimes, of which 
this was not one, were covered, it would surely have been 
admitted and the right of refusal in this case pointed out . 
If there was no extradition treaty the Governor could not 
be asked to give up fugitives except in accordance with 
the precedent that had undoubtedly been set; if there 
was, he could not refuse." 
The Governor's decision, however, was fully approved 
by the Secretary of State, who, in a despatch dated the 
4th of March 1863, laid down that" no law should authorize 
such delivery to the authorities of a country in which 
justice is not fairly administered, except in the case of 
heinous crimes clearly proved," though this direction was 
qualified by the statement that if it were necessary for 
the Chiefs to hand over fugitives for their own safety, 
such action should be carried out by the Chiefs themselves, 
but no British authority should be involved ' in their 
surrender except in cases where clear justice required it. 
Whether or not the present was a case in which clear justice 
required the surrender of J anin is a point upon which there 
is room for a diversity of opinion; but this extraordinary 
qualification of the general principle laid down shows that 
the Secretary of State felt no more sure of his ground than 
the Governor did. At any rate, seeing that the Chiefs 
were under British protection and amenable to Govern-
ment control, it is difficult to understand how they could 
have adopted the course here recommended and have 
handed over fugitives without the consent of the English 
being at least implied. The Secretary of State, however, 
1 He had a perfect right, however, to demand proofs. 
EXTRADITION REFUSED 51 I 
knew nothing of the King's second message or of the alleged 1860-186-4, 
agreement and actual precedent in such cases, and asked CHAP. 
" to be informed what is the actual practice with reference XXVII 
to persons taking refuge in the protected territories." 
Ellis, in his account of what happened at the meeting 
with the Ashanti envoy, says that" many of the merchants, 
with Commodore Wilmot, strongly supported the claim 
of the King, but the headmen of Cape Coast, who it was 
said had been bribed by Djanin, and others of the 
merchants, were against it. The Governor also was of 
opinion that the fugitives should not be surrendered, so, 
as a matter of course, the official members of the Council 
voted with him, and It was finally decided by a considerable 
majority to reject the King's demand." 1 . The Governor, 
in his despatch of the roth of March 1863, however, says, 
"it was the unanimous opinion of all present that my 
compliance with the King's request ... was impossible." 
In his evidence before the House of Commons Committee 
in 1865, when asked why he had not sent Janin away, he 
admitted that Governor Hill had established a precedent 
for such a course, and said: " I suggested it till I was tired, 
I begged them to let me send him away. The Palaver 
Hall contained a hundred and fifty natives deeply 
interested in it, and they protested, when threatened, to 
send him back by force (to Ashanti). I told him that it 
was his duty to obey his lawful King, I pointed out that 
he would not injure him, but simply judge him and do him 
justice." A little later he says, "The general sentiment 
of the meeting was the greatest horror at my even hesi-
tating to protect the man." 
In the face of these conflicting statements it is very 
difficult to decide what really did happen. Ellis evidently 
took his account from a letter written by Dr. Horton 
to Earl Granville, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
dated Cape Coast Castle, 12th November 1869, in which 
the following passage occurs; "The case of the King of 
Ashantee was set forth in a speech by his war-axe bearer, 
which was remarkable for its fluency, rhetorical power 
1 Ellis, History ot the Gold Coast, p. 226. 
512 THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 and argumentative clearness. There was a division 
CHAP. amongst the members . Many of the merchants, with 
XXVII Commodore Wilmot, strongly urged the claim of the King 
of Ashantee, and recommended that Gamin should be 
delivered up; whilst the Chiefs of Cape Coast, who had 
been bribed by Gamin and some of the merchants, were 
of a contrary opinion. Commodore Wilmot endeavoured 
to influence them, by showing them how prosperous the 
country then was and the evils of war, and clearly pointed 
out that, if they went to war with Ashantee, it would take 
fifty years to bring the country back to its then condition; 
but, quat homines tot sententiCE, the voice of the multitude 
prevailed, and Gamin was quietly allowed to remain in 
the Protectorate ." I Dr. Horton was almost certainly 
present at the various meetings, and was writing from his 
own knowledge of what took place; but this letter, which 
is a summary of events written some years later, does 
not go into the details of the several palavers. This is 
evident; because Commodore Wilmot did not arrive on 
the Coast until the 29th of March, and cannot therefore 
have been present at this first meeting. The Governor 
really seems to have been very doubtful what to do, and 
to have hesitated and changed his mind more than once, 
finally giving way to the clamour of the people. 
On the arrival of Amankwa Akuma in Kumasi with the 
Governor's second message of refusal, a meeting ' of the 
Council was held, at which it was unanimously decided 
that such an insult and disregard of obligations could only 
be avenged by war . It is not known whether Kwaku 
Dua himself was inclined to hostilities or not. He was 
certainly the most pacific ruler who ever sat on the Ashanti 
Stool, but in any case he was bound to be overruled by his 
Chiefs. But although war was then and there decided 
upon, its actual commencement had to be postponed for 
a time, in order to enable the King to replenish his stock 
of powder and other necessaries. It was indeed commonly 
reported on the coast, when parties of Ashantis first began 
to cross the Pra, that the King himself knew nothing of 
1 Horton, Letters on the Gold Coast, pp. 54, 55. 
STATE OF AFFAIRS 51 3 
their movements, but that they were led by Chiefs who 1860-1864 
had taken the King's oath that they would make war. CHAP. 
Others said that Kwaku Dua had been forced by his Chiefs xxvn 
to give a reluctant consent to the invasion, which was 
probably nearer the truth, for his throne would have been 
endangered had he persisted in a refusal, and neglect to 
enforce the surrender of J anin would have established a 
dangerous precedent and have led to the escape of other 
criminals. The greatest uncertainty, however, prevailed 
everywhere, and no one really knew what was happening 
or what might be expected next. 
The Governor's difficulties at this time were very great 
and by no means confined to the prospect of hostilities 
with Ashanti and the King's failure to reply to his last 
letter. Much ill-feeling existed between the Dutch and 
English Accras, and the Governor arrived there only just 
in time to prevent an open rupture . The men of the Gold 
Coast Corps, too, were in a state of open mutiny, due partly 
to the scarcity of officers, but principally to the discontent 
caused by their being paid only sevenpence I a day 
without rations, while the men of the West India Regiment, 
who .w ere serving on the Coast and performed similar 
duties, received a shilling a day and rations . The people 
of the Protectorate, too, were in a most excited state, and 
knowing very well that war was imminent and that the 
Ashantis were busily engaged in purchasing arms and 
ammunition at Elmina and conveying them to Kumasi, 
seized all the Ashantis they found passing through their 
country and put them" in log." 2 Amongst them was 
" Quarquah," who was on his way to Cape Coast to give 
his version of what had occurred when the treaty was 
signed in 183 I, and though the Governor gave orders for 
the immediate release of all these prisoners on the ground 
that war had not yet been declared, it does not appear that 
he ever reached Cape Coast. The Fantis can hardly be 
blamed for taking what they felt were wise precautions; 
but these seizures of Ashantis by the protected tribes 
while the two countries were nominally at peace, for 
1 ? Eightpence. 2 Vide p. 338. 
1- 33 
THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 which no compensation was made on their release, gave 
CHAP. the King a further excuse for war. In addition to all these 
XXVII troubles , the Governor was left \'lithout any European 
civilian to assist him, and had to rely upon such help as 
the naval and military officers could give him, while they 
themselves were preparing to take the field and were already 
fully occupied with their own duties. 
Nearly all the troops were at this time stationed in 
Accra, Prampram, Pong and other places in the eastern 
district, where they had been sent to enforce payment of 
the fine imposed on the Krobos for their recent rebellion . 
The Governor therefore visited Accra, collected every 
available man and returned. with them to Cape Coast on 
board the Adventure early in April. She had left Lagos 
with an officer and a hundred men of the 2nd West India 
R egiment , who had just been relieved and were returning 
to the West Indies; but in view of the threatening state 
of affairs, they, t oo, were disembarked and detained at 
Cape Coast to r einforce the garrison. 
Rumours were now current of the presence of marauding 
bands of Ashantis in the northern districts, and four heads 
were sent to Cape Coast, Anamabo, Winneba and Accra 
which had been t aken by the allies from Ashantis whom 
they had caught pillaging their farms. Supplies of arms 
and ammunition were then issued to the allied Chiefs for 
their protection , but they were strictly enjoined to commit 
no hostile act except in case of absolute necessity. No 
actual declaration of war had yet been made, and it was 
therefore decided, a t a meeting held in the Castle on the 
30th of March, to send a messenger to the King to ask what 
his intentions really were and whether these incursions 
of his people had b een made with his approval. Prince 
Ansa, having volunteered his services , was sent up on this. 
mlSSlOn. A fortnight later it was arranged that Major 
Cochrane should at once take the field and form an en-
trenched camp some thirty miles from the coast in order 
to be in a better position to observe the enemy's move-
m ents, to give confidence to the allies, and provide a nucleus 
around which their forces might rally . He left Cape Coast 
BATTLE OF ESSIKUMA 
for this purpose on the 17th of April and reached Mankesim 1860-1864 
two days later. CHAP. 
The regular forces on the Coast did not exceed four XXVII 
hundred men, all of whom were urgently needed by Major 
Cochrane. Guns and men were therefore landed from the 
warships for the protection of Cape Coast: 128 officers 
and men from the Rattlesnake occupied the Castle, Fort 
William and Barnes' house on Prospect Hill, and raised 
an entrenched redoubt named Fort Frederick on Connor's 
Hill, while thirteen men were landed from the Ranger to 
garrison Fort Victoria. Provisions for six weeks were 
landed and stored in the Castle and Anamabo and Dixcove 
Forts, the gates and buildings were repaired, and four 
additional guns sent to Dixcove . Two large camps were 
formed by the allies; the Gomoas and Agunas occupying 
Essikuma, while the Denkeras, Abras, Assins, and the 
detachments from Cape Coast and Anamabo established 
themselves at Mansu. Messrs. G. Blankson, Hughes, 
W. E. Davidson, W. Finlason, S. C. Brew and Robert 
Hutchison all raised small contingents from their own 
families and retainers and joined the army in the field. 
In the meantime the Ashantis had completed their 
preparations, and their army crossed the Pra and invaded 
the Protectorate in three divisions. The first, numbering 
about 2,000 men, entered Wassaw with orders to hold the 
Denkeras and Wassaws in check, but to avoid any general 
engagement if possible; the second, 8,000 strong and hav-
ing similar orders, advanced from Prasu and followed the 
main road through the very centre of the Protectorate; 
while the main body, under Awusu Kokor, a relative of 
the King, crossed the river a little later and entered Akim . 
This force advanced rapidly through Western Akim with-
out meeting with any opposition until it reached Essikuma, 
where it suddenly fell on the allied camp and, after a 
stubborn resistance lasting six hours, in which many fell 
on either side, the allies were completely routed. 
Hearing that Anamabo was threatened, Major Cochrane 
marched the whole of his force there at the end of April; 
but after waiting three days without seeing any sign of 
5[6 THE FIFTH ASHANTI WAR 
1860-1864 the threatened attack, returned once more to his camp 
CHAP . at Mankesim. On the 7th of May he moved through 
XXVII Denkera to Bobikuma, where a number of the allies had 
collected after the battle of Essikuma. The Ashantis 
were still encamped at the latter place, which lay about 
fourteen miles to the north-west of Bobikuma. Anything 
more disgraceful and incompetent than the subsequent 
conduct of Major Cochrane can hardly be imagined. 
(( On the I oth of May the Ashantis advanced to within 
a quarter of a mile of the camp of the allies, and a slight 
skirmish took place between them and the native scouts, 
in which several of the latter were killed. A general 
engagement was now confidently expected for the next 
day, and there was a reasonable prospect of victory, as 
the native contingent at Bobikuma numbered nearly 
20,000 men; but to the astonishment and indignation 
of the entire force, both regular and native, Major Cochrane 
issued orders for the whole of the former and the greater 
portion of the latter to retire to the village of Adijuma ; 
and this retrograde movement was carried out on the 
day following, while the gallant commander himself pro-
ceeded to the sea-coast town of Mumford. On the 12th 
of May the remnant of the native contingent left at 
Bobikuma was attacked in force by the Ashantis at two 
o'clock in the afternoon, and by five o'clock the allied 
natives were completely routed, losing very ,heavily, 
The town of Bobikuma was destroyed, and had Awusu 
Kokkor pushed on to Adijuma the disorganised force 
there waiting, without orders and without a commander, 
would no doubt have been swept away before him. Fortu-
nately, however, he did not follow up his success, but 
after destroying upwards of thirty towns and villages in 
the neighbourhood, retired unmolested on the 24th of May 
to Akim Swaidru, a town on the southern frontier of 
Ashanti-Akim, and close to the River Birrim, the eastern 
tributary of the Prah." I 
The small portion of the allied force who were thus 
deserted at Bobikuma and left at the mercy of the enemy 
1 Ellis, History of the Gold Coast, pp. 228-9.