[5] The Gold Coast ARPS then sent a delegation to London in order to advocate for the dismissal of the Lands Bill of 1897 in front of Joseph Chamberlain, the Secretary of State of Britain at the time. Any/all written content and images displayed are provided by the blogger/author, appear herein as submitted by the blogger/author and are unedited by Opera News. At the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice. It also vigorously campaigned for improvements in education, sanitation, health, and the provision of infrastructure. A notable aspect of the delegation is that it included not only members of the Gold Coast elite, but also "prominent merchants". Answer: In 1897 he worked with JE Casely Hayford, JP Brown, JW de Graft Johnson, and others to form the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS). It was at the same time as the implementation of this ordinance that the Gold Coast Gold Coast ARPS began to lose some of their power, as they could no longer use the Gold Coast indigenous chiefs as leverage from which to gain funds. It has emerged that he was a business man par excellence who groomed his late father's business in agriculture and mining merchandise in the Gold Coast era. ARPS successfully defended the interests of native African people against colonizers for decades and began to form an early forum for sentiments of . The mission of ARPS initially was to protect the traditional land tenure practices of the Indigenous Gold Coast peoples and more concretely to ensure "that every person may understand [the Lands Bill of 1897]." [10] The Gold Coast ARPS's interest in the affairs of people of colour abroad was predicated on the notion of the salience of race beyond the confines of an African context and the global prevalence of racial discrimination. On his return to the Gold Coast, he became a leading critic of British Imperial rule. In understanding the critiques of the Gold Coast ARPS nationalists aims, it is important to note that much of the skepticism about the true intentions of the members of the Gold Coast ARPS came from British colonial administrators who were dismissive of the attempts of the Gold Coast ARPS to oppose the Lands Bill of 1897. When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895-97) refused to withdraw the bill, John Mensah Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to England to petition against its passage. Over 50 years after his death, the University of Ghana, in 1963, named Mensah Sarbah Hall after him for his services to education. 0000000017 00000 n [10] This interest in pan-Africanism manifested itself in attempts by the Gold Coast ARPS to hold a similar conference on the Gold Coast, although the idea never came to fruition. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The Mfantsi Amanbuhu Fekuw had been founded in 1889 to promote African cultural values that were being undermined by the corrosive effects of the European presence. 0000001378 00000 n He became known for defending the rights of Africans against British colonial authorities. Content created and supplied by: Royalvibes (via Opera But the chief justice did not accept the proposal, and in this respect matters have not improved much since Sarbahs day, in spite of the fact that all judges are now Africans. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. John Mensah Sarbah also worked hard to promote secondary education. Join our whatsapp page, This website uses cookies. News ), Opera News is a free to use platform and the views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent, reflect or express the views of Opera News. THE LIFE OF JOHN MENSAH SARBAH. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. This achievement saved the Gold Coast from the evils of the alienation of African land, as occurred, for example, in the British colony of Kenya. John Mensah Sarbah was the first lawyer of the Gold Coast that helped in the documentation of the customary laws of the Gold Coast and present day Ghana. John Mensah Sarbah was interested in promoting agriculture, and wrote an article on The Oil Palm and Its Products in 1909. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. This article was reprinted from The Encyclopedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography (In 20 Volumes). It has emerged that he was a business man par excellence who groomed his late fathers business in agriculture and mining merchandise in the Gold Coast era. Had the Lands Bill been passed, it would have allowed the colonial government to take over so-called waste or public lands in the entire British West Africa. By his publications he began the tradition of educated nationalist politicians finding time to write about their countrys history and institutions. He himself founded a scholarship at Mfantsipim School and helped to pay the salaries of the staff when the school encountered financial difficulties. Magnus Sampson, Gold Coast Men of Affairs, London, 1937. Although he accepted the basic assumptions of the British imperial regime, he felt that some of the evils of the crown colony system should be checked. In 1963, the Great Hall at University of Ghana Legon is named after him in his memory for his educational works including the founding of the Fanti Public Schools Limited which eventually became the present Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast designing the schools crest and motto Dwen hwe kwan think ahead of time. x}$9Z|_ /.!3n93. The Gold Coast Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS) was formed in 1897 in the historic city of Cape Coast, a hub of intellectual and political activism in Ghana. Although the formation of the ARPS was due to the cumulative effects of colonial rule in the late nineteenth century, the immediate reason for its formation was the Lands Bill. /T 51995 The Forest Bill can be traced to the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1883. John Mensah Sarbah was interested in promoting secondary education because he felt that it was the best way to enable Africans to gain the respect of the civilized world. In 1898 ARPS sent a delegation to London and successfully got the Lands Bill overturned. The passage of the bill, however, made him very unpopular, especially since subsequently he received the British decoration-of the CMG (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St.George), an honor some thought that he had sought, though he denied it. He deduced that his business was a key driver for his journey to better the lots of his people and the Methodist church. Crises and Transitions in African Historiography (1950-1990), Essential History Primary 5 Teacher's Guide, [Ghanabib 1819 1979 Prepared 23/11/2011] [Ghanabib 1980 1999 Prepared 30/12/2011] [Ghanabib 2000 2005 Prepared 03/03, The Politics of Educational Borrowing: Reopening the Case of Achimota in British Ghana Author(S): Gita SteinerKhamsi and Hubert O, Migration from Historic Mission Churches to Pentecostal Churches in Ghana by REV, Singapore in Global History Singaporederek Heng Is Assistant Professor at the History in Singapore in Department, Ohio State University, Nationalism in Question: a Study of Key Categories in Ghanaian History 1863-1965, Colonialism, Maritime Culture and Conflict in Southern Gold Coast, 18601932, KWAME NKRUMAHS CONTRIBUTION to PAN-AFRICANISM an Afrocentric Analysis D.Zizwe Poe, Resource Flows and Technology Adoption in Tamale, Ghana: Implications for Urban and Peri-Urban Vegetable Growers. Specifically, he proposed that in perjury the falsehood with which the witness could be charged should concern a matter material to the issues raised in the judicial proceedings; (His suggestion was to be adopted in 1951). This led in 1904 to the foundation ofMfantsipim School, which in 1906 merged with the Collegiate School, retaining the name of Mfantsipim School. Prof. Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Paramount Chief of Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region in delivering the keynote address encouraged participants to emancipate and deconstruct their minds and share passionately the patriotism of the late John Mensah Sarbah, describing him as an embodiment of a deeply intellectual great son of the land. [5] The Gold Coast ARPS became a voice for the rights of indigenous peoples by both broadcasting their aims in their own newspaper, Gold Coast Aborigines, and advocating on behalf of indigenous land rights by presenting the reasons for their dissent of the Lands Bill of 1897 in front of the Legislative Council. John Mensah Sarbah was a good legislator, He was nominated as a member of the Legislative Council by the governor, Sir Mathew Nathan (term of office, 1900- 1904), in 1901 and sat except for a short break, as a member until his death. [5] It was through their meeting with Joseph Chamberlain that the Gold Coast ARPS was able to get support for the denunciation of the Lands Bill of 1897 and the assurance that "native law would remain and prevail with regard to devolution of land". In 1892 his father died, and he also took over his fathers business. /Prev 51983 But his interest in politics, which he had shown during his student days in England led him to take a more active part in political life. Another consequence of the Gold Coast ARPS' interaction with other global movements was the attainment of knowledge about how successful African domination of colonial rule could take place. Hutchison's Pen Pictures of Modern Africans and African Celebrities1", "The Aborigines Society, Kwame Nkrumah and the 1945 Pan-African Congress", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gold_Coast_Aborigines%27_Rights_Protection_Society&oldid=1077681957, 1890s establishments in Gold Coast (British colony), Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Asante, S. K. B. John Mensah Sarbah was born on Friday, 3 June 1864, in Anomabu, in the Fante Confederacy in the Gold Coast. 1, Legon, June 1973 (pp. 0000021313 00000 n Bonds: Citizens warn government not to touch their individual bond investments. Sarbah returned the guinea fee which the ARPS gave him for his work, as he regarded it as an honour to serve his country. He therefore published two books,Fanti Customary Laws(1897), andFanti National Constitution (1906). 0000020963 00000 n He encouraged farmers to grow cocoa and gave them loans for the purpose. John Mensah Sarbah returned the 400-guinea fee which the ARPS gave him because he felt that it was an honor to serve his country. Sarbah returned the 400-guinea fee which the ARPS gave him because he felt that it was an honor to serve his country. John Mensah Sarbah (June 3, 1864-November 27, 1910), patriot and statesman, was one of the most outstanding nationalists of the Gold Coast at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Instead, he suggested that the dismissal or the suspension of chiefs should be carried out by a resolution of the Legislative Council instead of by Order in Council. These cookies do not store any personal information. G. E. Metcalfe, Great Britain and Ghana: Documents on Ghana History 1807-1957, Accra, 1964. 0000001010 00000 n More importantly, the ARPS demanded radical constitutional reforms to enable the African intelligentsia to participate in the administration of the colony. The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895, but was shelved until May 17, 1897, when a meeting organized by the African intelligentsia in Cape Coast to protest the proposed Lands Bill of 1894 to 1897 culminated in the formation of the society. /Length 12414 He also helped to establish the Fanti National Education Fund, which aimed at improving educational facilities in the country and also awarded scholarships. >> Site redesigned by Alex Mayfield (2017 and 2019). stream He was educated at the Cape Coast Wesleyan . He was a good churchman, and bought a pipe organ for the Methodist Church at Cape Coast. Required fields are marked *. The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895 but was shelved until May 17, 1897, when a meeting was organized by the African intelligentsia in Cape Coast to protest the proposed Lands Bill of 1894 to 1897 culminated in the formation of the society. ". Azu Crabbe, John Mensah Sarbah: His Life and Works, Accra, 1971. Part of this critique lay in a disjuncture between the espoused values of cultural nationalism by the Gold Coast ARPS that advocated a fight for the indigenous peoples given the connection that the Gold Coast ARPS had with the British colonial government. He became disillusioned with what he deemed to be injustice in governance from the British Crown toward the Ghanaian people and felt that the actions of the colonial system should be checked. This reform, too, has now been adopted. He therefore helped J. P. Brown, J. W. de Graft Johnson, and others, to form theAborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS) to watch over the interests of the African population. By Royalvibes (self media writer) | 2 years ago. When, for financial reasons, the Wesleyan Mission closed down the Cape Coast Wesleyan School, he and some other nationalists revived it, financed it, and renamed it the Collegiate School. At the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice. [8], Entrenched in the founding of the Gold Coast ARPS was a belief that both the political actions of the Gold Coast ARPS and the movement against foreign encroachments on native lands were "joint vehicles of nationalism". Most significantly, in 1898 it sent a delegation, including President Jacob Wilson Sey and other prominent members, such as T. F. E. Jones and George Hughes, to England to meet directly with British officials to discuss problems of colonial rule, especially the Lands Bill. As a lawyer, Sarbah was interested in spreading knowledge of Fante laws and of the Fante Constitution. Sarbah was chosen by his peers to present the indigenous case against the Lands Bill to the Legislative Assembly, which at the time was composed only of British Crown representatives. This is clear evidence to the effect that aside his legal profession, he had massive interest in education, politics, business and Agriculture. [3], J.W. His suggestion, which was an improvement on the amendment, was not accepted. Visit our, Akufo-Addo willing to legalize homosexuality - Inusah Fuseini. John Mensah Sarbah was born on Friday, 3 June 1864, in Anomabu, in the Fante Confederacy in the Gold Coast. In 1892 his father died, arid he also took over his fattiers business. One of the initial goals of the Gold Coast ARPS was to ensure "that every person may understand [the Lands Bill of 1897] the same". /Contents 25 0 R Consequently, the Society declined as a major political force. The ARPS remained the voice of colonized Africans until its demise in the 1930s. From the late nineteenth century to the immediate post-World War I period, the society gradually sowed the seeds of revolutionary nationalism not only in the Gold Coast but in the West African region as a whole as its members contributed to the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) in 1919. The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895 but was shelved 1 year ago ago 0000015327 00000 n 25 0 obj Indeed, by the first two decades of the twentieth century, the influence of the ARPS was being felt colony-wide as it extended its concerns to cover problems of colonial rule, including forced labor and taxation in Asante and the Northern Territories. >> The statue of Queen Victoria at Victoria park in Cape Coast is a sign of treaty between ARPS and the British Government to abandon the Lands Bill. /Outlines 16 0 R From Taunton he matriculated to Lincoln's Inn to train as a barrister. ", This page was last edited on 17 March 2022, at 16:53. He was interested in promoting agriculture, and wrote an article on The Oil Palm and Its Products in 1909. ARPS activities were not restricted to Cape Coast; as early as 1897, the society had local branches in cities along the Gold Coast littoral regions, including Elmina, Saltpond, Winneba, and Axim. Upon returning from a visit to Europe in 1903 together with William Edward Sam, John Mensah Sarbah and Sam promoted an enterprise called the Fanti Public Schools Limited. /P 0 Aborigines' Rights Protection Society The First political movement in Ghana and the entire British West Africa (An extensive detail of its activities in Ghana and West Africa). Although the ARPS was an alliance between the African intelligentsia and the chiefs or the indigenous rulers, its leadership was mostly made up of educated Africans who were able to use their literacy to negotiate with the colonial government. John Mensah Sarbah is said to have given the school its motto (Dwen Hwe Kan, meaning Think and Look Ahead) as well as its emblem. << Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. 1864-1910 [7] It was this exclusion, in part, that fuelled both the "cultural nationalism" and "anti-colonial political activity" that led to the creation of the Gold Coast ARPS in 1897. In addition to his political achievements, Sarbah wrote two books about the Fante and played an important role in establishing public schools in the colony. /MediaBox [0.0000 0.0000 595.2756 841.8898] /Info 21 0 R 0000020815 00000 n W. T. Balmer. The ARPS delegation met with Joseph Chamberlain (18361914), the colonial secretary, with whom they discussed the questions of land, taxation, and constitutional reform. 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