<
https://theconversation.com/the-african-activists-who-challenged-colonial-era-slavery-in-lagos-and-the-gold-coast-261089>
"When historians and the public think about the end of domestic slavery in west
Africa, they often imagine colonial governors issuing decrees and missionaries
working to end local traffic in enslaved people.
Two of my recent publications tell another part of the story. I am a historian
of west Africa, and over the past five years, I have been researching
anti-slavery ideas and networks in the region as part of a wider research
project.
My research reveals that colonial administrations continued to allow domestic
slavery in practice and that African activists fought this.
In one study I focused on Francis P. Fearon, a trader based in Accra, the
Ghanaian capital. He exposed pro-slavery within the colonial government through
numerous letters written in the 1890s (when the colony was known as the Gold
Coast).
In another study I examined the Lagos Auxiliary, a coalition of lawyers,
journalists and clergy in Nigeria. Their campaigning secured the repeal of
Nigeria’s notorious
Native House Rule Ordinance in 1914. That ordinance had
been enacted by the colonial government to maintain local slavery in the Niger
Delta region.
Considered together, the two studies demonstrate how local campaigners used
letters, print culture, imperial pressure points and personal networks to
oppose practices that had kept thousands of Africans in bondage.
The methods Fearon and the Lagos Auxiliary pioneered still matter because they
show how marginalised communities can compel power‑holders to close the gap
between laws and lived reality. They remind us that well‑documented local
testimony, amplified trans-nationally, can still overturn official narratives,
compel policy change, and keep institutions honest."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
