The Politics of Chieftaincy

Authority and Property in Colonial Ghana, 1920-1950
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-1-58046-494-9
Verlag: Boydell & Brewer

Buch, Englisch, Band 61, 256 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 549 g

Reihe: Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora

Documents the profound societal changes that occurred in Accra, the capital city of the Gold Coast colony (modern Ghana), during the peak decades of British colonial rule, 1920-1950.

The Politics of Chieftaincy examines debates over authority and property in Accra, Ghana, during the peak decades of British colonial rule. Between 1920 and 1950, imperial policies marginalized educated elites, local authorities, and landowners in favor of Ga chiefs, whom the British authorities viewed as more loyal to the empire. Conflicts erupted throughout the city over chieftaincy, succession, and land, producing new political movements and local institutions.
Drawing on a broad range of archival records of chieftaincy and litigation cases from this era, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch demonstrates how these disputes opened new arenas for Accra's residents to engage indialogue about the efficacy of chieftaincy and the meaning of political authority and property. Despite the prominence of chieftaincy in the lives of the people of Accra, they were able, Sackeyfio-Lenoch shows, to critique their political traditions and adapt their institutions to new local, national, and global pressures. The volume thus offers a vital case study of Africans' responses to colonialism, modernity, and globalization, and provides an important lens for understanding urban and political processes in Africa during the first half of the twentieth century.

Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch is associate professor of African history at Dartmouth College.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sackeyfro, Naaborko

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
Situating Ga Institutions in the European Colonial Milieu
Land Legislation, Commodification, and Effects in Accra
Negotiating Chieftancy, the Ga Stool, and Colonial Intervention
Succession Disputes, the Ga State Council, and the Future of Chieftaincy
Contesting Property in Accra and Its Periurban Locales
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch is Assistant Professor of African History at Dartmouth College.