startxref << Visit our, Akufo-Addo willing to legalize homosexuality - Inusah Fuseini. He was the first African barrister from the then Gold Coast. endobj /P 0 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. 0000033565 00000 n 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. XIV, No. 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. /Contents 25 0 R Its overall influence was felt throughout the Gold Coast, especially in districts where there was a sizeable number of African intellectuals, such as Krobo and Akuapem in the Eastern Province. << The ARPS opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened the traditional system of African land tenure, and sent Sarbah to argue against its passage in the Legislative Council. He compiled and publishedFanti Law Reports in 1904, but this was incomplete because he was refused permission to take any more notes from court records. 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". [5] Particularly, John Mensah Sarbah, a key member of the Gold Coast ARPS and a lawyer, helped to advocate against the introduction of the Lands Bill of 1897 by arguing that it was no different from a previous, unsuccessful bill in 1894; that its introduction would break family and society ties, and that the land was valuable to indigenous peoples for its religious significance. /Length 296 On his return to the Gold Coast, he became a leading critic of British Imperial rule. Many were those who knew the late John Mensah Sarbah as an illustrious lawyer, politician and educationist in the days of the defunct Gold Coast and modern day Ghana. 0000001690 00000 n ARPS successfully defended the interests of native African people against colonizers for decades and began to form an early forum for sentiments of . 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. Email: henrydonsco@gmail.com 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. John Mensah Sarbah was interested in promoting agriculture, and wrote an article on The Oil Palm and Its Products in 1909. Opera News furthermore does not condone the use of our platform for the purposes encouraging/endorsing hate speech, violation of human rights and/or utterances of a defamatory nature. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text] The ARPS used the money to establish a press, which publishedThe Gold Coast Nation(founded 1912) andThe Gold Coast Times(founded 1923). He was interested in court reforms, and tried to obtain better protection for accused persons during trials, especially in cases in which colonial district commissioners were biased against certain Africans. 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]." 0000019978 00000 n Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. Overall, deprived of an effective voice in the administration of the colony and its dependencies, the ARPS served as the main representative of colonized Africans. As the third child and a male born on Friday, he was called Kofi Mensah at home and by close friends. >> He was born at Cape Coast in 1864, and was the eldest son of John Sarbah, a merchant, and of his wife Sarah. When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895-97) refused to withdraw the bill, Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to England to petition against its . He was eventually honored with the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1910, months before he suddenly died at the age of 46. All rights reserved. /Type /Catalog arbah failed to sway the opinon of Governor Sir William Maxwell, honored with the Order of St. Michael and St. George, "did not strive for popularity nor was he vainglorious nor egotistical. He made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and law. 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. This reform, too, has now been adopted. As a lawyer, John Mensah Sarbah was interested in spreading knowledge of Fanti laws and of theFanti Constitution. What Happened To Mary Magdalene After Jesus Died? 1, Legon, June 1973 (pp. He waborn at Cape Coast in 1864and was the eldest son of John Sarbaha merh nd o SaahHe [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". He died in 1910, without, however, making any provision in his will for the education of his children, probably because he believed that the Akan family system would cater for them. John Mensah Sarbah CMG (3 June 1864 - 27 November 1910) was a lawyer and political leader in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). He explained that he engaged in massive agriculture financing in the Gold Coast. He was Born into a wealthy family, and studied law in England. In 1897 he worked with JE Casely Hayford, JP Brown, JW de Graft Johnson, and others to form the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS). John Mensah Sarbah (June 3, 1864-November 27, 1910), patriot and statesman, was one of the most outstanding nationalists of the The Gold Coast When Edward IV Was King, Journal of the African Society, Vol. 0000014334 00000 n Sarbah was a good legislator. 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. From Mfantsipim, Mensah Sarbah enrolled at the Taunton School in England, before studying law at Lincoln's Inn in 1884. [10] In addition to the news of successful anti-colonial movements, the Gold Coast ARPS was interested in the growing formation of pan-African conferences that sought to discuss "questions 'affecting the Native races'". ", "Ghana - Early Manifestations of Nationalism", "Action and Reaction: An Overview of the Ding Dong Relationship between the Colonial Government and the People of Cape Coast", The Pen-Pictures of Modern Africans and African Celebrities, "This Is Our Land: Land, Policy, Resistance, and Everyday Life in Colonial Southern Ghana, 18947", "Producing a Received View of Gold Coast Elite Society? The delegation, which Sarbah refused out of modesty to lead, went to London in 1898, and succeeded in getting the Lands Bill disallowed. 0000034351 00000 n He was responsible for various initiatives, including the founding of a Dutton scholarship at Taunton School in memory of his younger brother, Joseph Dutton Sarbah, who had died there in 1892. Originally established by traditional leaders and the educated elite to protest the Crown Lands Bill of 1896 and the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened traditional land tenure, the Gold Coast ARPS became the main political organisation that led organised and sustained opposition against the colonial government in the Gold Coast, laying the foundation for political action that would ultimately lead to Ghanaian independence. He compiled and published Fanti Law Reports in 1904, but this was incomplete because he was refused permission to take any more notes from court records. x}$9Z|_ /.!3n93. The ARPS opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened the traditional system of African land tenure, and sent Sarbah to argue against its passage in the Legislative Council. 0000000908 00000 n Although colonial society was dominated by men, throughout the period of colonial rule several women's groups teamed up with men or supported men in anticolonial protest politics. The ARPS delegation met with Joseph Chamberlain (18361914), the colonial secretary, with whom they discussed the questions of land, taxation, and constitutional reform. assumptions of the British imperial regime, he felt that, PS opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened, Building on Custom: Land Tenure Policy and Economic Development in Ghana, Exhuming and Highlighting the Nearly Forgotten Gold Coast Intelligentsia: the Life and Times of Prince Kwamin Atta Amonoo V, The Rise of British Jurisdiction in Ghana Jonqil Van, Primary 5 History of Ghana Facilitator's Guide, Pan-African History: Political Figures from Africa and The, AFRICAN COASTAL ELITE ARCHITECTURE: CULTURAL AUTHENTIFICATION DURING the COLONIAL PERIOD in ANOMABO, GHANA By, The Case of John Mensah Sarbah and the Reconstruction of Gold Coast History, The Commission Shall Advise the President on Development Planning Policy and Strategy, Decolonising African History. John Mensah Sarbah was one of the pioneers of Ghanaian politics and a distinguished African politician in the Gold Coast in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Ghana. Join our whatsapp page, This website uses cookies. 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. For example, society never developed in the adjoining Eastern Province. He entered Lincolns Inn in London in 1884 to study law, and qualified as a barrister in 1887, being the first African from the Gold Coast to gain this qualification. [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. Sarbah-Picot House at Mfantsipim School is named after him. Over 50 years after his death, the University of Ghana, in 1963, named Mensah Sarbah Hall after him for his services to education. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. >> He founded a scholarship scheme called the Dutton Sarbah Scholarship at Mfantsipim School and helped pay the salaries of the staff when the school encountered financial difficulties.[9]. 0000014189 00000 n 2021 Happy FM Ghana - Developed byHappy Ghana. Opera News does not consent to nor does it condone the posting of any content that violates the rights (including the copyrights) of any third party, nor content that may malign, inter alia, any religion, ethnic group, organization, gender, company, or individual. 6578), pp. [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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. An Alumnus of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Journalist, Author and a Philanthropist. J. M. Sarbah, Fanti Customary Laws, London, 1897. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The ARPS opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened the traditional system of African land tenure. % Concerning the competence and compellability of a spouse as a witness in a criminal trial in which the other spouse was the accused, he proposed that no distinction should be made between the spouse in a Christian marriage and the spouse in a customary marriage. 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). John Mensah Sarbah was called to the English Bar in 1887. He made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and law. There he fought the Native Jurisdiction Bill, which gave Fante chiefs exclusive powers to administer local laws. He himself founded a scholarship at Mfantsipim School and helped to pay the salaries of the staff when the school encountered financial difficulties. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. His suggestion, which was an improvement on the amendment, was not accepted. His successors in this field were J. E. Casely Hayford, and Dr. J. [4][5], Mensah Sarbah was appointed a member of the Legislative Council in 1901,[6] and was re-appointed in 1906. It is the aim of the foundation set by his descendants is to promote educational scholarships and digitally archived the works of the late John Mensah Sarbah. He touted the late lawyer as one who represented the largest number of three thousand cases at the Cape Coast Supreme court in his days. 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. He died in 1910, without, however, making any provision in his will for the education of his children, probably because he believed that the Akan family system would cater for them. [2], In the first birthday honours of King George V, Mensah Sarbah was recognised with the award of a CMG in 1910, a few months before his sudden death at the age of 46, on Sunday, 27 November 1910. He founded two newspapers, The Gold Coast People and Gold Coast Weekly, and became an authority on the traditions of the Fante people. S. Tenkorang, John Mensah Sarbah, 18641910, in Transactions of the HYistorical Society of Ghana, Vol. [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. (His suggestion was to be adopted in 1951.) New York: Reference Publications Inc., 1977. W. T. Balmer. Sarbah failed to sway the opinon of Governor Sir William Maxwell, however, his action sparked fervor among his colleagues. The Wesley Brothers of Oxford University (1700s), Razia Sultan of Medieval India (786 Years Ago), The Assassination of Legendary Dancehall Dance Pioneer Gerald Bogle Levy. /Filter [/FlateDecode ] During the early twentieth century, the ARPS occupied itself with colonial policies on education, sanitation, health, the provision of infrastructure, and imperial labor and military recruitment in the Gold Coast during World War I. 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. Among other things, the ARPS hoped to make sure that various bills and colonial policies involving taxation, labor, and constitutional changes would not burden the Africans. 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. [10], A common critique of the Gold Coast ARPS was that its members sought to garner greater financial and political gain for the African bourgeoisie and elites, rather than for the common people. /Resources << Required fields are marked *. He was a good churchman, and bought a pipe organ for the Methodist Church at Cape Coast. This article was reprinted from The Encyclopedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography (In 20 Volumes). When the Gold Coast Native Jurisdiction Ordinance (1883) was being amended in 1910, Section 29 caused a stir among the people because they felt it would empower the governor to usurp the rights of the people in the destooling of chiefs. [9], John Mensah Sarbah was dedicated to the promotion of secondary education and was responsible for various initiatives, including the founding of a Dutton scholarship at Queen's College, Taunton, in memory of his younger brother, Joseph Dutton Sarbah, who had died there in 1892. ", This page was last edited on 17 March 2022, at 16:53. In 1892 his father died, and he also took over his fathers business. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. "Sarbah, John Mensah", in Keith A. P. Sandiford, "Ghana Early Manifestations of Nationalism", "Action and Reaction: An Overview of the Ding Dong Relationship between the Colonial Government and the People of Cape Coast", John Mensah Sarbah, an outstanding nationalist of the Gold Coast, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Mensah_Sarbah&oldid=1105403308, This page was last edited on 20 August 2022, at 02:51. Methodist Church at Cape Coast in Ghana, Vol British Imperial rule Biography ( in 20 Volumes.. In this browser for the Methodist Church at Cape Coast, has now been adopted been adopted of Cape in! Third-Party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website uses cookies to improve your while! Bill, which gave Fante chiefs exclusive powers to administer local laws in 1887 British Imperial rule the Encyclopedia Dictionary! Fathers business Dr. J - developed byHappy Ghana was reprinted from the Encyclopedia Africana Dictionary of African land tenure been... 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