XIXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Gold Coast
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The Aborigines Rights Protection Society was an elite and traditional-ruler association formed in the Gold Coast in 1897 to oppose colonial legislation and abuses. It campaigned against the Land Bill of 1896, whose withdrawal followed a delegation to London in 1898. The society later submitted petitions and dispatched delegations opposing the Towns Ordinance and the Forestry Bill. The extract presents it as the most active and successful West African elite mouthpiece before the creation of the National Congress of British West Africa.
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The Aborigines Rights Protection Society, commonly abbreviated in the passage as ARPS, was formed in the Gold Coast in 1897. It brought together educated Africans and traditional rulers who sought to challenge the abuses and inequities of colonial rule. Newspapers, plays, tracts, pamphlets, petitions, and delegations served as its principal instruments of political action.
The society emerged in opposition to the Land Bill of 1896, which sought to place so-called waste or unoccupied lands under government control. A delegation sent to London in 1898 met the Secretary of State for Colonies, and the bill was subsequently withdrawn. This episode demonstrated the potential influence of organized constitutional pressure across the colonial and metropolitan administrations.
The ARPS continued its campaign through petitions and further delegations. It sent representatives to England in 1906 to demand repeal of the 1894 Towns Ordinance and again in 1911 to oppose the Forestry Bill of 1910. The extract regards the society as the greatest opponent of colonialism among West African elite organizations until the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa after the First World War.
British authorities introduced Lands Bills in the Gold Coast in 1894 and again in 1897. The proposed legislation sought to establish direct British control over lands described as vacant. African elites and traditional rulers rejected this characterization, arguing that land was already owned through extended families and customary institutions.
In response, the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society was formed in Cape Coast in 1897. The organization united educated Africans and traditional rulers in opposition to the proposed land legislation. Its campaign represented a significant political effort to defend communal land rights against colonial claims of sovereignty and administrative control.
The Society sent a delegation to London in May 1898. The delegation persuaded the Colonial Office to drop the bill on the grounds that there were no vacant lands in the Gold Coast and that every piece of land belonged to one extended family or another. The episode contributed to the abandonment of wholesale direct land control in British West Africa during the inter-war period.
XIXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Gold Coast
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Aborigines Rights Protection Society was an elite and traditional-ruler association formed in the Gold Coast in 1897 to oppose colonial legislation and abuses. It campaigned against the Land Bill of 1896, whose withdrawal followed a delegation to London in 1898. The society later submitted petitions and dispatched delegations opposing the Towns Ordinance and the Forestry Bill. The extract presents it as the most active and successful West African elite mouthpiece before the creation of the National Congress of British West Africa.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The Aborigines Rights Protection Society, commonly abbreviated in the passage as ARPS, was formed in the Gold Coast in 1897. It brought together educated Africans and traditional rulers who sought to challenge the abuses and inequities of colonial rule. Newspapers, plays, tracts, pamphlets, petitions, and delegations served as its principal instruments of political action.
The society emerged in opposition to the Land Bill of 1896, which sought to place so-called waste or unoccupied lands under government control. A delegation sent to London in 1898 met the Secretary of State for Colonies, and the bill was subsequently withdrawn. This episode demonstrated the potential influence of organized constitutional pressure across the colonial and metropolitan administrations.
The ARPS continued its campaign through petitions and further delegations. It sent representatives to England in 1906 to demand repeal of the 1894 Towns Ordinance and again in 1911 to oppose the Forestry Bill of 1910. The extract regards the society as the greatest opponent of colonialism among West African elite organizations until the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa after the First World War.
British authorities introduced Lands Bills in the Gold Coast in 1894 and again in 1897. The proposed legislation sought to establish direct British control over lands described as vacant. African elites and traditional rulers rejected this characterization, arguing that land was already owned through extended families and customary institutions.
In response, the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society was formed in Cape Coast in 1897. The organization united educated Africans and traditional rulers in opposition to the proposed land legislation. Its campaign represented a significant political effort to defend communal land rights against colonial claims of sovereignty and administrative control.
The Society sent a delegation to London in May 1898. The delegation persuaded the Colonial Office to drop the bill on the grounds that there were no vacant lands in the Gold Coast and that every piece of land belonged to one extended family or another. The episode contributed to the abandonment of wholesale direct land control in British West Africa during the inter-war period.