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Social change in eighteenth-century Anlo: the role of technology, markets and military conflict

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Sandra E. Greene
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Extract

Technological change among the Anlo-Ewe of southeastern Ghana is a subject that has received little attention from scholars, but it is a theme which figures prominently in Anlo oral tradition. Of the technologies mentioned, those associated with lacustrine fishing and salt making are discussed in the greatest detail. Traditional accounts of the fishing industry, for example, agree that when the Ewe-speaking Anlo first settled in their present area (located on the Atlantic coast immediately east and south of the Volta River and Keta Lagoon system) the Anlo were not familiar with the use of boats. As a consequence they employed fishing techniques that restricted such activities to the more shallow sections of the Keta Lagoon. The first boat that was developed (the agowu, made by hollowing out the trunk of the fan palm [Borassus aethiopium]) was said to have been inefficient because it capsized easily (Greene, 1981b: no. 29). A more stable vessel, still in use today and known as the lewu, was introduced, according to the traditions, by Amega Le.

Résumé

Changements sociaux dans l'Anlo du dix-huitième siècle: le rôle de la technologie, des marchés et du conflit militaire

Des témoignages provenant de sources de documentation européennes et des traditions orales Anlo semblent suggerer que d'importants développements ont eu lieu au cours du dix-huitième siècle: les industries de la pêche et du sel ont subi des changements avec l'introduction de nouvelles méthodes d'extraction et de nouvelles techniques de construction des bateaux respectivement; de nouveaux marchés se sont développés pour les produits Anlo; des changements ont eu lieu dans la structure militaire de l'armée Anlo ainsi qu'au sein du système des couches socio-économiques. Tandis que ces développements sont survenus à différentes époques du dix-huitième siècle, ils étaient intimement liés (l'un fournissant la base pour le développement d'un autre) et associés aux problèmes et aux opportunités qui ont résulté de la proximité de l'Anlo à toute une communauté d'états situés sur la Côte d'Or inférieure et la Côte des Esclaves supérieure qui se concurrençaient les uns les autres pour obtenir la puissance politique et économique. C'est à cause des efforts Akwamu pour la domination militaire de la basse Volta, par exemple, que les réfugiés provenant des régions côtières à l'ouest de la rivière sont venus dans l'Anlo, en apportant avec eux les techniques de production ci-dessus mentionnées. Leur propre conquête par les Akwamu a alors exposé les Anlo à un nouveau système d'organisation militaire. Aucun de ces développements, les nouvelles techniques et l'exposition à une structure militaire différente et plus efficace n'ont eu d'effet immédiat et notoire sur la société Anlo. Celle-ci a dû attendre les conflits qui ont surgi entre l'Asante et ses voisins du sud. Car ces conflits ont ouverts de nouveaux débouchés qui ont permis aux commerçants Anlo de commercialiser les marchandises produites localement. Cela, à son tour, a également encouragé l'exploitation des techniques introduites en matière de pêche et de production de sel. Ces deux développements ont alors contribué à créer une plus grande richesse dans la région et une stratification socio-économique plus importante au sein de la société Anlo. La participation plus directe dans les conflits entre l'Asante et ses voisins du sud a encouragé l'organisation militaire selon une structure plus hiérarchique et à l'utiliser pour étendre les frontières de l'état Anlo. Cette expansion a alors facilité l'accumulation continue des richesses parmi les commerçants Anlo. Tous ces développements ont entraîné la formation d'une société généralement plus stratifiée.

Type
Material bases of social change
Information
Africa , Volume 58 , Issue 1 , January 1988 , pp. 70 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1988

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