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Impeachable Source? On the Use of the Second Edition of Reindorf's History as a Primary Source for the Study of Ghanaian History - I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2014

Ray Jenkins
Ray Jenkins*
Affiliation:
CWAS/University of Birmingham
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Extract

“The matter in the first Edition has not undergone any radical change with the exception of a few alterations here and there …

The Rev. Carl Christian Reindorf began his research into the history of the Gold Coast and Asante in the early 1860s. His decision to collect and record traditions appears to have been stimulated by the death in 1860 of his grandmother and by the Basel Mission which in 1864 under the direction of J.G. Christaller entered an important phase in its study of the language, traditions, and folklore of the Gold Coast peoples. Some thirty years later Reindorf's History of the Gold Coast and Asante based on Traditions and Historical Facts Comprising a Period of more than Three Centuries from about 1500 to 1860 was published.

The process of revising History I began as early as 1907 and culminated in 1951 with the publication of a revised edition in Basel and later (in 1966) in Ghana. Not surprisingly History II has become much more widely available and used than History I -- in no small measure because of the increasing demands from a new generation of historians for ‘a new look’ at the history of Ghana and the part played in it by Africans. As a result Reindorfs History II has been used increasingly in the reconstruction and reinterpretation of Ghanaian history. In his recent study of Asante Ivor Wilks recognized this development by deciding to use only History II on the grounds that it was more readily available to the reader. Earlier Michael Kwamena-Poh had noted the difficulties in consulting History I when, after quoting at second-hand a passage from it he cautiously added that

this quotation is obtained from Wilks … who apparently got it from the first edition of Reindorf's History of the Gold Coast and Asante, a copy of which [i] have been unable to obtain. The edition [I] used is the one revised by his sons C.J. Reindorf and C.E. Reindorf, and in which much of the information contained in the original has been left out.

Type
Research Article
Information
History in Africa , Volume 4 , 1977 , pp. 123 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1977

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References

Notes

* I would like to thank John Fage and Marion Johnson for their help and encouragement; Paul Jenkins, Marion Johnson, and Roger Thomas for providing access to materials otherwise difficult to obtain; and David Horrocks for translating source materials in German.

1. From the Dedication by C.J. Reindorf to the revised edition of Reindorf, C.C., The History of the Gold Coast and Asante (Basel, 1951Google Scholar; republished, Accra, 1966), iii. My references throughout this paper are to the 1966 reprint, which I will refer to as History II.

2. Reindorf, , History II, ix.Google ScholarDebrunner, Hans W., A History of Christianity in Ghana (Accra, 1967), p. 144.Google Scholar

3. Basel, 1895, hereafter referred to as History I.

4. See for example Boahen, A.A., “A New Look at the History of Ghana,” African Affairs, 65(1966), pp. 212–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

5. Including Addo-Fening, R., “Asante Refugees in Akyem Abuakwa, 1875-1912,” THSG 14(1973), p. 61Google Scholar; Agbodeka, F., African Politics and British Policy in the Gold Coast, 1868-1900 (London, 1971), p. 189Google Scholar; Kwamena-Poh, M.A., Government and Politics in the Akuapem State, 1730-1850 (London, 1973), p. 39Google Scholar; Boahen, A.A., “Politics in Ghana, 1800-1874” in Ajayi, J.F.A. and Crowder, Michael, eds., History of West Africa, II (London, 1974), pp. 188, 198–99Google Scholar; Fynn, J.K., Asante and its Neighbours, 1700-1807 (London, 1971), p. 57.Google Scholar Significantly all these references are to History II (though this is not immediately apparent in the last two instances).

6. Wilks, , Asante in the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge, 1975), xv.Google Scholar

7. Kwamena-Poh, , Akuapem, p. 39nGoogle Scholar, referring to Wilks, , “The growth of the Akwapim state” in Mauny, R., Vansina, J., and Thomas, L-V, eds., The Historian in Tropical Africa (London, 1964), p. 407.Google Scholar

8. Carr, E.H., What is History?, (Harmondsworth, 1964), p. 30.Google Scholar Cf. Marwick, Arthur, The Nature of History (London, 1970), p. 21.Google Scholar

9. See Reindorf, , History II, xi–xiiGoogle Scholar for details of the bibliography he used, noting that his titles and dates of publications were not always entirely accurate. Most of these are cited and discussed below. In addition to these it seems likely that Reindorf had access to Riis, A., “Reise des Missionars A. Riis in Akropong nach dem Aschantee-Lande im Winter 1839/1840,” Magazin fur die neueste Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions- und Bibel-Gesellschaften 25(1840), pp. 92-93, 174-75, 216–35.Google Scholar J. Zimmermann, who was Reindorf's teacher in the early 1850s, published A Grammatical Sketch of the Akra or Gã-Language with some Specimens of it from the Mouth of the Natives and a Vocabulary of the Same with an Appendix on the Adanme Dialect in 1858 but even more valuable work by Zimmermann remained unpublished, Debrunner, , History of Christianity, pp. 142–44.Google Scholar Probably the most valuable of J.G. Christaller's publications available to Reindorf was his A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi, published in Basel in 1881. The preface and appendices of this work were of particular importance to Reindorf. It should also be noted that from 1883 to 1895 Christaller edited the Basel Mission periodical The Christian Messenger which contained relevant articles in Gã, Twi, and English. Reindorf himself contributed articles in Gã to it. See Jenkins, P., “A Forgotten Vernacular Periodical,” Mitteilungen der Basler Afrika Bibliographien, 9(1973), pp. 27–33Google Scholar, and notes below. Reindorf's reliance on more familiar English sources will be noted in the course of this paper as necessary.

10. Reindorf, , History II, p. 6.Google Scholar

11. Attoh-Ahuma, S.R.B., The Gold Coast and National Consciousness (London, 1971), p. 45.Google Scholar This work, originally published in 1911, was a compilation of press clippings published in the late 1890s. Despite these claims Attoh-Ahuma found it necessary to express concern for the political and economic decline of Cape Coast.

12. In the Dedication to History II C.J. Reindorf noted that “the book is regarded as an authority in our Law Courts.” Certainly it was cited in support of one argument or another in several of the stool disputes in southern Ghana during the inter-war period.

13. Examples of this ambivalence are discussed at several points later in the paper.

14. Hereafter references to History I will be offered unadorned while references only to History II will have an ‘R’ added. In comparing pages in both, a / will intervene. Thus 24/26 means that the relevant material will be found on p. 24 of History I and p. 26 of History II. I will use square brackets to denote omissions so that 24/[26] means that the relevant passage should have appeared on p. 26 of History II, but did not.

15 Referring to Lepsius, Richard, Nubische Grammatik mit einer Einleitung über die Völker und Sprachen Afrikas (Berlin, 1880).Google Scholar Reindorf's support of Lepsius' usage should be seen in light of Christaller's censuring of the Fante-Wesleyan school for its use of an alternative orthography, observing that “the Fantes would build a railway of their own different gauge, so that no cars of the western railway could be used on the eastern,” Dictionary, ix. In this paper I use current orthographical conventions (as in fact does History II).

16. This dedication is included only in the 1966 edition; that is, it is not in the 1951 edition. Otherwise there are almost no differences between these two.

17. The Akyem Abuakwa king list is identical with, and apparently based on, that which appeared in Danquah, J.B., Akan Laws and Customs (London, 1928), p. 242.Google Scholar Danquah was a member of the Akyem royal house.

18. Trutenau, H.M., “The ‘Christian Messenger’ and its Successors: a Description of the First Three Series of a Missionary Periodical with Articles in Ghanaian Languages (Twi and Gã), 1883-1921,” Mitteilungen der Basler Afrika Bibliographien 9(1973), p. 40.Google Scholar

19. Since only four issues of The Christian Messenger (also called The Christian Reporter during part of this period) appeared between the announcement of the serialization and Christaller's death, it seems unlikely that much of Reindorf's work became available to Ga readers. See ibid., pp. 40-41. Note Reindorf's distinction between “traditional” and “historical” -- a distinction which appeared often in History I, beginning with its sub-title.

20. For indications of late, even last-minute, additions see History I, pp. 231, 356.

21. Christaller suggests these difficulties in his List of Additions and Corrections, History I, p. 354.

22. Mission, Basel, “Biographical Information on Members of the Basel Mission” (typescript, n.d.), p. ii.Google Scholar My thanks to Paul Jenkins for a copy of this.

23. For a discussion of the development of the Hamitic myth see Curtin, P.D., The Image of Africa (London, 1965), p. 400et passim.Google Scholar Both African and European observers on the Gold Coast were influenced by this notion. See, e.g., Bowdich, T.E., An Essay on the Superstitions, Customs, and Arts Common to the Anoient Egyptians, Abyssinians, and Ashantees (London, 1821)Google Scholar and Horton, J.A.B., West African Countries and Peoples (London, 1868).Google Scholar

24. Although acknowledging his reliance of Zimmermann at this point, Reindorf did not specify his source more fully.

25. Bosman, Willem, A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea (London, 1705), p. 4.Google Scholar

26. Between November 1885 and September 1887 at least 44 articles or serials appeared in The Western Echo under the rubric “Folklore.” Those to which Reindorf referred appeared in the issues of 30 January and 24 February 1886 respectively, perhaps suggesting that it was at this time that Reindorf composed this part of his first chapter.

For The Western Echo see Jones-Quartey, K.A.B., History, Politics, and Early Press in Ghana (Accra, 1975), pp. 86-90, 94.Google Scholar

27. The early Gold Coast press is an important source on the Fante-Wesleyan school as opposed to the Danish-Gã-Basel school of Ghanaian historiography. Here Reindorf effected an interesting ‘marriage’ between the two. Of his contemporaries, S.R.B. Attoh-Ahuma, J.B. Anaman, and E.J.P. Brown returned the compliment.

28. Römer's view that such an empire had existed was influential among other writers associated with the Basel Mission such as Mähly, E., Zur Geographie und Ethnographie der Goldküste (Basel, 1885), pp. 831–32.Google Scholar

29. Butterfield, Herbert, Man on His Past (Cambridge, 1955), p. 15.Google Scholar

30. One might assume that this quotation was extracted from Rev. Paul Steiner's translation into English of the 1769 (German) edition of Römer's work but a comparison with an English translation of parts of the 1760 (Danish) edition (typescript, Institute of African Studies, Legon, 1965) shows changes in details of the tradition. These could reflect either differences in the translations of the two editions or the fact that Reindorf may himself have amended the version(s) he used.

31. It is worth remembering that Reindorf was credited with being a first class history teacher. At the Christians-borg Middle School in 1870 his work was warmly applauded. Debrunner, , History, pp. 144–5.Google Scholar After 1874 the content of the history syllabus became increasing European-oriented with an emphasis on German and then, after 1887 on British history. See “School Log Book, August 1887-June 1895,” Christiansborg Presbyterian Middle Boarding School Papers, National Archives of Ghana, EC 7/17.

32. That is, Ellis, Alfred B., A History of the Gold Coast of West Africa (London, 1893).Google Scholar

33. Ibid., p. 19; Cruickshank, Brodie, Eighteen Years on the Gold Coast of Africa (2 vols.: London, 1853), 1: pp. 16–17.Google Scholar

34. In 1904 Sarbah praised “the able and well-informed author [i.e., Reindorf]” but offered a mild rebuke for his apparent reliance on Barbot for “a brief historical account of several European voyages to the Gold Coast.” Sarbah, J.M., “The Gold Coast When Edward IV was King,” Journal of the African Society 3(1903/1904), p. 195.Google Scholar Two years later Sarbah discussed the response of Karamansa at some length and included it verbatim in his Fante National Constitution (London, 1906), pp. 56–61.Google Scholar It was also included in Brown, E.J.P., Gold Coast and Asianti Reader (2 vols.: London, 1929), 1: pp. 14–19Google Scholar; Sekyi, Kobina, “Our White Friends,” Gold Coast Leader, 13 May 1922Google Scholar; Johnson, J.W. de Graft, Historical Geography of the Gold Coast (London, 1929), pp. 12–13.Google Scholar For a discussion of the earlier historiography of this speech and of the name of the Fetu (?) ruler see Henige, David, “Kingship in Elmina Before 1869: a Study in ‘Feedback’ and the Traditional Idealization of the Past,” Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines 14(1974), pp. 501–04.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

35. This desire to streamline Reindorf's prose seems to have been an overriding purpose and I shall not repeat the point further.

36. For instance he mentioned that certain names “are still in the memory of the people” (28/38) and spoke of “the origin of the Adangme tribe, as traditionally narrated” (39/47).

37. Reindorf acknowledged his reliance on Bosman at one point (26-27/37-38) but a comparison of History I with the relevant parts of Bosman (pp. 329-33) suggests a much greater use of this work. It seems that Reindorf used other sources for Ashangmo's wars with Dahomey and the Anlos. He dated Ashangmo's retreat eastward to 1680. So did Meredith, Henry, An Account of the Gold Coast of Africa (London, 1812), p. 195Google Scholar, citing Archibald Dalzel's History of Dahomy, but there is no indication that Reindorf used either of these works.

38. Two attempts of Reindorf to synchronize La/Danish and La/Akwamu events were also excluded (30-31/[41]).

39. For example Reindorf referred at least seven times to “tradition” and his discussion of the birth of Ntim Gyakari of Denkyira suggests he used other Asante sources there. Jenkins, , “A Forgotten Vernacular Periodical,” p. 19Google Scholar, notes that Basel Mission records indicate a resurgence of interest in Asante traditions followed the defeat of 1874.

40. It would seem that one of the earliest historical accounts written by an African on the coast was serialized under the title “Future of the Gold Coast” in The Gold Coast Times from 20 May 1882 to 13 January 1883. This relied heavily on Beecham and emphasized nineteenth-century Fante affairs.

41. Dupuis, Joseph, Journal of a Residence in Ashantee (London, 1824), pp. 227–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

42. Ellis, , History, pp. 86–87.Google Scholar

43. For a discussion of Reindorf's critical use of Bosman and Dupuis, see below.

44. It should be noted, however, that Reindorf did supply Christaller with some additional information during the process of publication, including material on Asante. It seems unlikely that Reindorf was able to use much of Christaller's published material on Asante. See Christaller, , Dictionary, pp. 644–46.Google Scholar

45. Fynn, , Asante, pp. 38–39Google Scholar, has recently attempted to reconcile these conflicting versions. Wilks, , Asante, pp. 345–52Google Scholar has also analyzed Dupuis' material in this regard.

46. Cf. History (64-73/62-70) and Römer, Ludewig, Tilforladelig Efterretning om Kysten Guinea (Copenhagen, 1760), as translated (see fn. 30), pp. 7–14.Google Scholar

47. Bowdich, Dupuis, Beecham, and Cruickshank did not discuss Opoku Ware's reign in any detail, and their only interest in Akyem concerned its acquiring the pay notes for the Accra forts.

48. Römer (as translated), pp. 15-19, 20-23, 29-30. In the original 1760 edition these are pp. 140-55, 158-66, 181-84.

49. Reindorf's evaluation of Opoku Ware is in keeping with that of modern Ghanaian historians. For example Boahen has criticized the inadequate treatment of him by earlier European historians of Asante, and Fynn pointed out that he “has been sadly neglected by students of Asante history.” Boahen, , “New Look,” p. 219Google Scholar; Fynn, , Asante, p. 57.Google Scholar

50. Ibid., p. 71, especially exploits of Akyem leaders.

51. The present controversy concerning the extent of Asante authority at various times lends added interest to these omissions. See, for example, Iliasu, A.A., “Asante's Relations with Dagomba, c. 1740-1874,” Ghana Social Science Journal, 1(1971), pp. 54–62Google Scholar, and Amenumey, D.E.K., “New Myths in the History of Ghana,” Universitas, 4/2 (May, 1975), pp. 181–86.Google Scholar

52. This difference between Akuapem traditions and Danish-Gã accounts remains unresolved. For early examples see Danquah, J.B., Akim Abuakwa Handbook (London, 1928), pp. 16–17Google Scholar, and Ward, W.E.F., A History of Ghana (rev. ed., London, 1967), pp. 109–12.Google Scholar The references in Fynn, , Asante, p. 71Google Scholar, are obscure. Kwamena-Poh, M.A., Akuapem, pp. 28–44Google Scholar, has discussed the matter in extenso. For a different interpretation of the role of the Akyem leaders of the time to each other and to the later Akyem paramount stools see Atkinson, R.R., “Old Akyem and the Origins of Akyem Abuakwa and Akyem Kotoku, c. 1675-1775: in Swartz, B.K. and Dumett, Raymond E., eds., Culture Dynamics in West Africa (Hague, forthcoming).Google Scholar

53. It is likely that Reindorf had access to Akuapem sources in the Basel Mission materials. His account of the origins, settlement, and early extent of the state follows, in part, the material in the Geographical Appendix to Christaller's Dictionary (although this has been partly obscured by the editor(s)). Reindorf used the same Akuapem kinglist as Christaller, although this was later challenged by one of Reindorf's colleagues; see Samson, E., A Short History of Akwapim and Akropong and an Autobiography (Aburi, 1908), pp. 4–5.Google Scholar

54. See, for example, History I, p. 84 (where he related in time the expulsion of Akwamu with the date of an engraving on the state cane of the ‘King’ of Accra, presented by the Dutch in 1734) and pp. 94-95. Both references were omitted from History II.

55. Cf. Römer, , Tilforladelig, p. 185.Google Scholar For details of the occupation see Fynn, , Asante, pp. 74–75Google Scholar, and Wilks, , Asante, p. 24, both of whom rely on Römer.Google Scholar

56. History I provided more details on this branch of the Akwamu royal family. For a thorough discussion see Wilks, , “Akwamu and Otublohum: an eighteenth-century Akan. marriage arrangement,” Africa 29(1959), pp. 391–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar Also Kwamena-Poh, , Akuapem, pp. 28–32.Google Scholar

57. This notion of political evolution reflected contemporary thinking. Horton's, J.A.B. discussion in his West African Countries and Peoples (London, 1868)Google Scholar was quite similar.

58. Interestingly, E.J.P. Brown relied heavily on this chapter for details of Twi government, rather than on the works of his fellow Fante. Cf. Brown, , Gold Coast and Asianti Reader, I, pp. 193-95, 212–20Google Scholar, and Reindorf, , History I, pp. 103-04, 111–21.Google Scholar

59. Debrunner, , History I, pp. 143–44Google Scholar, lists many of the materials collected and published by Basel missionaries.

60. Cruickshank, , Eighteen Years, I: pp. 21–22.Google Scholar

61. In History II “tradition” is replaced by “it is stated” (125R). For the most part Reindorf relied on Isert's outline of events and dates, but concentrated on the causes of the war, the appointment of the Gã commander-in-chief, and the peace negotiations and treaty; hence his account runs to only seven pages compared to Isert's 65. Cf. Isert, Paul E., Voyages en Guinée et dans les îles Caraïbes en Amérique (Paris, 1793), pp. 34–99.Google Scholar Steiner translated the German edition published in 1788.

62. Reindorf named Twum Ampoforo as the Akyem ruler in 1/50 (130/123). This accords with the Akyem Abuakwa kinglist inserted in History II (348-49R). Given the problems Reindorf had with this list, its inclusion is not surprising.

63. Reindorf's treatment of the Asante invasion was in fact a major departure from existing published accounts. His emphasis on the effects of the invasion was in marked contrast to his earlier treatment of the Asante campaign in the Accra region in the 1740s.

64. Reindorf was sure that the trade was “a disease imparted by the Europeans” (160/152) and that it was “their main object for settling on the coast” (151/144).

65. Perhaps Olfert Dapper's Description of Africa, published in Dutch in 1668 and in French in 1686. Reindorf's acknowledged “Dapper's Africa” in his bibliography without further elaboration.

66. Reindorf acknowledged the work of H.C. Monrad, a strong abolitionist who discussed Danish efforts at suppression in extenso. See his Gemälde der Küste von Guinea (Weimar, 1842).Google Scholar Cf. Debrunner, , History, pp. 88–91.Google Scholar Monrad left the coast in 1809, however,

67. History I, p. 152 -- a detail left out of History II.

68. Cf. Bowdich, T.E., Mission from Cape Coast to Ashantee (London, 1819), pp. 241–43Google Scholar, and Cruickshank, , Eighteen Years, I: pp. 91–106.Google Scholar

69. He noted Cruickshank's description of British policy after Dupuis as “shortsighted and perfidious” (176/167). Elsewhere he quoted only those clauses of Bowdich's treaty that were cited by Cruickshank.

70. Jones-Quartey, , History, pp. 43, 50Google Scholar, has criticized Reindorf for contributing to “a false history” by attributing MacCarthy's policies to a lack of cooperation by the recently disfranchised Company of Merchants Trading to Africa, arguing that this version, which has persisted to modern times, was the creation of Beecham. In fact Reindorf inherited this “myth” from Cruickshank.

71. Rewriting in History II gave additional force to this underestimation of Asante military capabilities (181/173).

72. Reindorf acknowledged his access to the papers of James and Charles Bannerman (vi/xii). Poh, Kwamena, Akuapem, p. 91n3Google Scholar, has argued that Reindorf's account of these events are “worthy of belief,” and that his use of Akuapem sources, especially for the nineteenth century, is also reliable.