British West Africa / Liberia

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A collection of 10 English illustrated pages on the wars in Nigeria against the Aros, the Emir of Kano, the Emir of Lapaie, Onitcha-Ugbo and Ja-Ja King of Opobo, 1888-1904. B

Price: $300.00

Note: There were major internal changes in Nigeria in the 19th century. In 1804, Usuman dan Fodio (1754-1817), a Fulani and a pious Muslim, began a holy war to reform the practice of Islam in the north. t-bra088a1BRA 088t-bra088a2BRA 088He soon conquered the Hausa city-states, but Bornu, led by Muhammad al-Kanemi (also a Muslim reformer) until 1835, maintained its independence. In 1817, Usuman dan Fodio’s son, Muhammad Bello established a state centered at Sokoto, which controlled most of Northern Nigeria until the coming of the British (1900-1906). Under both Usuman dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello, Muslim culture, and also trade, flourished in the Fulani empire. In Bornu, Muhammad al-Kanemi was succeeded by Uma (reigned 1835-1880), under whom the empire disintegrated.

Britain entered the region initially to stamp out the slave trade. In 1817 a long series of civil wars began in the Oyo Empire which lasted until 1893 when Britain intervened. To stop the slave trade, Britain annexed Lagos in 1861. Sir George Goldie gained control of all the British firms trading on the Niger, and in the 1880’s he took over two French companies active there and signed treaties with numerous African leaders. Largely because of Goldie’s efforts, Great Britain was able to claim Southern Nigeria at the Conference of Berlin held in 1884-1885.t-bra088a3BRA 088t-bra088a4BRA 088

In the following years, the British established their rule in SW Nigeria, partly by signing treaties (as in the Lagos hinterland) and partly by using force (as at Benin in 1897). Jaja, a leading African trader based at Opobo in the Niger delta and strongly opposed to European competition, was captured in 1897 and deported. Goldie’s firm was given a royal charter in 1886 and established the Royal Niger Company, to administer the Niger River and Northern Nigeria. It antagonized Europeans and Africans alike by it monopoly of trade on the Niger, although it was not sufficiently powerful enough to gain effective control over Northern Nigeria, which was also sought by the French.

In 1900 the Royal Niger Company’s charter was revoked and British forces under Frederick Lugard began to conquer the north, t-bra088a6BRA 088taking Sokoto in 1903. By 1906, Britain controlled Nigeria, which was divided into the Colony (ie. Lagos) and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. In 1914 the two regions were amalgamated and the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established.

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Collection of 7 illustrations from French and English periodicals of the 1873-1874 Ashanti War. B

Price: $250.00

Note: The Asantehene (King of the Ashanti) Kofi Karikari attempted to preserve his empire’s last trade outlet to the sea at the old coastal fort of Elmina, which had come into British possession sometime between 1869 and 1872. In early 1873, an Ashanti army, a force of somewhere between 12,000 and 60,000 warriors, crossed the Prah River. After attacking the Fante, a tribe under British protection, they headed for the coast. The Royal Navy was called in and sent marines and sailors to man the old slave forts. Elmina was held against a furious Ashanti assault. A river reconnaissance up the Prah was ambushed at Chamah and forced to retreat. A number of landings and naval bombardments were able to slow the Ashanti but not stop them. London realized that an army would have to be sent out to deal with the situation.

t-bra087a1BRA 087t-bra087a2BRA 087Major General Garnet Wolseley was appointed administrator and commander in chief and was ordered to drive the Ashanti from the coastal region. In December, 1873, Wolseley’s African levies were reinforced by the arrival of several British units, as well as the 2nd West Indies regiment. One month later, Wolseley sent an advance party across the Prah, warning the asantehene that he intended to begin hostilities. Wolseley , however, also offered an armistice. When negotiations failed, both sides prepared for war. The British assembled an expeditionary force numbering about 4000 men, including two units comprised of coastal tribesmen. They headed for the Ashanti capital Kumasi.

t-bra087a3BRA 087t-bra087a4BRA 087The most significant battle of the Second Ashanti War occurred at Amoafo, near the village of Bekwai. Although the Ashanti performed admirably, superior weapons allowed the British to carry the day. Ashanti losses were unknown; the British lost 4 men and 194 wounded. In the following days, Wolseley captured Bekwai and then, after another battle outside of Ordahsu, the British entered Kumasi, where there was evidence of human sacrifice, and burned it. Though Wolseley managed to occupy the Ashanti capital for only one day, the Ashanti were shocked to realize the inferiority of their military and communications systems.

t-bra087a5BRA 087On March 14, 1874, the two sides signed the Treaty of Fomena, which required the Ashanti to pay an indemnity of 50,000 ounces of gold, to renounce claims to Elmina and to end all payments from the British for the use of forts, and to terminate their alliances with several other states, including Denkyera and Akyem. Additionally, the asantehene agreed to withdraw his troops from the coast, to keep the trade routes open and to halt the practice of human sacrifice. The British victory and the Treaty of Fomena ended the Ashanti dream of bringing the coastal states under their power. The northern states of Brong, Gonja, and Dagomba also took advantage of the Ashanti defeat by asserting their independence. The Ashanti empire was near collapse. By defeating the Ashanti the British had unwittingly destabilized the whole region. The asantehene, Kofi Karikari, was then deposed, and Mensa Bonsu (ruled 1874-1883) assumed power. He attempted to adapt the agencies of Ashanti government to the changed situation. Although he reorganized the army, appointed some Europeans to senior posts, and increased Ashanti resources, he was prevented from restoring Ashanti imperial power by the British political agents, who supported the northern secessionist chiefs and the opponents of central government in Kumasi.

Photo album belonging to an evangelical missionary in Lagos in 1953. 196 photos, some loose. Photo sizes vary from 3.5x5" to 3.5x2.5" in 12x10" album. M

Price: $450.00

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Seven engravings related to the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Congo and Guinee. The Red Water Ordeal, Rites at Funeral of an Ashantee Chief,  Habits of the Gold Coast, a man of quality in Congo carried in his hammock, habits of Kazegut females, negro tree climbers. Mostly mid-18th century. M

Price: $300.00

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t-bra073BRA 073Collection of 4 illustrations of the 1896 Ashanti War. Shows the submission of King Prempeh, King Prempeh's last State Reception, Occupation of Kumasi by British troops and the Procession of the King of Bekwai. B

Price: $400.00

t-bra073aBRA 073Note: The Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, also known as the "Second Ashanti Expedition", was brief, lasting only from December 1895 to February 1896. The Ashanti turned down an unofficial offer to become a British protectorate in 1891, extending to 1894. The British also wanted to establish a British resident in Kumasi but the Ashanti King Prempeh refused to surrender his sovereignty. Wanting to keep French and German forces out of Ashanti territory (and its gold), the British were anxious to conquer the Ashanti once and for all. The Ashanti sent a delegation to London offering concessions on its gold, cocoa and rubber trade as well as submission to the crown. The British however had already made its mind up on a military solution, they were on their way, the delegation only returning to Kumasi a few days before the troops marched in.

t-bra073bBRA 073Colonel Sir Francis Scott left Cape Coast with the main expeditionary force of British and West Indian troops, Maxim guns and 75mm artillery in December 1895, and travelling along the remnants of the 1874 road arrived in Kumasi in January 1896. Major Robert Baden-Powell led a native levy of several local tribes in the campaign. The Asantehene directed the Ashanti not to resist, but casualties from sickness among the British troops were high. Soon, Governor William Maxwell arrived in Kumasi as well. Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh was unable or unwilling to pay the 50,000 ounces of gold so was arrested and deposed. He was forced to sign a treaty of protection, and with other Ashanti leaders was sent into exile in the Seychelles.

Baden-Powell published a diary of life giving the reasons, as he saw them, for the war: To put an end to human sacrifice, to put a stop to slave-trading and raiding,t-bra073cBRA 073 to ensure peace and security for the neighbouring tribes, to settle the country and protect the development of trade and to get paid up the balance of the war indemnity. He also believed that if a smaller force had been sent, there would have been bloodshed.

The British force left Kumasi on 22 January 1896, arriving back at the coast two weeks later. Not a shot had been fired but 18 Europeans were dead and 50% of the troops were sick. Among the dead was Queen Victoria's son-in-law, Prince Henry of Battenberg, who was taken ill before getting to Kumasi and died on 20 January on board ship, returning to England. In 1897 Ashanti territory became a British protectorate.

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1894 large illustration from The Graphic of the Fighting on the Gambia: The Naval Brigade under Captain Gamble, Retreating to their Boats at Mandini Creek. Size 40x58cm. 

Note: During the 18th and 19th centuries, there were protracted wars between the Islamic Marabouts and the Pagan Soninkis. The British, who already established themselves at Banjul by this time, offered protection to the various chiefs during these conflicts, and through treaties, soon brought The Gambia region under their control.

Before the British, some Portuguese had come to The Gambia following the expeditions promoted by Prince Henry starting in 1455. They had introduced groundnuts, tie main cash crop of today, cotton, and some tropical fruits from Brazil. Their number, however, was never large and the, were soon absorbed by intermarriage.

The British started trading with the Gambians in 1587, and within a few decades had explored the River. They traded as business companies and ruled the area from their fort on James Island until 1765, when the Gambia was made a part of the British colony of SeneGambia with its headquarters at St. Louis. When in 1807, slave trading was abolished, James Island was used to check and stop the illicit traffic in slaves. In 1816, Captain Alexander Grant obtained the sandy bank of Banjul Island by a treaty from the Chief of Kombo and built the planned city of Bathurst, now renamed Banjul. Bathurst already had a civilian population of 700 by 1818, the year that civil government was begun. The Gambia was administered as a crown colony from Sierra Leone between 1821 and 1892, but since then Banjul (Bathurst) has been its capital.

 

Price: $90.00

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19th century stereocard on native fishing habits on the Anambna River in Nigeria. B

Price: $30.00

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Nigerian daily life and architecture is the subject of this 8 postcard collection. M

Price: $160.00

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African money bracelet. Traders used these heavy bracelets in trade for african ivory, gold etc. Produced in Birmingham England in the mid - 1800's. Weight : 5 Ounces. B EH

Price: $90.00

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Samples of vintage banknotes from Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. 16 different notes available. B

Price: $160.00

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