Yet, the rise of cash cropping alone is not responsible for the transformation of the livelihoods and landscape of Dominase and Ponkrum at the turn of the 20th century. Cash crops require markets and means to get them to market. Thus, the development of transportation infrastructure around these villages is a central part of their story. In the 1890s there were only 32 miles of motorable road in all the Gold Coast Colony. Farmers engaged in the growth of cash crops in the earliest part of the 20th century therefore had to employ people to carry their crops to the nearest market, an expensive proposition that made cocoa production economically infeasible in many parts of the colony. However, by 1919 the colony had 1,200 miles of road, which four years later increased to between 3,200 and 3,400 miles. The mid-1920s introduction of tarmac and the growth of private transport in the 1930s eventually lowered the price of motorized transport far beyond that of human carriage, at least for cocoa. Seeing the cost benefits of motorized conveyances, farmers in rural areas constructed their own roads, thus adding to the total mileage.
The extension of roads into the rural Gold Coast Colony had another effect, that of opening the Upper Guinea Forest's valuable hardwoods, including mahogany and teak, to profitable commercial logging. This reserve of resources comprised a significant segment of the colony's economy, accounting for between 5 percent and 6 percent of the total GDP and 11 percent of total commodity export earnings across the colonial period. Most of these earnings were the products of the sale of unprocessed logs. The rapid expansion of roads meant, however, that forests were opened to commercial logging before the colonial government could police them. In many places the forest became a reserve of resources exploited with little governmental control aside from taxation.
As this broad transformation of the economy and environment took place in the Gold Coast Colony generally, and in the area around Dominase and Ponkrum specifically, the voices of those living in these villages at this time can be heard in a letter to the colonial government. The letter, from representatives of those living in the Eguafo Traditional Area—to which Dominase and Ponkrum belong—and the Abrem Agona Traditional Area, requested funds for the improvement of existing feeder roads. This request, submitted by the Eguafo-Abrem Management Committee, was justified in part by referencing the affected villages as "a thick cocoa centre" as well as a center of palm oil production.
This letter illustrates how closely Dominase and Ponkrum were tied to the broader processes of increased cash cropping and transportation development taking place in the larger Gold Coast Colony. It also shows how clearly the residents of these villages understood their position in this world and how to use that position to maximum advantage. They needed a road through the area to improve their connectivity to local markets, which would have enabled more efficient transport and therefore greater profits from their farm products. Yet, they also knew the British colonial government did not care much about a few dozen farmers living in villages that would have likely been deemed within walking distance of regional markets. So, the farmers attempted to play on the economic sensibilities of the British, referencing their growth of key cash crops in an effort to get the attention of relevant officials who might grant their request. This was not the communication of backward, isolated farmers. This was an effort by some savvy people to manipulate the colonial government into giving them a road that, in the colonial scheme of things, their importance probably did not warrant. Clever as it was, this gambit failed. The British never built a road through this area, and the remnants of Asante Road #7 remained a footpath until the 1940s.
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4 Comments
Add CommentIt was extremely enlightening to read of how far back the trend of globalization goes -- even to the early 19th Century, and even in such remote, off-the-beaten-path places. But even here, we see the danger, the devastation of those "left behind" when fiercely independent ego meets evermore interdependent globalization.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow much more, when the height of our 21st century egos meets with the vastly more culturally & economically intertwined, Internetted, wirelessly singular planet. A civilization deeply connected with critical climate and resource issues, whose front web page issues seem to center on which actress wore the shortest, deepest cut dress to the academy awards or which unfortunate model, ice skater, or cheerleader took an embarrassing fall.
We need to focus on our relationships at the most fundamental level and build a mutual responsible humanity from the ground up because only such a humanity can handle and master the problem of an enclosed global word.
Just as a shock illustration, just consider the analogy of these two unfortunate paramecium who are also caught unawares of their enclosing world and try to handle the situation in an every-man-for-himself mode.
Amoeba eats two paramecia (Amoeba's lunch): http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=pvOz4V699gk
We are smarter than paramecium -- at least I hope we are. ...
One can go back almost 200 years and read articles/letters to the editor in the London Times about how textile imports from India were causing problems for people around Manchester in terms of jobs and profitability for manufacturers. Its been a global economy for a long time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEvery people in the world have a history of exploitation. The only way to overcome one's history is to discard the past, discard ancient beliefs, customs and above all religion. Embrace science and modern rational thought. A one child policy must also be imposed world-wide.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfricans and middle eastern nations cling to the past, they will continue to live in despair and keep exporting their abundant populations; a result of science, delivered to them by compassionate people from the advanced world.
Anyone who sits moping about his/her historic ill-treatment and does nothing about his/her current condition is an idiot and needs no assistance.
Has anyone ever summed up all the aid and charity given to the so called disadvantaged? It will undoubtedly be a staggering amount. Charity entrenches poverty.
Micro-histories like this are much more illuminating than the usual theories and posturings of anthropologists.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's a shame that it's not so clear about the reasons for the decline of the area. Whether the locals were priced out of the market, or population increased to a level which could not be supported.