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He was Born into a wealthy family, and studied law in England. /TrimBox [0.0000 0.0000 595.2756 841.8898] 0000020815 00000 n /Font << /F13 26 0 R /F19 32 0 R /F25 38 0 R /F31 44 0 R >> [4][5], Mensah Sarbah was appointed a member of the Legislative Council in 1901,[6] and was re-appointed in 1906. /Info 21 0 R He was a good churchman, and bought a pipe organ for the Methodist Church at Cape Coast. In 1963, a residence hall of the University of Ghana was named Mensah Sarbah Hall in his honour for his services to education,[8] with a statue of John Mensah Sarbah is in front of it. W. T. Balmer. The society also had a secretary and a treasurer. The learned lawyer said in 1908 to 1910, the late John Mensah Sarbah financed Cocoa farmers across the country. The passage of the bill, however, made him very unpopular, especially since subsequently he received the British decoration-of the CMG (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St.George), an honor some thought that he had sought, though he denied it. Many were those who knew the late John Mensah Sarbah as an illustrious lawyer, politician and educationist in the days of the defunct Gold Coast and modern day Ghana. C.F. [4], The Gold Coast ARPS formed as a conglomerate of different groups of intellectuals in Cape Coast and Southern Ghana who sought to protect the traditional land tenure practices of the indigenous Gold Coast peoples from being usurped by the British colonial government. The Forest Bill can be traced to the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1883. Overall, deprived of an effective voice in the administration of the colony and its dependencies, the ARPS served as the main representative of colonized Africans. 0000014189 00000 n 6578), pp. ", Hopkins, Antony G. "Economic aspects of political movements in Nigeria and in the coast 19181939. one of the most outstanding nationalists of the Gol, Building on Custom: Land Tenure Policy and Economic Development in Ghana, Exhuming and Highlighting the Nearly Forgotten Gold Coast Intelligentsia: the Life and Times of Prince Kwamin Atta Amonoo V, The Rise of British Jurisdiction in Ghana Jonqil Van, Primary 5 History of Ghana Facilitator's Guide, Pan-African History: Political Figures from Africa and The, AFRICAN COASTAL ELITE ARCHITECTURE: CULTURAL AUTHENTIFICATION DURING the COLONIAL PERIOD in ANOMABO, GHANA By, The Case of John Mensah Sarbah and the Reconstruction of Gold Coast History, The Commission Shall Advise the President on Development Planning Policy and Strategy, Decolonising African History. For example, in 1906, following the campaigns against the Town Councils Ordinance championed by the ARPS, Cape Coast market women unleashed a large-scale, well-organized protest against the ordinance when Governor John Rodger visited Cape Coast to open an agricultural show. It also vigorously campaigned for improvements in education, sanitation, health, and the provision of infrastructure. In 1901 he was appointed to the Legislative Council. This is clear evidence to the effect that aside his legal profession, he had massive interest in education, politics, business and Agriculture. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. [7] As part of the emergence of cultural nationalism during the late 19th century, members of the educated elite throughout the Western African region began to return to their traditional roots by either reclaiming their "original African names, when these could be discovered" or "new African names when they could not". He touted the late lawyer as one who represented the largest number of three thousand cases at the Cape Coast Supreme court in his days. John Mensah Sarbah was the first lawyer of the Gold Coast that helped in the documentation of the customary laws of the Gold Coast and present day Ghana. assumptions of the British imperial regime, he felt that, PS opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened, Building on Custom: Land Tenure Policy and Economic Development in Ghana, Exhuming and Highlighting the Nearly Forgotten Gold Coast Intelligentsia: the Life and Times of Prince Kwamin Atta Amonoo V, The Rise of British Jurisdiction in Ghana Jonqil Van, Primary 5 History of Ghana Facilitator's Guide, Pan-African History: Political Figures from Africa and The, AFRICAN COASTAL ELITE ARCHITECTURE: CULTURAL AUTHENTIFICATION DURING the COLONIAL PERIOD in ANOMABO, GHANA By, The Case of John Mensah Sarbah and the Reconstruction of Gold Coast History, The Commission Shall Advise the President on Development Planning Policy and Strategy, Decolonising African History. However, the Gold Coast ARPS was interested not only in the protection of the rights of the native peoples in the Gold Coast but also with the larger global struggles of the African diaspora, including the United States, Europe and the West Indies. /P 0 He therefore published two books,Fanti Customary Laws(1897), andFanti National Constitution (1906). When, for financial reasons, the Wesleyan Mission closed down the Cape Coast Wesleyan School, he and some other nationalists revived it, financed it, and renamed it the Collegiate School. This achievement saved the Gold Coast from the evils of the alienation of African land, as occurred, for example, in the British colony of Kenya. /Filter [/FlateDecode ] 0000021313 00000 n Azu Crabbe, John Mensah Sarbah: His Life and Works, Accra, 1971. Sarbah was a good legislator. The influence of this conference on the members of the Gold Coast ARPS was a renewed belief that, eventually, the indigenous African peoples would be able to successfully rise up against the European colonial powers that had ruled over them for centuries and begin to govern themselves. He was nominated as a member of the Legislative Council by the governor, Sir Mathew Nathan (term of office, 1900-04), in 1901, and sat, except for a short break, as a member until his death. He was born at Cape Coast in 1864, and was the eldest son of John Sarbah, a merchant, and of his wife Sarah. /Type /Catalog [8], Entrenched in the founding of the Gold Coast ARPS was a belief that both the political actions of the Gold Coast ARPS and the movement against foreign encroachments on native lands were "joint vehicles of nationalism". He founded a Dutton scholarship at Taunton College, in memory of his brother, Joseph Dutton Sarbah, who had died there in He also, together with other . [2][7][8], In 1904 he married Marion Wood from Accra and they had three children. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. He was the eldest son of John Sarbah (1834-1892), a merchant of Anomabu and Cape Coast and a member of the Legislative Council of the Gold Coast, and his wife Sarah. He also identified the need for good interpreters in the courts, and proposed the establishment of a school for court interpreters but the chief justice did not accept the proposal, and in this respect matters have not improved much since Sarbahs day, in spite of the fact that all judges are now Africans. New York: Reference Publications Inc., 1977. It cannot be said that the late lawyer did not engaged in any business because he was at a point prosecuted for invasion of Customs duties which had to be quashed by the then Chief Justice. According to him, the late Sarbah was a visionary business man with a wide array of businesses ranging from palm Oil, Cocoa investment and mining in the Gold Coast. /Parent 20 0 R By Royalvibes (self media writer) | 2 years ago. He died in 1910, without, however, making any provision in his will for the education of his children, probably because he believed that the Akan family system would cater for them. some cases thereon decided in the Law Courts by John Mensah Sarbah | Sep 21, 2020 5 Hardcover $1844 Over 50 years after his death, the University of Ghana, in 1963, named Mensah Sarbah Hall after him for his services to education. When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895-97) refused to withdraw the bill, Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to England to petition against its . 0000014972 00000 n He was born at Cape Coast in 1864, and was the eldest son of John Sarbah, a merchant, and of his wife Sarah. Required fields are marked *. Prof. Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Paramount Chief of Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region in delivering the keynote address encouraged participants to emancipate and deconstruct their minds and share passionately the patriotism of the late John Mensah Sarbah, describing him as an embodiment of a deeply intellectual great son of the land. [2][3], In 1897, along with J. W. de Graft-Johnson, J. W. Sey, J. P. Brown and J. E. Casely Hayford, Mensah Sarbah co-founded the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society, which became the main political organisation that led organised and sustained opposition against the colonial government, laying the foundation for Ghanaian independence. 0000020963 00000 n /Prev 51983 John Mensah Sarbah was educated at the Cape Coast Wesleyan School, and at Taunton School Devon, England. For example, society never developed in the adjoining Eastern Province. John Mensah Sarbah returned the 400-guinea fee which the ARPS gave him because he felt that it was an honor to serve his country. [1][2] Its delegates were active in international organizations and at the 1945 Pan-African Congress, it gained support from Kwame Nkrumah, who later became the main leader of the independence movement. John Mensah Sarbah had opposed such proposals before, and people had expected him to oppose the amendment outright. Gold Coast Aborigines' Rights Protection Society, Influences on the founding of the Gold Coast ARPS, Perception of aims of the Gold Coast ARPS, S. K. B. Asante, "The neglected aspects of the activities of the Gold Coast Aborigines Rights Protection Society. This led in 1904 to the foundation of Mfantsipim School, which in 1906 merged with the Collegiate School, retaining the name of Mfantsipim School. 0000015054 00000 n startxref Born in the Gold Coast in 1864, John Mensah Sarbah qualified as a barrister in London and later became a leading critic of British colonial rule, especially in connection with land ownership. The Town Councils Ordinance dealt with the levying of municipal house rates. Sarbah failed to sway the opinon of Governor Sir William Maxwell, however, his action sparked fervor among his colleagues. He was also the first African from the Gold Coast to be called to the Bar. John Mensah Sarbah was interested in promoting secondary education because he felt that it was the best way to enable Africans to gain the respect of the civilized world. All rights reserved. In 1898 ARPS sent a delegation to London and successfully got the Lands Bill overturned. 0000033565 00000 n He also proposed that native tribunals should be given a definite and well-defined place in the judicial structure. John Mensah Sarbah is said to have given the school its motto (Dwen Hwe Kan, meaning Think and Look Ahead) as well as its emblem. ARPS successfully defended the interests of native African people against colonizers for decades and began to form an early forum for sentiments of . But his interest in politics, which he had shown during his student days in England, led him to take a more active part in political life. Specifically, he proposed that in perjury the falsehood with which the witness could be charged should concern a matter material to the issues raised in the judicial proceedings. /Type /Page Crises and Transitions in African Historiography (1950-1990), Essential History Primary 5 Teacher's Guide, [Ghanabib 1819 1979 Prepared 23/11/2011] [Ghanabib 1980 1999 Prepared 30/12/2011] [Ghanabib 2000 2005 Prepared 03/03, The Politics of Educational Borrowing: Reopening the Case of Achimota in British Ghana Author(S): Gita SteinerKhamsi and Hubert O, Migration from Historic Mission Churches to Pentecostal Churches in Ghana by REV, Singapore in Global History Singaporederek Heng Is Assistant Professor at the History in Singapore in Department, Ohio State University, Nationalism in Question: a Study of Key Categories in Ghanaian History 1863-1965, Colonialism, Maritime Culture and Conflict in Southern Gold Coast, 18601932, KWAME NKRUMAHS CONTRIBUTION to PAN-AFRICANISM an Afrocentric Analysis D.Zizwe Poe, Resource Flows and Technology Adoption in Tamale, Ghana: Implications for Urban and Peri-Urban Vegetable Growers. He also proposed that native tribunals should be given a definite and well-defined place in the judicial structure. Sarbah House, at Mfantsipim, is named for him. Sarbah returned the guinea fee which the ARPS gave him for his work, as he regarded it as an honour to serve his country. But the chief justice did not accept the proposal, and in this respect matters have not improved much since Sarbahs day, in spite of the fact that all judges are now Africans. We promise to be discrete. Originally established by traditional leaders and the educated elite to protest the Crown Lands Bill of 1896 and the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened traditional land tenure, the Gold Coast ARPS became the main political organisation that led organised and sustained opposition against the colonial government in the Gold Coast, laying the foundation for political action that would ultimately lead to Ghanaian independence. The leader of the Ahanta tribe in the Western Region and a Ghanaian king Badu Bonsu II was executed in 1838 and the head cut off by the Dutch. . 0 Any/all written content and images displayed are provided by the blogger/author, appear herein as submitted by the blogger/author and are unedited by Opera News. At the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice. This article was reprinted from The Encyclopedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography (In 20 Volumes). There he fought the Native Jurisdiction Bill, which gave Fante chiefs exclusive powers to administer local laws. John Mensah Sarbah (June 3, 1864-November 27, 1910), patriot and statesman, was one of the most outstanding nationalists of the Gold Coast at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. He entered Lincolns Inn in London in 1884 to study law, and qualified as a barrister in 1887, being the first African from the Gold Coast to gain this qualification. Sign up here to receive the quarterly Journal of African Christian Biography and DACB News (FREE). It has turned out some of the countrys best known public figures in all walks of life, men such as Alex Quaison-Sackey, former President of the General Assembly of UN, Dr. K A Busia, Kofi Annan, the immediate past General Secretary of the United Nations. Another consequence of the Gold Coast ARPS' interaction with other global movements was the attainment of knowledge about how successful African domination of colonial rule could take place. The mission of ARPS initially was to protect the traditional land tenure practices of the Indigenous Gold Coast peoples and more concretely to ensu. /ID [<28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108><28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108>] It is the aim of the foundation set by his descendants is to promote educational scholarships and digitally archived the works of the late John Mensah Sarbah. 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