Asante princess on display

Part of my research into Gold Coast history - and an ever more important part - is the hunt for images. As such I started collecting historical postcards, depicting a multitude of images. Most recently I set myself to investigate the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 and 1925, which has attracted a lot of attention from classic postcard collectors (which I am not). There are several publications about the postcards issued at the exhibition, a number which runs into the thousands. In these publications much attention is given to the printing particulars of the cards, especially the backs. I am more interested in the images on the front and the context - if any - in which the cards were produced. A larger project I am currently working on is the set of postcards produced by the artist Edith Cheesman for the Government of the Gold Coast, to accompany the presentation of that colony in the Empire Exhibition, and printed by the famous postcard printer Raphael Tuck & Sons (also discussed in an earlier blog). Some of the images can already be viewed via a menu option in the Gold Coast DataBase or by clicking here. The story behind the pics will follow shortly.

My latest acquisition comes from a series of three postcards from original photos, also printed by Tuck for the British Empire Exhibition. This series seems rather rare. The card I bought is the first one in the series, titled Princess Baa of Ashanti and her Husband. The other two, which I hope to find in the market at some point in the future, are Prempeh, son of the late King of Ashanti, and Gold Coast Africans in the Native Village at Wembley. The title of the last card clinches the essence of these three images. The three pics of African "natives" were a depiction of these people on display to the general public. Ethnology brought home, so to speak. In the late 19th and early 20th century the displaying of "natives" was nothing special; it occurred on a regular basis, and fitted seamless into the traditions of the - equally unquestioned - display of disformed people at fairs and circuses, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

The photo of Princess Baa holds few clues as to where it was taken, and if she and her husband were actually at the Exhibition to show themselves off to the public. There is an indication that the photo was taken in Europe though (see below). Apart from the caption on the front of the card, there is no explicative text. I am not an expert on Asante history, and I do not know who Princess Baa is, or her husband for that matter. Maybe a specialist in the field can help me out here. The backdrop of the portrait shows a decorated wall and a door-screen, which could be either in the Gold Coast Pavillion of the Exhibition, or in Kumase or another Asante town. A postcard picture of the Asante Court at Wembley (see picture below) does not give any clues. The site Exploring 20th-Century London lists the same image, with a description positively stating that the couple is indeed photographed inside the "West African Pavillion" (sic), but without any evidence to that effect.

The husband is seated on a wicker chair - I assume it is a chair, and not an upturned basket - and faces the camera with a self-assured look in his eyes. He is dressed in cloth and slippers, and wears gold rings and bracelets, as well as some other accessories that befit his social status. How different is this for his wife, the main character in the caption, Princess Baa. She wears fewer accessories than her husband. The cloth is nice, but looks like it is draped in a hurry. She stands to the side of her husband, rather stiffly, legs slightly apart, arms hanging down, lips pressed closed, and awkwardly looking away from the lens. She definitely does not want to be there.



What struck me most in the picture is one specific detail: the princess's footwear. Rather than the traditional slippers, like the ones of her husband, she wears sturdy European walking shoes. Once spotted, it is a feature one can ponder over for hours. I can, at least. Was this a photo session at Wembley for which she had to come especially, and did she forget to take her slippers? Did she object to this picture taken from the outset, because she did not want to get out of her warm European dress in the cold London weather? Or was it an act of defiance against being turned into a circus attraction? It looks very much as if she is wearing stockings, although the image is not detailed enough to be completely sure about this. It would at least be a positive indication that the photo was taken in Europe. One would wish to be able to speak to Princess Baa about it all.

I wonder if there are any records or oral traditions about the scene and Princess Baa. Who was her husband? If at Wembley, why were they there? Another research project in the making...



Postcard info:
Princess Baa of Ashanti and her Husband. Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., London. Printed in England.
Interior - Gold Coast Building - Wembley. Ashanti Court. Copyright Government of the Gold Coast. Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., London. Printed in England.

Literature:
M. Perkins & B. tonkin, Postcards of the British Empire Exhibition, Wembley 1924 & 1925. West Wickham: Exhibition Study Group, 1994. p. 88-89.

Who Do You Think You Are: Hugh Quarshie

Tonight BBC 1 broadcast the Hugh Quarshie episode of the Who Do You Think You Are series 7. It was my privilege to contribute to the programme in several ways, advising the team, as well as providing materials and contacts. For me the story was not new. Already in 1995, as part of a research project into the Dutch historical presence in Ghana, I visited the Kamerling House in Elmina and Abii village. I met several of the family members and was impressed by their knowledge of their family history.

On my return home,I contacted Eric Kamerling, whom I had known for many years as a fellow genealogist. He showed me the photos and papers from Ghana and told me the story of his great-grand-uncle Pieter Martinus Johannes Kamerling, who went to Africa and had a family there. It is a thrilling story and it was very nice to relive and re-tell it with Hugh and the Wall-to-Wall production team.

Obviously, as is the case with all television documentaries, the story is bigger than the small screen allows for. Additional info on some of the stars from the programme is available in the Gold Coast Data Base. Work on a more complete publication is in progress but requires additional research, both in The Netherlands and Ghana.

One issue brought up in the programme can be addressed here already.



In the episode one of the mysteries is the name of Pieter Kamerling's wife. In family tradition she is called Efua Yenkye (pronounced 'Yentshee'; mis-spelled on the family tree as 'Jensch'). In the Dutch documents she is called Ellen van der Spek, and even signs a document with that name. On screen I say that in my opinion the two ladies are one and the same. It now turns out from new evidence that Efua Yenkye (aka Janet van der Spek) was Pieter's first wife in Ghana. He fell out with her over money and other matters and Janet took Pieter to court over the dispute. It meant the end of that relationship. About a year later he was married to Ellen, in all probability Janet's sister, with whom - as the programme showed so vividly - he had a loving relationship that survived their separation.

Photo's courtesy of Eric Kamerling, Vorden (NL)

Bombardment of Elmina, 13 June 1873

On 13 June 2010 it was 127 years ago that the British army and navy bombarded the old town of Elmina. This was a momentous occasion, which returned a then still flourishing trading town of some 12,000 plus people to the status of a fishing village of circa 5,000. The impact of the bombardment and the ensuing fire was tremendous. It  completely destroyed the old town with all its contents, bereaving over half the population of the town of home and property. Thousands of people fled the town, some living in makeshift refugee camps in the countryside for years, some of the richer merchants permanently moving to neighbouring Cape Coast, while others moved even further away.

The bombardment changed the physical outlook of Elmina permanently. The area of the old town was transformed into a 'parade ground', resettlement being prohibited. When refugees started to return to Elmina in the late 1870s and early 1880s, they had to find living space on the other side of the lagoon. This area, the so-called Garden of Elmina, was already fairly crowded, while usuable space was limited due to the presence of several flood plains, salt marshes, and three hills. Eventually the people of Elmina found ways of accomodation, and by the 1920s the town had regained some of its former splendour, due to remittances from its sons and daughters aquiring wealth in the booming Gold Coast economy of that decade.

The bombardment of Elmina is a classic case of British 'gunboat diplomacy'. After the British took over the Dutch Possessions on the Gold Coast on 6 April 1872, the government of Elmina - at least part of it - refused to acknowledge British suzerainty. Traditionally, the Elmina were the allies of the powerful Asante state in the Gold Coast hinterland, which was in turn the archenemy of the British. During 1872 a stand-off between the British and the Asante developed, with a large Asante army camping out in the hills around Elmina. Reason for the British to demand the loyalty of the Elmina government with an ultimatum. When this was not met, the town was given a small space of time to evacuate, and was then bombed and burned. The king of Elmina, Omanhin Kobena Gyan, was exiled to Sierra Leone, where he stayed until 1894. Soon after the bombardment the British moved on the Asante with an attack on their capital Kumase.

Some years ago, sipping a beer with some historian-friends at a beach resort near Elmina, the importance of the bombardment for the history of Elmina came up as a topic of conversation. My friend Brenda, not a historian, remarked that as the impact of the event was seemingly so momentous, would it not be a necessity for all historians of Elmina to start each and every book they wrote with a reference to the bombardment.

In effect, I think she was right. The history of Elmina can be traced back to the 15th century, with archaeological evidence pointing to human settlement as far back as the 10th century. Throughout the centuries the history of the town was one of almost constant development and growth - obviously with cyclical ups and downs - until 13 July 1873, when this cosmopolitan, world-wise and outward-looking town was forcefully dimished to a fishing village. To date, the most important identity of the town is just that, a fishing village - albeit the largest traditional fishing port along the Ghanaian coast, and a town which still physically shows a much grander past.

The lithograph of the bombardment, or plan of attack as the caption reads, is one of several accompanying an article in The Illustrated London News of 26 July 1873. (Click on image to see full-size picture in Picasa.)

Gold Coast DataBase - how it started

12 Jan 2010 - Added collections of photographs and postcards from the 19th and early 20th-century to the features.

5 Jan 2010 - The Gold Coast DataBase TNG-site was completely redesigned on a new, and now hopefully stable, server and at a new address.

1 Jan 2005 - The Gold Coast DataBase first developed as an online system using The Next Generation genealogical software.

2002-2005 - Developed a digital database to hold my research results on Euro-African families in Ghana and the Dutch presence there.

1998-2002 - Co-designed and co-operated in the development of the public programme "Ghana - Netherlands 300 Years Diplomatic Relations"

1994 - Started a funded research programme on the history of the Dutch in Ghana.

1980-1981 - Started research in the Dutch archives into the mutual history of Ghana and the Netherlands, with a bias towards the genealogy of Euro-African families