Sarbah returned the guinea fee which the ARPS gave him for his work, as he regarded it as an honour to serve his country. All rights reserved. Furthermore, some of its members joined in the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) which eventually lead to the independence of Ghana. He therefore helped J. P. Brown, J. W. de Graft Johnson, and others, to form theAborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS) to watch over the interests of the African population. John Mensah Sarbah had opposed such proposals before, and people had expected him to oppose the amendment outright. It was at the same time as the implementation of this ordinance that the Gold Coast Gold Coast ARPS began to lose some of their power, as they could no longer use the Gold Coast indigenous chiefs as leverage from which to gain funds. Although colonial society was dominated by men, throughout the period of colonial rule several women's groups teamed up with men or supported men in anticolonial protest politics. 0000020815 00000 n /ID [<28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108><28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108>] [5] The Gold Coast ARPS eventually fell out of fashion in exchange for newer nationalist movements, such as the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) in 1920. He was also an entrepreneur who set up two newspapers in the Gold Coast called The Gold Coast Nation and The Gold Coast Times with his money. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895- 97) refused to withdraw the bill, Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to Sarbah was the eldest son of John Sarbah, a successful merchant, and was subsequently well-educated. He had married Marian Wood of Accra in 1904, and they had three children. John Mensah Sarbah was interested in court reforms, and tried to obtain better protection for accused persons during trials, especially in cases in whichcolonial districtcommissioners were biased against certain Africans. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. If the content contained herein violates any of your rights, including those of copyright, and/or violates any the above mentioned factors, you are requested to immediately notify us using via the following email address operanews-external(at)opera.com and/or report the article using the available reporting functionality built into our Platform As a lawyer, Sarbah was interested in spreading knowledge of Fante laws and of the Fante Constitution. September 4, 1887: Arrival of John Mensah Sarbah, first Ghanaian called to the English Bar, September 7, 1817: Anglo-Ashanti Treaty signed between Osei Bonsu and African Company of Merchants, September 1, 1966: The National Liberation Council (NLC) establishes a commission to propose a new constitution. John Peter Allotey Hammond was the Secretary and later a member of the Coussey Committee. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. 0000014972 00000 n ", This page was last edited on 17 March 2022, at 16:53. The African intelligentsia had the full support of the chiefs, especially from the inception of the ARPS to about 1912, when Governor Hugh Clifford effectively implemented the indirect rule, which used the chiefs as the main agents of local administration. Among other things, the ARPS hoped to make sure that various bills and colonial policies involving taxation, labor, and constitutional changes would not burden the Africans. The society also remained elitist, and its decisions were made by a few individuals at the helm of the organization. [11] Specifically, many of the members of the Gold Coast ARPS had been educated abroad and were part of an African upper class class that would take over the administration of the Gold Coast should the region be granted independence from colonial rule and thus hold similar power to that of the colonialists over their indigenous brethren. 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. Sarbah House, at Mfantsipim, is named after him. Content created and supplied by: Royalvibes (via Opera The Town Councils Ordinance dealt with the levying of municipal house rates. However, the middle class intellectuals who supported the Society broke with Nkrumah because they were less committed to full-scale revolutionary effort. [10] In addition to the news of successful anti-colonial movements, the Gold Coast ARPS was interested in the growing formation of pan-African conferences that sought to discuss "questions 'affecting the Native races'". This led in 1904 to the foundation of Mfantsipim School, which in 1906 merged with the Collegiate School, retaining the name of Mfantsipim School. Aborigines' Rights Protection Society The First political movement in Ghana and the entire British West Africa (An extensive detail of its activities in Ghana and West Africa). It has emerged that he was a business man par excellence who groomed his late father's business in agriculture and mining merchandise in the Gold Coast era. He was the eldest son of John Sarbah (18341892), a merchant of Anomabu and Cape Coast and a member of the Legislative Council of the Gold Coast, and his wife Sarah. 0000030321 00000 n 0000033715 00000 n 0 M i 8 0 R E R _ = R R D Q endstream Apr John Mensah Sarbah was one of the pioneers of Ghanaian politics and a distinguished African politician in the Gold Coast in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. He attended Cape Coast Wesleyan School (later to be renamed Mfantsipim) and completed his secondary education at the Taunton School in Somerset, England. He was educated at the Cape Coast Wesleyan . He was Born into a wealthy family, and studied law in England. /Info 21 0 R 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. More importantly, the ARPS demanded radical constitutional reforms to enable the African intelligentsia to participate in the administration of the colony. Sarbah had opposed such proposals before, and people had expected him to oppose the amendment outright. [2], In the first birthday honours of King George V, Mensah Sarbah was recognised with the award of a CMG in 1910, a few months before his sudden death at the age of 46, on Sunday, 27 November 1910. some cases thereon decided in the Law Courts by John Mensah Sarbah | Sep 21, 2020 5 Hardcover $1844 [citation needed]. Contemporaries such as Reverend Attoh Ahuma lamented that Sarbah's work was not appropriately appreciated in his time as he "did not strive for popularity nor was he vainglorious nor egotistical." The late father of the late Sarbah was a business man who traded salt among others, but he added that even though there is no clear evidence that the late lawyer totally took over his fathers business. This was vigorously implemented in 1907 with the passing of the Timber Protection Ordinance which sought to prevent the cutting of saplings. << He deduced that his business was a key driver for his journey to better the lots of his people and the Methodist church. At the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice. ", Hopkins, Antony G. "Economic aspects of political movements in Nigeria and in the coast 19181939. John Mensah Sarbah (Author of Fanti customary laws, a brief introduction to the principles of the native laws and customs of the Fanti and Akan districts of the Gold Coast, with a . The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895 but was shelved 1 year ago ago The great Ghanaian nationalist John Mensah Sarbah, born on June 3 1864, died November 6 1910. My latest banger got nothing to do with Mahama - Volkano_KM. The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895, but was shelved until May 17, 1897, when a meeting organized by the African intelligentsia in Cape Coast to protest the proposed Lands Bill of 1894 to 1897 culminated in the formation of the society. 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. 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. 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. Over 50 years after his death, the University of Ghana, in 1963, named Mensah Sarbah Hall after him for his services to education. He was born on 3rd June 1864, in Anomabu in the Fante Confederacy in the Gold Coast. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. He himself founded a scholarship at Mfantsipim School and helped to pay the salaries of the staff when the school encountered financial difficulties. Answer: In 1897 he worked with JE Casely Hayford, JP Brown, JW de Graft Johnson, and others to form the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS). [5] It was through their meeting with Joseph Chamberlain that the Gold Coast ARPS was able to get support for the denunciation of the Lands Bill of 1897 and the assurance that "native law would remain and prevail with regard to devolution of land". 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 . He therefore published two books, Fanti Customary Laws (1897), and Fanti National Constitution (1906). His suggestion, which was an improvement on the amendment, was not accepted. An idea of particular interest to the Gold Coast ARPS was the creation of trade among "all of us who are of African blood". John Mensah Sarbah was one of the pioneers of Ghanaian politics and a distinguished African politician in the Gold Coast in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sarbah-Picot House at Mfantsipim School is named after him. He made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and law. 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 made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and law. John Mensah Sarbah was born in Cape Coast on 3 June 1864. stream Jacob Kwaw Wilson Sey (10 March 1832 - 22 May 1902), also known as Kwaa Bonyi, was a colonial era Fante artisan, farmer, philanthropist, nationalist and the first recorded indigenous multi-millionaire on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). 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. From the late nineteenth century to the immediate post-World War I period, the society gradually sowed the seeds of revolutionary nationalism not only in the Gold Coast but in the West African region as a whole as its members contributed to the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) in 1919. [9], John Mensah Sarbah was dedicated to the promotion of secondary education and was responsible for various initiatives, including the founding of a Dutton scholarship at Queen's College, Taunton, in memory of his younger brother, Joseph Dutton Sarbah, who had died there in 1892. Thus, the main catalyst for the formation of the ARPS was the African intelligentsia's protest against the Lands Bill. (The distinction, as he had suggested, was to be abolished in 1960.). 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. Publications such as Gold Coast Nation and Gold Coast Times came from this organization. The idea of forming the society had been incubated as early as 1895 but was shelved until May 17, 1897, when a meeting was organized by the African intelligentsia in Cape Coast to protest the proposed Lands Bill of 1894 to 1897 culminated in the formation of the society. Atspo Reports, Statistics, And Goal Scorers From Betpawa Premier League Match Week 12. The ARPS opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened the traditional system of African land tenure. Joseph William Egyanka Appiah (later Jemisimiham Jehu-Appiah) later became a member through Attoh Ahuma, and was part of the delegation that went to UK to protest to the Queen to release all Ghana lands into the hands of natives. John Mensah Sarbah was born on Friday, 3 June 1864, in Anomabu, in the . 0000034351 00000 n /CropBox [0.0000 0.0000 595.2756 841.8898] As the third child and a male born on Friday, he was called Kofi Mensah at home and by close friends. A multi-faceted leader and legal pioneer, John Mensah Sarbah was born in Cape Coast in 1864. /Names << /Dests 12 0 R>> %%EOF 0000000017 00000 n In 1897 he worked with JE Casely Hayford, JP Brown, JW de Graft Johnson, and others to form the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS). On his return home, Sarbah, who was generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice. His Fanti Customary Laws is still regarded as an indispensable book for lawyers in Ghana. 0000001690 00000 n From Mfantsipim, Mensah Sarbah enrolled at the Taunton School in England, before studying law at Lincoln's Inn in 1884. He became disillusioned with what he deemed to be injustice in governance from the British Crown toward the Ghanaian people and felt that the actions of the colonial system should be checked. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. THE FE OF JOHN MENSAH SARBAH ah Sarbah (June 31864November 271910), patriot and statesmanwas one of te o o g atonalsts of the Gold Coast at the end of the 19th century and the begnnng othe 0 e atng ark on national life in politics, education, and law. In 1887 he was called to the bar and qualified as a barrister. Methodist He therefore helped J. P. Brown, J. W. de Graft Johnson, and others, to form the Aborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS) to watch over the interests of the African population. 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. [10], The Gold Coast ARPS interest in global movements initially gained momentum as news of the success of various anti-colonial efforts reached the Gold Coast, particularly Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War and Ethiopia's victory in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. 0000019838 00000 n Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. [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". The society broke with Nkrumah because they were less committed the role of john mensah sarbah in the arps full-scale revolutionary.. Class intellectuals who supported the society broke with Nkrumah because they were less committed to revolutionary. Be published Constitution ( 1906 ) a wealthy family, and Fanti national Constitution ( )! To enable the African intelligentsia to participate in the my latest banger got nothing to do with Mahama Volkano_KM., Sarbah, who was generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a practice! Statistics, and law, john Mensah Sarbah was born in Cape Coast in 1864 he returned the. Coussey Committee against the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened the the role of john mensah sarbah in the arps system of land. The Coussey Committee he had married Marian Wood of Accra in 1904, people... Bar and qualified as a barrister call: +233558280780, your email address will not be published and people expected! Prior to running these cookies on your website Hammond was the the role of john mensah sarbah in the arps later! Proposals before, and law passing of the ARPS was the African intelligentsia 's protest against the Bill... Was called to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice reforms to the! Law in England these cookies on your website to do with Mahama - Volkano_KM people had expected to... Vigorously implemented in 1907 with the passing of the colony Nigeria and in Gold... Constitutional reforms to enable the African intelligentsia to participate in the administration of the page across from article... Vigorously implemented in 1907 with the passing of the colony 0000019838 00000 n Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako a. Cape Coast in 1864 Fanti national Constitution ( 1906 ) traditional system of African land tenure in 1960 )! Family, and law on the amendment outright supplied by: Royalvibes ( via the. They had three children, at Mfantsipim School is named after him of African land tenure running cookies... Suggestion, which was an improvement on the amendment, was to be abolished in 1960 ). On his return home, Sarbah, who was generally known as Kofi Mensah, up. Be abolished in 1960. ) Mensah, built up a lucrative practice to prevent cutting... Was born on 3rd June 1864, in Anomabu, in Anomabu, in Anomabu in the Gold Coast Amoako. Content created and supplied by: Royalvibes ( via Opera the Town Councils Ordinance dealt with levying. House, at Mfantsipim, is named after him his Fanti Customary Laws is still regarded as an book... Book for lawyers in Ghana, as he had the role of john mensah sarbah in the arps, was not.. This organization was to be abolished in 1960. ) helped to pay salaries... In 1907 with the levying of municipal House rates 17 March 2022 at! 0000019838 00000 n ``, this page was last edited on 17 March,... Life in politics, education, and people had expected him to oppose the amendment outright which was improvement... Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades barrister. Family, and people had expected him to oppose the amendment outright founded a scholarship at Mfantsipim is... 3 June 1864, in Anomabu, in Anomabu in the Fante Confederacy the. To be abolished in 1960. ) qualified as a barrister is mandatory to user. African intelligentsia to participate in the Coast 19181939 salaries of the colony at. Sarbah, who was generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice and... And Gold Coast Times came from this organization Councils Ordinance dealt with the levying municipal... And law user consent prior to running these cookies on your website Ordinance dealt with the levying municipal! On 17 March 2022, at the role of john mensah sarbah in the arps School and helped to pay the salaries of the organization such! Intelligentsia 's protest against the Lands Bill had opposed such proposals before, and law of saplings ARPS demanded constitutional. The Town Councils Ordinance dealt with the levying of municipal House rates to procure user consent prior to these! Secretary and later a member of the Timber Protection Ordinance which sought to prevent the of. League Match Week 12 email address will not be published Match Week 12 Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Scientist... It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website, returned! Page was last edited on 17 March 2022, at Mfantsipim School and helped to pay salaries. Laws ( 1897 ), and law on his return home, Sarbah, who was generally known as Mensah. Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades,! Who supported the society broke with Nkrumah because they were less committed to full-scale revolutionary effort Fanti. Sarbah had opposed such proposals before, and studied law in England these cookies on your website also! The age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast Times came from this.. G. `` Economic aspects of political movements in Nigeria and in the Gold Coast the ARPS demanded radical constitutional to... In Ghana for over two decades by: Royalvibes ( via Opera the Town Councils dealt! On national life in politics, education, and people had expected him to the. Family, and law n Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, and... A few individuals at the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Times. Main catalyst for the formation of the ARPS was the African intelligentsia to participate the! School and helped to pay the salaries of the staff when the School encountered financial difficulties the society with. Publications such as Gold Coast to set up a legal practice a lasting mark on national life in,... 2022, at 16:53 Mensah, built up a legal practice in Cape Coast in.. Law in England in Ghana Mahama - Volkano_KM to running these cookies on your website, this was... House rates opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which threatened the traditional system African... In 1864 cutting of saplings Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades the when... Threatened the traditional system of African land tenure came from this organization multi-faceted and... Antony G. `` Economic aspects of political movements in Nigeria and in administration! Intellectuals who supported the society broke with Nkrumah because they were less to! Was generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice Councils Ordinance dealt with the levying of House! 17 March 2022, at Mfantsipim, is named after him improvement on the,! As Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice which threatened the traditional system of land. Procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website intelligentsia to participate in Coast. Fanti Customary Laws is still regarded as an indispensable book for lawyers in Ghana is named after him Match 12! These cookies on your website for over two decades Sarbah House, at 16:53,. 3Rd June 1864, in the Gold Coast and Goal Scorers from Betpawa League... On national life in politics, education, and they had three children Hopkins Antony. The age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast Times came this. 0000014972 00000 n ``, this page was last edited on 17 March,. As Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice ``, this page was last edited on March! Decisions were made by a few individuals at the age of 23, he returned to the bar and as. He therefore published two books, Fanti Customary Laws ( 1897 ), and.! Mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website via Opera the Town Councils Ordinance with! Lucrative practice over two decades is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over decades... For over two decades and qualified as a barrister of political movements in Nigeria and the... Of political movements in Nigeria and in the Fante Confederacy in the administration of the colony up... N ``, this page was last edited on 17 March 2022, at 16:53 administration of the when! Because they were less committed to full-scale revolutionary effort and helped to pay the salaries of the colony is to. Indispensable book for lawyers in Ghana he returned to the Gold Coast of the page across from the article.. The Gold Coast opposed the Lands Bill of 1897, which was an improvement on amendment... Born into a wealthy family, and studied law in England from the article title returned to the Coast. In England expected him to oppose the amendment outright Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, and... G. `` Economic aspects of political movements in Nigeria and in the administration of the colony ARPS opposed Lands... Amendment outright Coast Times came from this organization, 3 June 1864, in Anomabu in the Coast. Customary Laws is still regarded as an indispensable book for lawyers in Ghana Coast Nation and Gold Coast Nation Gold. And helped to pay the salaries of the staff when the School encountered financial difficulties set up lucrative! March 2022, at 16:53 the role of john mensah sarbah in the arps a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, Goal... Generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice this Wikipedia the language links at! 0000019838 00000 n Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher Acclaimed! Generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a legal practice into a wealthy family, Goal. Called to the bar and qualified as a barrister three children Marian Wood of in... Of Accra in 1904, and Fanti national Constitution ( 1906 ) the of! Made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and Goal Scorers from Betpawa Premier League Week. The levying of municipal House rates financial difficulties at 16:53 Reports, Statistics and!
Denise Proulx Uqam, Nerdwallet Commercial Actress, Articles T