The Precolonial Baule : A Reconstruction - article ; n°72 ; vol.18, pg 503-560

Timothy C.Weiskel

Description

Cahiers d'études africaines - Année 1978 - Volume 18 - Numéro 72 - Pages 503-560
58 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: CAHIERS_D-ETUDES_AFRICAINES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1978
• Nombre de lectures: 106
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Monsieur Timothy C. Weiskel
The Precolonial Baule : A Reconstruction
In: Cahiers d'études africaines. Vol. 18 N°72. 1978. pp. 503-560.
Résumé
T. C. Weiskel — Le Baule précolonial : reconstruction.
Essai de description globale de l'histoire et des structures socio-politiques du Baule avant la pénétration française. Critique de
l'acceptation inconditionnelle, par Dela-fosse, de la légende de la reine Aura Poku, qui implique une migration massive à partir de
l'Ashanti au XVIIIe siècle : l'installation akan a dû se faire par petits groupes à une époque plus ancienne, le nom même de Baule
apparaissant, sous des formes diverses, dans des documents européens du xvme siècle. Les relations commerciales, jusqu'au
XIXe siècle, étaient établies avec les Akan orientaux plutôt qu'avec la côte. Après la « révolution du palmiste », l'économie
commerciale baule garde un caractère archaïque, reposant sur les produits de luxe (or, pagnes, ivoire, esclaves) plus que sur les
denrées agricoles ; elle se réoriente vers la côte, avec des chaînes parallèles et rivales. Les conditions d'installation expliquent le
changement du système de parenté, cognatique et fondé sur l'établissement local, aura bo, plutôt que sur le matrilignage,
abusua, des Akan nucléaires. Le système politique est hiérarchique mais non centralisé, l'autorité se fondant sur le succès
—contrôle d'un effectif humain important — et non sur la séniorité. L'organisation économique à la fin du xixe siècle est telle que
l'intervention française aura des répercussions chez les Baule avant même que le contact direct ait été établi.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Weiskel Timothy C. The Precolonial Baule : A Reconstruction. In: Cahiers d'études africaines. Vol. 18 N°72. 1978. pp. 503-560.
doi : 10.3406/cea.1978.2367
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/cea_0008-0055_1978_num_18_72_2367TIMOTHY WEISKEL
The Precolou al Baule Reconstruction
The Guaqua Coast and its Hinterland in the iJth and i8th Centuries
Akan Westward Migrations and the Formation of the Baule Peoples
In the trade jargon of the i7th and i8th centuries the Quaqua Coast
designated the region between Cape Lahou in the west and the town
of Assini in the east corresponding roughly to what has become the
eastern half of the present-day Republic of the Ivory Coast See
Map Although there is evidence of continuous habitation in the
area from the late stone age Mauny 1972 19-23) and although some
early records suggest that the peoples there conducted significant trade
with groups far in the interior1 European merchants were generally
reluctant to establish permanent trading stations onshore The trading
partners of these coastal populations were primarily interlopers who
sought to operate beyond the western margin of control of the major
trading forts along the Gold Coast In effect the Quaqua Coast remained
backwater area for the bulk of European trade throughout most of the
i7th and i8th centuries
There seems to be several reasons for the relative neglect of the Quaqua
Coast by the main European trading powers In the nrst place the
coastal geography of the Quaqua Coast was difficult to navigate safely
with the available sailing technology in the i7th and i8th centuries
There were no natural harbours along the coast and the mouth of the
Bandama river at Lahou and that of the river at Bassam were
separated from easy access to the open sea by series of shifting sand
bars In addition the pattern of coastal currents and winds made it
hazardous to approach too closely to the shore Anchoring offshore was
also difficult for the strong coastal currents were capable of dislodging
an anchor and placing vessel in peril of shipwreck One spot in par
ticular about half-way between Lahou and Assini was nicknamed the
DAPPER 1686 277 This volume is French translation of text originally
published in Dutch in 1668 work is descriptive geography and not
an eyewitness account It represents compilation of what was known about
Africa from various travelers accounts by the mid-i7th century For similar
description of the Quaqua Coast in English see OGILBY 1670 416-418
Cahiers tudes africaines 72 II 1-4 pp 503-560 TIMOTHY WEISKEL 504
bottomless pit because of the way in which the currents converged to
form whirlpool making it difficult for sailing ships to manoeuvre.2
Even when the winds were right and the currents not too strong landing
proved to be hazardous The rapid drop in the ocean floor just offshore
created pattern of very heavy surf all along the shoreline itself and
trade goods were frequently lost as small boats were smashed or overturn
ed in the pounding breakers
MAP Eighteenth-Century Trade and Migration Patterns
Even when these disadvantages were overcome by the combined
efforts of experienced European navigators and skilled local boatsmen
the Quaqua Coast presented other problems In particular the climate
was significantly different from that found along the Gold Coast just
few miles further west The rains came earlier and lasted longer than
DAPPER 1686 277 As late as the mid-igth century travelers commented
on the difficulties of navigation in these coastal waters See for example BOU T-
WILLAUMEZ 1846 109 THE PRECOLONIAL BAULE 505
on the Gold Coast leaving the Quaqua Coast with roughly twice as much
annual precipitation and markedly higher relative humidity all year-
round Although precise connection between more humid climate
and higher disease rate is difficult to establish it is significant that
Europeans considered hot humid environments to be less healthy than
cool dry ones and for this reason among others they preferred conditions
on the Gold Coast over those on the Quaqua Coast
In addition to these general features of physical geography and
climate permanent European settlement on the Quaqua Coast was
further discouraged for reasons which could be broadly described as
political Towards the end of the i7th century as the character of local
trade was shifting from the earlier emphasis upon gold and ivory exports
towards an increasing emphasis upon the export of slaves European
powers began to contemplate the possibility of creating permanent
settlements along the Quaqua Coast Simultaneously however the
entire length of the Quaqua Coast was being invaded by wave upon wave
of migrant refugee communities from the east seeking to escape domina
tion or enslavement resulting from internal warfare between Akan
groups on the Gold Coast.3 These groups readily understood the
advantages to be gained from position on the coast and collectively
they constituted an effective barrier to permanent European onshore
settlement
Once again local geographic configurations played an important role
The hinterland of the Quaqua Coast was divided from the coast itself by
an interconnected series of freshwater lagoons navigable by small craft
but inaccessible to larger sailing vessels The intricate geographic
pattern of peninsulas inlets and islands provided ideal conditions for
numerous petty chiefdoms to establish themselves and defend their
individual autonomy The key to economic and political power lay in
the control of the lagoon network and as long as the Europeans were
prevented from dominating the waterways fortified trading factories of
the type found on the Gold Coast would be of little commercial benefit
In effect the Europeans could only gain access to the mainland at the
discretion of local potentates who controlled the traine on these inland
lagoons Insofar as these local chiefs acted as intermediaries between
European merchants and the inland sources of gold ivory and slaves
they did not generally allow the Europeans access to the mainland for
this would have undercut their own commercial advantage
The Europeans had little choice but to accept the conditions of these
local chiefs for given the lagoon geography they had no effective means
of imposing their authority with force Local populations were well
armed and they enjoyed considerable strategic advantage over the
Several eyewitness accounts of the population movements in the area at the
end of the yth century are reproduced in ROUSSIER 1935 Studies with accounts
of the settlement of this region by African populations include BOUSCAYROL 1949
BONNEFOY 1954 MEMEL-FOT 9à NIANGORAN-BOUAH 1965 AUGE 1969 TIMOTHY WEISKEL 5o6
Europeans in knowing how to manoeuvre rapidly in the lagoons Ocean-
going vessels could not enter the shallow lagoons and without being able
to bring cannons within range of native villages the Europeans could
inflict little harm on the local populations In the case of frontal
attack villagers could simply take to their canoes and escape In short
by increasing the local capacity for self-defense the inland
lagoon network made it possible for relatively small communities to
prevent Europeans from establishing profitable trading ventures on the
Quaqua Coast The French were