From Head-Loading to the Iron Horse

Komla Tsey

Description

International development has its origins in the histories of nineteenth and early twentieth-century European colonisation. What happens when a leading colonial power decides to transform a model tropical colony, relying on head-loading of goods as the predominant form of transport, into a modern market economy on the back of the greatest British industrial ingenuity of the time � railways? In this meticulously researched book, Komla Tsey brings to light the historical origins of a wide range of issues confronting present-day international development researchers and policy-makers, such as technology transfer, wealth creation versus equity of access, and ways to evaluate the benefits of development work, especially across cultures. In the context of the early twenty-first-century international investment interests in resource-rich Africa, Tsey argues, forensic historical research is required to determine the precise nature and scale of the financial and humanitarian injustices committed by British colonialists during the construction of major public works projects. More than providing opportunities to take possible legal actions for reparations, this research should also serve as a reminder to present-day African policy-makers and their international and local business partners that the injustices and blatant abuses of power of the past should never be repeated.

Sujets

• History

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 27 décembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956728701
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

FROM HEADLOADING TO THE IRON HORSE R    G       Komla Tsey

From Head-loading to the Iron Horse Railway building in colonial Ghana and the origins of tropical development

Komla Tsey

Langaa Research & Publishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net

Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookcollective.com

ISBN: 9956-728-99-3

©Komla Tsey 2013

DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express profound gratitude and appreciation to my family, friends and colleagues, too many to identify individually by name, for their moral, intellectual and practical support while I was undertaking research and preparing this book for publication. I thank my sister Afua and Kwame my son for their sacrifice during field research. My thanks particularly go to: Forbes Munro, Stephanie Short, Janya McCalman, Elena Rhind, Katrina Keith, Danielle Hickey, Tara Walker, Reinhold Muller, Barbara Stubbs (Al Rinn Admin Specialists), Ruth Willats, Caroline Brooke Johnson, Dora Agbenu, Sena, Kafui, Amenyo and Novi. Annie, my partner, I thank you for your love and support and for having an eye for detail in reading this manuscript. Funding for this research came from a variety of sources over the years, including the University of Ghana staff development program, University of Glasgow, the Mountbatten Fund, Africa Centre and the James Cook University. The photos and images used for the book are taken from the British National Archives’Africa through a lenscollection and FA Talbot (1914) The Railway Invasion of the Gold Coast, both available through the internet.

About the Author

Professor Komla Tsey comes from Ghana, where he attended primary and middle schools at Botoku before going to secondary school at Awudome Tsito and later Okwapeman at Akropong. He studied at the University of Ghana and the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Komla lives in Australia, researching and learning about Aboriginal development, health, education and wellbeing. He continues to undertake long-term development research in rural Ghana. Komla is currently Tropical Leader/Research Professor of Education for Social Sustainability at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Australia. Komla has published widely on a range of development related topics. He is the author ofRe-thinking Development in Africa: An Oral History Approach from Botoku, Rural Ghana(Mankon-Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa Publishing, 2011).

Table of Contents

List of Tables…………………………………………………………… vii List of Maps and Figures………………………………………………... viii Introduction…………………………………………………………….. ix

Part I……………………………………………………………………1

Chapter 1:$ 6ORZ %HJLQQLQJ î……………………………3

Chapter 2:7KH 'HYHORSPHQW RI WKH :HVWHUQ /LQH î……..13 Governor Maxwell and the Malayan Paradigm of Tropical Development………… 14 &RQVWUXFWLRQ RI WKH 6HNRQGLî7DUNZD /LQH……………………………………18 7KH 7DUNZDî.XPDVL ([WHQVLRQ…………………………………………….18 7KH .XPDVL 5DLOZD\21and Ashanti Politics………………………………….. 7KH 0LQLQJ &RPSDQLHV DQG &RQVWUXFWLRQ RI %UDQFK /LQHV………………………22 3ROLF\ ,PSOLFDWLRQV RI WKH :HVWHUQ /LQH……………………………………… 23

Chapter 3: The Eastern Line and the Development of Lighterage 3RUWV î………………………………………………………..33 6LU -RKQ 5RGJHU DQG WKH 5HDUWLFXODWLRQ RI WKH 7URSLFDO 0DOD\DQ 3DUDGLJP………. 33 7KH &RQVWUXFWLRQ RI WKH $FFUDî0DQJRDVH /LQH………………………………. 34 7KH 0DQJRDVHî.RIRULGXDî7DIR ([WHQVLRQV………………………………… 36 7KH 0RXQW (MXDPHQD %DX[LWH 'HSRVLWV DQG WKH 3URSRVHG 7DIRî.XPDVL ([WHQVLRQ…………………………………………………………………36 7KH 'HYHORSPHQW RI /LJKWHUDJH 3RUWV………………………………………… 37 7KH (DVWHUQ /LQH DQG 3RUW 'HYHORSPHQWV LQ Context…………………………………................................................... 39

Chapter 4: Post-War Expansion – The Ten-Year Development Plan (1920–1930)……………………………………………………………..47 Post-:DU 5HFRQVWUXFWLRQ LQ %ULWDLQ DQG WKH 1RWLRQ RI ¶&RORQLDO Development’………………………………………………………………47 Governor Guggisberg: The Ten-Year Development Plan and Takoradi Harbour………………………………………………………………….. 49 5DLOZD\V DQG 5RDGV………………………………………………………. 54

iii

Part II…………………………………………………………………...63

&KDSWHU : The Recruitment of Construction Workers and Colonial Labour Policy………………………………………………………….. 5HFUXLWPHQW IRU WKH 6HNRQGLî.XPDVL /LQH î…………………….. 65 5HFUXLWPHQW IRU 5DLOZD\V DQG /LJKWHUDJH 3RUWV î…………………. The Post-:DU /DERXU 3UREOHPV…………………………………………….. 71

Chapter 6: The Acquisition of Railway and Harbour Land and Colonial Land Policy…………………………………………………………….77 *HQHUDO 3UREOHPV RI /DQG $FTXLVLWLRQ LQ 5DLOZD\ &RQVWUXFWLRQ………………. 77 7KH *ROG &RDVW /DQG $FW  DQG WKH 5DLOZD\V…………………………… 78 7KH  /DQG $FW DQG &RPPHUFLDO 'HYHORSPHQWV………………………….. 81 7KH 3UREOHPV RI /DQG $FTXisition at Takoradi………………………………..83 7RWDO /DQG 2ZQHG E\ WKH 5DLOZD\ DQG +DUERXUV……………………………. 86

Chapter 7: Railway Investment and Colonial Financial Policy…….91

Chapter 8: The Management System, Personnel and Labour Relations………………………………………………………………..99 /DERXU 0DQDJHULDO 7HFKQLFDO DQG 8QVNLOOHG…………………………………2 :RUNHUV· *ULHYDQFHV DQG /DERXU 5HODWLRQV………………………………….. 1

Chapter 9: Operational Problems and Issues………………………...121 Safety and Maintenance……………………………………………………. 121 Tariff Policy………………………………………………………………. 124 Administrative Actions……………………………………………………. 13 (IILFLHQF\…………………………………………………………………. 133 Profitability……………………………………………………………….. 139

Part III………………………………………………………………….142

Chapter 10: The Economic and Social Impact of the Railways……..143 7KH 6FDOH RI 5DLOZD\ ,QQRYDWLRQ…………………………………………….. 144 %DFNZDUG /LQNDJHV $ 6WLPXOXV IRU WKH *ROG &RDVW (FRQRP\ RU 0DUNHWV IRU WKH Metropolitan Industries?................................................................................ 145 )RUZDUG /LQNDJHV 3URGXFWLRQ IRU 'RPHVWLF 1HHGV RU ([WUDFWLRQ RI 5DZ 0DWHULDOV IRU Metropolitan Industries?................................................................................. 149 iv

Chapter 11: Railways: Commerce and Crafts, Urbanisation and Public Health…………………………………………………………………..177 Commerce and Crafts……………………………………………………… 177 8UEDQLVDWLRQ DQG 3XEOLF +HDOWK……………………………………………. 181

Chapter 12: Railways and Economic Development: The Gold Coast Experience in the Global Context…………………………………….187 Implications for Building a Better Future for the Tropics………………………. 195 Notes…………………………………………………………………...203

Bibliography…………………………………………………………...231

v