West African studies Part 32

USE MADE OF EUROPEAN GOODS BY THE NATIVES OF THE GOLD COAST. BARBOT.

"The broad linen serves to adorn themselves and their dead men's sepulchers within, they also make clouts thereof. The narrow cloth to press palm oil; in old sheets they wrap themselves at night from head to foot. The copper basons to wash and shave. The _Scotch_ pans serve in lieu of butchers' tubs when they kill hogs or sheep, from the iron bars the smiths forge out all their weapons, country and household tools and utensils; of frize and perpetuanas, they make girts 4 fingers broad to wear about their waists and hang their sword, dagger, knife and purse of money or gold, which purse they commonly thrust between the girdle and their body. They break _Venice_ coral into 4 or 5 parts, which afterwards they mould into any form on whetstones and make strings or necklaces which yield a considerable profit; of 4 or 5 ells of _English_ or _Leyden_ serges, they make a kind of cloak to wrap about their shoulders and stomachs. Of chintz, perpetuanas, printed callicoes, tapsiels and nicanees, are made clouts to wear round their middles. The wrought pewter, as dishes, basons, porringers, &c., serve to eat their victuals out of, muskets, firelocks and cutlaces they use in war; brandy is more commonly spent at their feasts, knives to the same purposes as we use them. With tallow they anoint their bodies from head to toe and even use it to shave their beards instead of soap. Fishing hooks for the same purpose as with us. _Venice_ bugles, gla.s.s beads and contacarbe, serve all ages and s.e.xes to adorn their heads, necks, arms and legs very extravagantly, being made into strings; and sarsaparilla."--Well, I think I have followed Barbot enough for the present on this point, and turn to his description of the dues the natives have to pay to native authorities on goods bought of Europeans, which amounted to 3 per cent.

paid to the proper officers; the kings of the land have at each port town, and even fishes, if it exceeds a certain quant.i.ty pays 1 in 5; these duties are paid either in coin or value. Up the inland they pay no duty on river fish, but are liable to pay a capitation fee of one shilling per head for the liberty of pa.s.sing down to the sea-sh.o.r.e either to traffic or attend the markets with their provisions or other sorts of the product of the land, and pay nothing at their return home, goods or no goods, unless they by chance leave their arms in the village, then the person so doing is to pay one shilling.

The collectors account quarterly with their kings, and deliver up what each has received in gold at his respective post, but the fifth part of the fish they collect is sent to the king as they have it, and serves to feed his family.

No fisherman is allowed to dispose of the first fish he has caught till the duty is paid, but are free to do it aboard ships, which perhaps may be one reason why so many of them daily sell such quant.i.ties of their fish to the seafaring men.

Barbot, remarking on this Gold Coast trade, says: "The Blacks of the Gold Coast, having traded with Europeans ever since the 14th century, are very well skilled in the nature and proper qualities of all European wares and merchandize vended there; but in a more particular manner since they have so often been imposed on by the Europeans, who in former ages made no scruple to cheat them in the quality, weight and measures of their goods which at first they received upon content, because they say it would never enter into their thoughts that white men, as they call the Europeans, were so base as to abuse their credulity and good opinion of us. But now they are perpetually on their guard in that particular, examine and search very narrowly all our merchandize, piece by piece, to see each the quality and measure contracted for by samples; for instance, if the cloth is well made and strong, whether dyed at _Haerlem_ or _Leyden_--if the knives be not rusty--if the basons, kettles, and other utensils of bra.s.s and pewter are not cracked or otherwise faulty, or strong enough at the bottom. They measure iron bars with the sole of the foot--they tell over the strings of contacarbel, taste and prove brandy, rum or other liquors, and will presently discover whether it is not adulterated with fresh or salt water or any other mixture, and in point of French brandy will prefer the brown colour in it. In short they examine everything with as much prudence and ability as any European can do."

"The goods sold by _English_ and _Dutch_, _Danes_, _Brandenburghers_, &c., ash.o.r.e, out of these settlements are generally about 25 per cent.

dearer to the Blacks than they get aboard ships in the Roads; the supercargoes of the ships commonly falling low to get the more customers and make a quicker voyage, for which reason the forts have very little trade with the Blacks during the summer season, which fills the coast with goods by the great concourse of ships at that time from several ports of Europe; and as the winter season approaches most of them withdraw from the coast, and so leave elbow room for the fort factors to trade in their turn during that bad season.

"In the year 1682 the gold trade yielded hardly 45 per cent. to our French ships, clear of any charges; but that might be imputed to the great number of trading ships of several European nations which happened to be at that time on the coast, whereof I counted 42 in less than a month's time: had the number been half as great that trade would have appeared 60 per cent. or more, and if a cargo were properly composed it might well clear 70 per cent. in a small ship sailing with little charge, and the voyage directly home from this coast not to exceed 7 or 8 months out and home, if well managed."

These observations of Barbot's are alike interesting and instructive, and in principle applicable to the trade to-day. Do not imagine that Barbot was an early member of the Aborigines' Protection Society when he holds forth on the way in which Europeans "in former ages" basely dealt with the angelic confidence of the Blacks. One of his great charms is the different opinions on general principles, &c., he can hold without noticing it himself: of course this necessitates your reading Barbot right through, and that means 668 pages folio in double column, or something like 2,772 pages of a modern book; but that's no matter, for he is uniformly charming and reeks with information.

Well, there are other places in Barbot where he speaks, evidently with convictions, of "this rascal fellow Black," &c. and gives long accounts of the way in which the black man cheats with false weights and measures, and adulterates; and if you absorb the whole of his information and test it against your own knowledge, and combine it with that of others, I think you will come to the conclusion that it is not necessary for the philanthropist to fidget about the way the European does his side to the trade; the moralist may drop a large and heavy tear on both white and black, but that is all that is required from him.

Unfortunately this is not all that is done nowadays: the black has got hold of Governmental opinion, and just when he is more than keeping his end up in commercial transactions, he has got the Government to handicap his white fellow-trader with a ma.s.s of heavy dues and irritating restrictions, which will end most certainly in stifling trade. My firm conviction is that black and white traders should be left to settle their own affairs among themselves.

SELECTION OF GOODS FOR FIDA OR ONIDAH, CALLED BY THE FRENCH JUIDA, NOW KNOWN AS DAHOMEY, WITH MAIN SEAPORT WHYDAH.

The French opened trade in this district in 1669, when the Dutch were already there.

"The main export of this coast was 'slaves, cotton cloth, and blue stones, called agoy or accory, very valuable on the Gold Coast.'

"The best commodity the Europeans can carry thither to purchase is Boejies or cawries, so much valued by the natives, being the current coin there and at Popo, Fida, Benin and other countries further east, without which it is scarcely possible to traffic there. Near to Boejies the flat iron bars for the round or square will not do, and again next to iron, fine long coral, _China_ sarcenets, gilt leather, white damask and red, red cloth with large lists, copper bowls or cups, bra.s.s rings, _Venice_ beads or bugles of several colours, agalis, gilded looking gla.s.ses, _Leyden_ serges, platilles, linen morees, salampores, red chints, broad and narrow tapsiels, blue canequins, broad gunez and narrow (a sort of linen), double canequins, French brandy in ankers or half-ankers (the anker being a 16 gallon rundlet), canary and malmsey, black caudebec hats, Italian taffeties, white or red cloth of gold or silver, _Dutch_ knives, _Bosmans_, striped armoizins, with white or flowered, gold and silver brocadel, firelocks, muskets, gunpowder, large beads from _Rouen_, white flowered sarcenets, _Indian_ armorzins and damask napkins, large coral earrings, cutlaces gilded and broad, silk scarfs large umbrellors, pieces of eight, long pyramidal bells."

All the above-mentioned goods are also proper for the trade in _Benin_, _Rio Lagos_ and all along the coast to _Rio Gabon_.

BENIN TRADE GOODS.

"Exports, 1678: cotton cloths like those of _Rio Lagos_, women slaves, for men slaves (though they be all foreigners, for none of the natives can be sold as such) are not allowed to be exported, but must stay there; jasper stones, a few tigers' or leopards' skins, acory or blue coral, elephants' teeth, some pieminto, or pepper. The blue coral grows in branching bushes like the red coral at the bottom of the rivers and lakes in Benin, which the natives have a peculiar art to grind or work into beads like olives, and is a very profitable merchandise at the Gold Coast, as has been observed.

"The Benin cloths are of 4 bands striped blue and white, an ell and a half long, only proper for the trade at _Sabou river_ and at _Angola_, and called by the blacks _monponoqua_ and the blue narrow cloths _ambasis_; the latter are much inferior to the former every way, and both sorts made in the inland country.

"The European goods are these: cloths of gold and silver, scarlet and red cloth, all sorts of calicoes and fine linen, _Haerlem_ stuffs with large flowers and well starched, iron bars, strong spirits, rum and brandy, beads or bugles of several colours, red velvet, and a good quant.i.ty of Boejies, cawries as much as for the Ardra (Fida) trade being the money of the natives, as well as them; false pearls, Dutch cans with red streaks at one end, bright bra.s.s large rings from 5 to 5-1/2 ounces weight each, earrings of red gla.s.s or crystal, gilt looking gla.s.ses, crystal, &c."

OUWERE (NOW CALLED WARRI) TRADE, AND THE NEW CALABAR TRADE, 1678.

"Exports mainly slaves and fine cloths from New Calabar district and Ouwere. 'The princ.i.p.al thing that pa.s.ses in Calabar as current money among the natives is bra.s.s rings for the arms or legs, which they call _bochie_, and they are so nice in the choice of them, that they will often turn over a whole cask before they find 2 to please their fancy.'

"The _English_ and _Dutch_ import there a great deal of copper in small bars, round and equal, about 3 feet long, weighing about 1-1/4 lbs., which the blacks of Calabary work with much art, splitting the bar into 3 parts from one end to the other, which they polish as fine as gold, and twist the 3 pieces together very ingeniously into cords to make what form of arm rings they please."

OLD CALABAR TRADE, 1678.

"The most current goods of Europe for the trade of Old Calabar to purchase slaves and elephants' teeth are iron bars, in quality and chiefly, copper bars, blue rags, cloth and striped _Guinea_ clouts of many colours, horse bells, hawks' bells, rangoes, pewter basons of 1, 2, 3 and 4 lbs. weight, tankards of ditto of 1, 2, and 3 lbs. weight, beads very small and glazed yellow, green, purple and blue, purple copper armlets or arm rings of _Angola_ make, but this last sort of goods is peculiar to the _Portuguese_."

The blacks there reckon by copper bars, reducing all sorts of goods to such bars; for example, 1 bar of iron, 4 copper bars; a man slave for 38 and a woman slave for 37 or 36 copper bars.

TRADE OF RIO DEL REY, AMBOZES COUNTRY, CAMARONES RIVER, AND DOWN TO RIO GABON.

"The _Dutch_ have the greatest share in the trade here in yachts sent from Mina on the Gold Coast, whose cargo consists mostly of small copper bars of the same sort as mentioned at Old Calabar, iron bars, coral, bra.s.s basons, of the refuse goods of the Gold Coast, bloom coloured beads or bugles and purple copper armlets or rings made at _Loanda_ in _Angola_, and presses for lemons and oranges. In exchange for which they yearly export from thence 400 or 500 slaves, and about 10 or 12 tons weight of fine large teeth, 2 or 3 of which commonly weigh above a hundredweight, besides accory, javelins and some sorts of knives which the blacks there make to perfection, and are proper for the trade of the Gold Coast."

"_Ambozes_ country, situated between the _Rio del Rey_ and _Rio Camarones_, is very remarkable for the immense height of the mountains it has near the sea-sh.o.r.e, which the Spaniards call _Alta Tierra de Ambozi_, and reckon some of them as high as the _Pike of Teneriffe_ (this refers to the great Camaroon, 13,760 feet). Trade in teeth, accory and slaves, for iron and copper bars, bra.s.s pots and kettles, hammered bugles or beads, bloom colour purple, orange and lemon colour, ox horns, steel files, &c."

The trade in the Rio Gabon at this time was inferior to that at Cape Lopez. Indeed, the ascendency the Gaboon trade attained to in the middle parts of this 19th century was an artificial one, the natural outlet for the trade being the districts round the mouth of the Ogowe river, which penetrates through a far greater extent of country than the rivers Rembwe and Ncomo, which form the Gaboon estuary or _Rio Gabon_ of Barbot.

"Great numbers of ships ran to _Cape Lopez Gonzalves_ in the seventeenth century, and did a pretty brisk trade in cam wood, beeswax, honey and elephants' teeth, of which last a ship may sometimes purchase three or four thousand-weight of good large ones and sometimes more, and there is always an abundance of wax; all which the Europeans purchase for knives called _Bosmans_, iron bars, beads, old sheets, brandy, malt, spirits or rum, axes, the sh.e.l.ls called cauris, annabas, copper bars, bra.s.s basons, from eighteen-pence to two shillings apiece, firelocks, muskets, powder, ball, small shot, &c."

SELECTION OF GOODS FOR THE ISLANDS FERNANDO PO, ST. THOMAS'S, PRINCE'S, AND ANn.o.bON.

There were about 150 ships per annum calling and trading at San Tome in the seventeenth century. The goods in "_French_ ships particularly consist in _Holland_ cloth or linen as well as of _Rouen_ and _Brittany_, thread of all colours, serges, silk stockings, fustians, _Dutch_ knives, iron, salt, olive oil, copper in sheets or plates, bra.s.s kettles, pitch, tar, cordage, sugar forms (from 20 to 30 lbs. apiece), brandy, all kinds of strong liquors and spirits, _Canary_ wines, olives, carpets, fine flour, b.u.t.ter, cheese, thin shoes, hats, shirts, and all sorts of silks out of fashion in _Europe_, hooks, &c., of each sort a little in proportion."

In connection with this now but little considered island of San Tome, so called from having been discovered in the year 1472, under the direction of Henry the Navigator, on the feast day of the Apostle Thomas, there is an interesting bit of history, which has had considerable bearing on the culture of the Lower Congo regions.

The Portuguese, observing the fertility of the soil of this island, decided to establish a colony there for the convenience of trading in the Guinea regions; but the climate was so unwholesome that an abundance of men died before it was well settled and cultivated. "Violent fevers and cholicks that drove them away soon after they were set a-sh.o.r.e."

"The first design of settling there was in the year 1486 but perceiving how many perished in the attempt, and that they could better agree with that of the continent on the coast of Guinea, it was resolved by King Ja II. of Portugal that all the Jews within his dominions, which were vastly numerous, should be obliged to receive baptism, or upon refusal be transported to the coast of Guinea, where the Portuguese had already several considerable settlements and a good trade, considering the time since its first discovery.

"A few years after such of those Jews as had escaped the malignant air, were forced away to this Isle of San Tome; these married to black women, fetched from Angola in great numbers, with near 3,000 men of the same country.

"From these Jews married to black women in process of time proceeded mostly that brood of mulattos at this day inhabiting the island. Most of them boast of being descended from the Portuguese; and their const.i.tution is by nature much fitter to bear with the malignity of the air." (For a full account of this matter see the _History of Portugal_ by Faria y Sousa, p. 304.)

San Tome is now very flourishing, on account of its soil being suited to cocoa and coffee, and there are to-day there plenty of full-blooded Portuguese; but the old strain of Jewish mulattos still exists and is represented by individuals throughout all the coast regions of West Africa. Moreover, these mulattos secured in the seventeenth century a monopoly for Portugal of the slave trade in the Lower Congo, and I largely ascribe the prevalence of customs identical with those mentioned in the Old Testament that you find among the Fjort tribes to their influence, although you always find such customs represented in all the native cultures in West Africa (presumably because the West African culture is what the Germans would call the _urstuff_), but I fancy in no culture are they so developed as among the Fjorts.[94]

TRADE GOODS FOR CONGO AND CABENDA, 1700.

"Blue bafts, a piece containing 6 yards and of a deep almost black colour, and is measured either with a stick of 27 inches, of which 8 sticks make a piece, or by a lesser stick, 18 inches long, 12 of which are accounted a piece, _Guinea_ stuffs, 2 pieces to make a piece, tapseils have the same measure as blue bafts.

Nicanees, the same measure.

Black bays, 2-1/2 yards for a piece, measured by 5 sticks of 18 inches each.

Annaba.s.ses, 10 to the piece.

Painted callicoes, 6 yards to the piece.

Blue paper Slesia, 1 piece for a piece. Scarlet, 1 stick of 18 inches or 1/2 a yard is accounted a piece.

Muskets, 1 for a piece.