John Mensah Sarbah CMG (3 June 1864 - 27 November 1910) was a lawyer and political leader in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). [2] By the mid-1930s, the ARPS was in a state of decline. III, 1903. WhatsApp : +233204700052 Sarbah had opposed such proposals before, and people had expected him to oppose the amendment outright. At the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice. It cannot be said that the late lawyer did not engaged in any business because he was at a point prosecuted for invasion of Customs duties which had to be quashed by the then Chief Justice. Although the Lands Bill was its immediate preoccupation, the aims of the ARPS were broad and encompassing. In 1887 he was called to the bar and qualified as a barrister. The statue of Queen Victoria at Victoria park in Cape Coast is a sign of treaty between ARPS and the British Government to abandon the Lands Bill. >> >> 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. The learned lawyer said in 1908 to 1910, the late John Mensah Sarbah financed Cocoa farmers across the country. Although the formation of the ARPS was due to the cumulative effects of colonial rule in the late nineteenth century, the immediate reason for its formation was the Lands Bill. Thus, the main catalyst for the formation of the ARPS was the African intelligentsia's protest against the Lands Bill. John Mensah Sarbah was educated at the Cape Coast Wesleyan School, and at Taunton School Devon, England. He was the eldest son of John Sarbah (1834-1892), a merchant of Anomabu and Cape Coast and a member of the Legislative Council of the Gold Coast, and his wife Sarah. He compiled and published Fanti Law Reports in 1904, but this was incomplete because he was refused permission to take any more notes from court records. In 1903, Sarbah and William Edward Sam promoted an enterprise called the Fanti Public Schools Limited and Sarbah also helped establish the Fanti National Education Fund, which aimed to improve educational facilities in the country and awarded scholarships. 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. 0000021045 00000 n He was eventually honored with the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1910, months before he suddenly died at the age of 46. 0000034269 00000 n >> The passage of the bill, however, made him very unpopular, especially since subsequently he received the British decoration-of the CMG (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St.George), an honor some thought that he had sought, though he denied it. Telling the business story of the late lawyer, senior law partner, Kojo Bentsil Enchil said the late Sarbah was the greatest aggregate of an achiever in the Gold Coast and in present day Ghana in the lawyer profession. This is clear evidence to the effect that aside his legal profession, he had massive interest in education, politics, business and Agriculture. The inaugural lecture was attended by the Minister of Information; Alhaji Mustapha Hamid, Mr. Supi Nkrumah Bentsi-Enchill of Aswells Chambers, Takoradi, Madam Anna Badu-Arthur Mother of Nana Kobina Nketsia V,Nana Owiansa V, Gyantuahene of Anomabo Traditional Area Nana Kwamina Nyimfa IX, Adontehene of Oguaa Traditional Area, Alfred Kweku Ampah-Mensah Vice President of Mfantsipim Old Boys Association of the Central Region and Nana Kwame Edu VI, Tufohene of Oguaa Traditional Area. Please accept by clicking on the 'Accept' button on your screen. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (The Revelation), Education in Africa: The Impact of Colonialism, Why The Legendary Geneva Bible was Banned. When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895- 97) refused to withdraw the bill, Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to The Mfantsi Amanbuhu Fekuw had been founded in 1889 to promote African cultural values that were being undermined by the corrosive effects of the European presence. He attended Cape Coast Wesleyan School (later to be renamed Mfantsipim) and completed his secondary education at the Taunton School in Somerset, England. 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 the 20th. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. Opera News does not consent to nor does it condone the posting of any content that violates the rights (including the copyrights) of any third party, nor content that may malign, inter alia, any religion, ethnic group, organization, gender, company, or individual. The society also sought to modify or prevent the passing of several bills, including the Town Councils Ordinance of 1894 that came into force in 1904, and the Forest Bill (19071911). ! Y 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. He also helped to establish the Fanti National Education Fund, which aimed at improving educational facilities in the country and also awarded scholarships. He made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and law. From Mfantsipim, Mensah Sarbah enrolled at the Taunton School in England, before studying law at Lincoln's Inn in 1884. John Mensah Sarbah was born on Friday, 3 June 1864, in Anomabu, in the Fante Confederacy in the Gold Coast. /Names << /Dests 12 0 R>> 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. 0000029808 00000 n A notable aspect of the delegation is that it included not only members of the Gold Coast elite, but also "prominent merchants". Many were those who knew the late John Mensah Sarbah as an illustrious lawyer, politician and educationist in the days of the defunct Gold Coast and modern day Ghana. 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. His suggestion, which was an improvement on the amendment, was not accepted. Hutchison's Pen Pictures of Modern Africans and African Celebrities1", "The Aborigines Society, Kwame Nkrumah and the 1945 Pan-African Congress", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gold_Coast_Aborigines%27_Rights_Protection_Society&oldid=1077681957, 1890s establishments in Gold Coast (British colony), Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Asante, S. K. B. When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895-97) refused to withdraw the bill, John Mensah Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to England to petition against its passage. The ARPS used the money to establish a press, which publishedThe Gold Coast Nation(founded 1912) andThe Gold Coast Times(founded 1923). It has emerged that he was a business man par excellence who groomed his late fathers business in agriculture and mining merchandise in the Gold Coast era. 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. In understanding the critiques of the Gold Coast ARPS nationalists aims, it is important to note that much of the skepticism about the true intentions of the members of the Gold Coast ARPS came from British colonial administrators who were dismissive of the attempts of the Gold Coast ARPS to oppose the Lands Bill of 1897. He said the late lawyer readily made cash allowances to Cocoa farmers to push the economic development of the Gold Coast. startxref /T 51995 The Gold Coast When Edward IV Was King, Journal of the African Society, Vol. Sarbah was interested in promoting secondary education because he felt that it was the best way to enable Africans to gain the respect of the civilized world. He was born at Cape Coast in 1864, and was the eldest son of John Sarbah, a merchant, and of his wife Sarah. The connection of the Gold Coast ARPS with the global movements for freedom and rights for people of colour began with interactions between the leaders of Gold Coast ARPS and other anti-imperialist and pan-Africanist leaders abroad and ended with Gold Coast ARPS involvement with the 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress. 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. 0000014819 00000 n Instead, he suggested that the dismissal or the suspension of chiefs should be carried out by a resolution of the Legislative Council instead of by Order in Council. When Governor Sir William Maxwell (term of office 1895-97) refused to withdraw the bill, Sarbah advised the ARPS to send a delegation to England to petition against its passage. It also vigorously campaigned for improvements in education, sanitation, health, and the provision of infrastructure. << This reform, too, has now been adopted. John Mensah Sarbah was a patriot, statesman and one of the most outstanding nationalists of the Gold Coast at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Volume One: Ethiopia-Ghana, Ed. The Town Councils Ordinance dealt with the levying of municipal house rates. On the strength of the good reports the school had received, the Wesleyan Mission resumed its management under the principalship of the Rev. /S 144 endobj . [10] The Gold Coast ARPS's interest in the affairs of people of colour abroad was predicated on the notion of the salience of race beyond the confines of an African context and the global prevalence of racial discrimination. /N 3 On his return home, John Mensah Sarbah, who was generally known as Kofi Mensah, built up a lucrative practice. In addition to his political achievements, Sarbah wrote two books about the Fante and played an important role in establishing public schools in the colony. Although he accepted the basic assumptions of the British imperial regime, he felt that some of the evils of the crown colony system should be checked. When, for financial reasons, the Wesleyan Mission closed down the Cape Coast Wesleyan School, he and some other nationalists revived it, financed it, and renamed it the Collegiate School. Sarbah returned the guinea fee which the ARPS gave him for his work, as he regarded it as an honour to serve his country. He was Born into a wealthy family, and studied law in England. 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 23 0 obj John Mensah Sarbah was a good legislator, He was nominated as a member of the Legislative Council by the governor, Sir Mathew Nathan (term of office, 1900- 1904), in 1901 and sat except for a short break, as a member until his death. >> Above all, it served as a precursor to revolutionary nationalism not only in the Gold Coast but in the entire West African region in the 1930s. some cases thereon decided in the Law Courts) Discover new books on Goodreads See if your friends have read any of John Mensah Sarbah's books Join Goodreads He was born on 3rd June 1864, in Anomabu in the Fante Confederacy in the Gold Coast. 0000014972 00000 n 0000001010 00000 n Sarbah is said to have given the school its motto (Dwin Hwe Kan, meaning Think and Look Ahead) as well as its emblem. When the Gold Coast Native Jurisdiction Ordinance (1883) was being amended in 1910, Section 29 caused a stir among the people because they felt it would empower the governor to usurp the rights of the people in the destooling of chiefs. /Contents 25 0 R He made a lasting mark on national life in politics, education, and law. They sent Sarbah to argue against its passage in the Legislative Council. As a lawyer, John Mensah Sarbah was interested in spreading knowledge of Fanti laws and of theFanti Constitution. Sarbah-Picot House at Mfantsipim School is named after him. 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