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| Title: | Striving for Resources or Connecting People? Transportation in Sefwi (Ghana) |
| Author: | Boni, Stefano |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Periodical: | International Journal of African Historical Studies |
| Volume: | 32 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 49-70 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Ghana |
| Subjects: | Akan road transport Development and Technology History and Exploration colonialism |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/220805 |
| Abstract: | The history of transportation in West Africa and in the Akan area in particular has largely been studied from a macroeconomic and national perspective. This study focuses on local history, examining villagers' attitudes towards improved transportation in Sefwi (Ghana), a peripheral area of the Akan region. It shows that the development of transportation in Sefwi was closely linked to the exploitation of mineral resources and timber. Precolonial, colonial and independent governments repeatedly tried to impose transportation policies on Sefwi villages as a means to control trading patterns. The Sefwi people, however, have been far from passive. They sought to participate in the decisionmaking process and often clashed with the State's transport strategy. In the late 19th century, Sefwi rebelled against the Asante empire and sought to administer roads autonomously. In the 20th century, villagers opposed the timber firms' policy of road closure and sought to control transport schemes. The local population played a crucial role in the development of roads as chiefs and villagers endeavoured to stimulate and control transportation. Notes, ref. |
