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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Diaries of A.C. Duncan-Johnstone: A Preliminary Analysis of British Involvement in the 'Native Courts' of Colonial Asante |
Author: | Tashjian, Victoria B. |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | Ghana Studies |
Volume: | 1 |
Pages: | 135-150 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Ghana Great Britain |
Subjects: | colonialism Ashanti polity customary courts history traditional polities Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) History and Exploration Law, Human Rights and Violence |
Abstract: | This paper explores the nature of British influence in the so-called native courts or native tribunals which operated in the colonial territory that the British designated Ashanti (in present-day Ghana). According to colonial policy, these courts were supposed to follow local, not British, legal customs. However, the evidence presented in the paper indicates that at least at certain times, and in certain places, colonial intrusions into the day-to-day workings of the native courts of colonial Asante did occur. In fact, colonial policy allowed for significant control over the courts, extending even to the right to authorize or refuse to authorize the native courts, as colonial authorities saw fit. The paper is based on the diaries of one British official, A.C. Duncan-Johnstone. The diaries cover the period September 1921 to March 1924 when Duncan-Johnstone served as District Commissioner of Ashanti Akim (Asante Akyem). Notes, ref. |