Kwadwo Egyir

Kwadwo Egyir, later renamed Brempong Kojo (meaning distinguished Kojo) and later Europeanized as Caboceer Cudjo (meaning chief Cudjo), was born around 1700 in Ekumfi in a Fante chiefdom on the Gold Coast, the village being located in what is now the Ekumfi district of Ghana, and died on March 24, 1779, in Cape Coast. He was a slave trader in the service of the British Gold Coast in Cape Coast.

His commercial, political and diplomatic influence made him one of the most important African figures on the Gold Coast in the 18th century. He created and structured the Oguaa State of Cape Coast, and contributed to the expansion of the British colony through diplomatic and military missions. His political influence was such that he was one of the main players in the council of Fanti chiefs and in diplomatic exchanges with the Ashanti kingdom.

He bequeathed to posterity the foundations of the future Fante confederation and contributed to the development of Cape Coast, the British colonial capital, which in fifty years became the second largest coastal city after Elmina. He created the most important Asafo order, enabling African notables to consolidate their power.

Context alt=A large market square surrounding more than twenty houses with slave trading posts and a covered area for African nobility and Caboceers. Illustration of the Cape Coast slave market (named Cape Korso) in 1602 by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen. In the 18th century, Cape Coast was one of the most important cities in the kingdom of Fetu (or Efutu). However, this kingdom was dismantled after a defeat in 1720 against the first Fante confederation, allowing the emergence of several small states, such as Oguaa, which appointed a Cape Coast king. This shift in authority was not a recent phenomenon, however, since it had already begun at the end of the seventeenth century, in 1694, with the first secession, during which a pro-British coalition supported several small Efutu states.

The loss of Efutu power and the dissolution of the state at the beginning of the eighteenth century created a vacuum that allowed personalities enriched by the triangular trade to increase their influence and power. Kwadwo's story is similar to that of many contemporary African merchants establishing new states.

Many caboceers took advantage of this context to develop their economic and political influence, such as John Cabess at Komenda, John Canoe at Cape Three Points and John Currantee at Anomabu. A political vacuum also existed on the Cape Coast. The British sought to strengthen their influence in African interstate politics by associating themselves with these caboceers and supporting their installation as local rulers.

Biography

Youth and oral legend

Kojo (Twi: Kwadwo) is the name given by the Fante to boys born on a Monday. Little is known about Kwadwo's birth and youth. Historians assume he was born in the last years of the 17th century or the first years of the 18th century. Genealogists assume he was born in 1701, since he died at the age of 78, in 1779. However, he was apparently not a native of Oguaa (Cape Coast), but of Ekumfi, in Adanse (today's Ekumfi district), and of Fante culture. His mother remarried the King of Efutu, making Kwadwo her son-in-law. However, the consequences of internal conflicts on the Fetu kingdom cut all ties with Cape Coast. Kwadwo spoke and wrote fluent English, managed colonial affairs and mastered various local languages.

Kwadwo was given several names, nicknames and honorary titles. Before being nicknamed Caboceer Cudjo, he was called Brempong Kojo. Brempong is a Cape Coast honorific title recorded at the end of the 16th century by Pieter de Marees and confirmed in 1660 by W.J. Müller, a merchant from Brandenburg. According to Pieter de Marees, this title designated a gentleman or a great lord, while Müller translated it as "rich distinguished man". This information, combined with oral tradition and the testimony of Thomas Thompson, the first Anglican missionary to the Gold Coast, shed light on his activities before joining British officials. According to twentieth-century historian F. Crowther, Kwadwo was not actually chief of Oguaa until 1751, when his brother took his place, but held the position of dynastic chief in accordance with Efutu succession practice. The two functions were merged in the mid-19th century to put an end to succession conflicts.

Caboceer of the British alt=A caboceer leading his soldiers, illustration from 1877. In the 1730s or 1740s, he established himself as an influential caboceer who acted as a slave broker on behalf of the Royal African Company (RAC). He appears as early as 1728 in the account books of the Cape Coast Castle, where he was initially paid as an extraordinary messenger and translator.

He received a fortnightly salary of £7 during his first years on the job, and was able to collect a tax on the sales he concluded on behalf of the company. For the British, he became the de facto ruler of Cape Coast, although the chief's seat was held by his brother. The power recognized by the Europeans actually came from the wealth he accumulated.

Slave trader alt=There are seven men in this illustration. On the left, a white man smokes a cigar while observing the slave presented to him by the second white man. The second white man shows him feeling the slave's face as he stands. Behind the slave are three black slave traders, armed with rifles and negotiating with a white trader. They are recognizable by their uniforms and headgear. Illustration of the transatlantic slave trade, with European and African merchants in the background. Kwadwo's influence with the Europeans stemmed first and foremost from his ability to make a profit as a slave trader. He began as a merchant employed exclusively by the RAC, then joined the trade circuit with the African Company of Merchants and free British merchants. He then joined the Fante confederation to open up domestic trade routes to the Ashanti kingdom. leading debates with them before providing Thomas Thompson with his conclusions about what he wished to create in Cape Coast. by oath to stand by his side in all disputes whatsoever.

Kwadwo played a predominant role in the Councils of Chiefs, particularly in 1752 at Efutu, and in the 1760s during conflicts with Ashanti. His influence coincided with the emergence of another coastal state, Anomabu, led by Currantee: the two men regularly joined forces to pursue a joint policy against the Dutch West India Company. Currantee's and Kwadwo's backgrounds were very similar, and they were presented by contemporaries such as Thomas Thompson as the two most important personalities on the Central Gold Coast in the early 1750s.

Family life alt=Several groups of black people are fighting in the tall grass with weapons. In the background of the image is a village with festive activities and what looks like a man practicing a ritual. Kwadwo married a woman of royal Efutu lineage named Akwaaba Abba. He thus became brother-in-law to the reigning king of Efutu, giving him additional legitimacy when the Fetu kingdom fell. Kwadwo's lineage is uncertain as, according to Fante tradition, individuals named sons and daughters were not necessarily by direct lineage, but included household slaves and their descendants.

In November 1751, Kwadwo appointed his son Frederick Aday (or Adoy) as his successor on the Cape Coast Fort Council and sent him to London to studyunder a certain Temple Territory. He returned to Cape Coast in the 1770s and was appointed Fort Secretary in 1774. Another of his sons, Philip Quaque (or Kwaku Sofu), was sent to London and ordained in the Anglican Church. He entrusted him to Thomas Thompson in 1752.

When Philip Quaque returned, he settled in Cape Coast to work as a missionary. Contrary to the hopes of the United Society Partners in the Gospel, and despite his promise, Kwadwo refused to support his son in his actions and sided with the population, who wished to preserve their customs and beliefs.

Death and posterity Kwadwo died on March 24, 1779. Kwesi Atta, a matrilineal descendant, ascended to the seat of dynastic chieftaincy. At his funeral, a human sacrifice is said to have been performed according to Fante customs, and a succession crisis followed.

The recognition of their high rank enabled them to acquire luxury goods, textiles from India and other products obtained as gifts from the African Committee. Indeed, Thomas Melvil (Governor of the Gold Coast Merchants' Committee from 1751 to 1756) demanded that gifts be provided specifically for the female elite to ensure that relations with the Cape Coast community as a whole were maintained. He requested "scarlet and blue cloths, hats adorned with gold, silver and feathers, some damasks". The most important examples of this type took place after Kwadwo's death, in order to use the positions of the female elite and win their favor.