Cite this article: Nasidi, N. A. 2025. “A Review of “Foundations of Agbozume: The Keta-Sómeawo in Ghana, A.D. 1000-1930” by Philip Atsu Afeadie and John Mark Kwame Worclachie, Ghana: Golden Images, 2023, ₡300”. Sokoto Journal of History Vol. 13, Iss. 01. Pp. 145-147. www.doi.org/10.36349/sokotojh.2025.v13i01.013
A REVIEW OF
“FOUNDATIONS OF AGBOZUME: THE KETA-SÓMEAWO IN GHANA, A.D. 1000-1930” BY PHILIP
ATSU AFEADIE AND JOHN MARK KWAME WORCLACHIE, GHANA: GOLDEN IMAGES, 2023, ₡300
By
Nadir A. Nasidi
Lisa Maskel
Fellow, Department of History, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Department of
History, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna, Nigeria
Located in a culturally
rich area of the Volta Region of Ghana, Keta-Sómeawo was renowned for its
scenic coastal landscapes and historical significance, especially for the
Ewe-speaking communities. Although scholars have written on many aspects of
Keta-Sómeawo’s history, such works lack detailed historical explanations of the
age-long changing relations between the Keta-Sómeawo and Anlo. In this regard,
Afeadie and Worclachies’ Foundations of Agbozume: The Keta-Sómeawo in Ghana,
A.D. 1000-1930 is not only timely but is an important contribution to the
historiography of both the pre-colonial and colonial history of Ghana. The
authors’ extensive knowledge of Ghanaian history lends authority to this
ambitious undertaking.
Through a critical
cross-examination of data, the book draws from reliable sources ranging from
oral tradition, and archival materials to a plethora of literature on West
African history and societies. Integrating local history into regional and
global discourse, the book explores the history of Keta-Sómeawo from A.D. 1000
to 1930 focusing on intergroup relations with other ethnic groups, particularly
the Anlo. While the archival materials were sourced from Ghana’s Public Records
and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) in Accra, the oral data was
gathered through well-structured open-ended oral interviews.
Contrary to the
authors’ claim that the book has six chapters, it is aptly crafted into five
chapters, each meticulously examining different aspects of the evolution of
Keta-Sómeawo (p. 10). The first chapter traces the historical foundations of
Keta-Sómeawo giving currency to their traditions of origin, migration and
settlements before 1786. It also explores the establishment and consolidation
of the city of Keta (1530-1570), the roles of bandits and mercenaries in
inter-ethnic conflicts for political and economic superiority and the changing
nature of Keta cum Afro-European Trade in the 1700s. While chapter two
discusses the establishment of Sóme and some important epochs in its history
such as the murder of Degeni (1786-1790), and the Keta War (1790-1792), chapter
three examines the consolidation of Sóme in the 19th and 20th centuries taking
into consideration its political developments, economic activities, especially
slave trade and “legitimate commerce”. The chapter also examines the
traditional religious life of Sómeawo and its changing nature mainly because of
the advent of Christianity in the second half of the 19th century through the
activities of many missionary societies, especially the North German Missionary
Society of Bremen, which established its mission stations in Waya, Anyako and
Ho from 1855-1859. Chapter four discusses the Treaty of Agbosome of 1879-1911
and the nature of British imperialism, particularly in Sóme and the concerted
efforts made by its people to resist British colonial domination. Assessing the
impact of British colonialism, the book interrogates the inversion and
subordination of Sóme under Anlo, their age-long rivals, through the activities
of the Crowther Commission, which was an effort to relegate the ‘recalcitrant’
African subjects, while promoting those who comply (pp. 121-172).
The authors argue that,
since its establishment, Keta has been an important economic hub serving as an
entrepot for local and regional trading activities linking significant trading
routes from the Volta River up to Lagos and Benin in modern day Nigeria (p.
174). The major articles of trade as explained by the book were foodstuffs such
as maize, millet, yam and palm oil, which were produced inland in exchange for
salt, and dried fish mainly from the coastal areas. In terms of the economic
growth of Keta-Sómeawo, the authors state that it successfully adopted farming
of varying crops such as grains, tubers, legumes, fruits and vegetables. They
also explain that poultry keeping, and livestock herding were major economic
activities among the Keta-Sómeawo.
For the Lagoon trade,
the book states that Keta merchants exchanged fish and salt for aggrey beads,
known in the local parlance as acori and cloth imported from Grand Popo, Anexɔ,
Allada and Ouidah. The authors argue that Keta’s economic prowess was directly
linked to its strategic location on the Keta lagoon, the centre of salt
production and fishing grounds yielding the key export commodities in the local
and regional trade (p. 174). They also observe that the city of Keta continued
to flourish even in the 1700s due to the settlement of Adangme skilled
fugitives who escaped Akwamu’s expansionist campaigns and the development of
the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The authors opine that the Adangme migrants
introduced technological skills and entrepreneurship, which invariably enhanced
trading activities at Keta.
Another interesting
issue discussed in the book was the ability of the European imperialists to
instigate one African ethnic group against the other for their economic
interests. The murder of Degeni in 1786, a chief of Keta-Sómeawo by the
European Commandant of Prindzenstein called Biorn is used by the authors of the
book to provide convincing arguments about how the latter used the
Keta-Sómeawo’s vengeance of its chief to declare war on the former. In this war
game, as the authors posit, Biorn used the Anlo in fighting the Keta-Sómeawo
while providing them with modern weapons and auxiliary forces. This incident
eventually led to the Keta War, which ended with Keta-Sómeawo’s retreat east of
the Keta lagoon.
According to the
authors, Agbozume, ‘which denotes a formidable settlement amid fan-palms, which
again embodies the values of independence and freedom’ had persistently
resisted the British colonial administration as evidenced in its anti-colonial
campaigns of smuggling with armed attacks, rejection of stipend, and slave
trade (176). These efforts brought Keta-Sómeawo into serious loggerheads with
the British colonial government almost throughout its colonial history (178).
The authors conclude by stating that the deliberate subordination of the
Keta-Sómeawo by the British finally established the Anlo paramountcy as the
only administrative organ of local government for all the Ewe states of
southeastern Ghana, except Peki and its tributaries (180).
For an ambitious book
of this calibre, covering the history of nine hundred and thirty years, relying
on only five oral informants is methodologically problematic. A small sample
size cannot adequately represent the complexities and variations across such an
extensive period, leading to potential biases and gaps in the research
findings. Although in-depth oral
interviews with few informants can provide valuable insights, they are
insufficient for a comprehensive historical analysis. Thus, for a study covering
nearly a millennium, a larger and more diverse pool of informants is necessary
to capture the full scope of its historical development and perspectives. It is
also observed that most of the maps provided in the text lack any source
attribution. Thus, readers cannot verify the accuracy of the geographic data.
Despite the above
shortcomings, the Foundations of Agbozume is well-structured and deeply
researched. Each of its chapters constructively builds on the previous one
thus, giving the work a logical historical presentation of the major
developments in the history of Keta-Sómeawo. Apart from documenting the
inter-group relations between Keta-Sómeawo and other communities, especially
the Anlo, which was largely overlooked by previous studies, the work also
globalises this local history by situating the socio-economic and political
contributions of the Ewe-speaking communities across the West African
sub-region. The book is a valuable addition to the field of West African
history. It will surely be of interest to historians, anthropologists,
economists, sociologists, Africanist scholars and anyone seeking to understand
the intricate history of this fascinating community.
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