Stephen's Blog Nr.3

What’s in a name? Well quite a lot. In the course of the first part of the research, we have been undertaking a series of interviews with local people from a variety of backgrounds and who do, or have done, a variety of jobs. What we really wanted to get a picture of was whether there can be said to be an identity or set of remembrances that are common to James Town, that make it what it is and that point towards a link between the past, the present and the future. I think when we started, this is what we believed we would find: a reasonably homogeneous Ga population who had been in the area for time immemorial. What we have found is much more complex.

Though the Ga are noted for having strong community ties, a specific language and cultural festivals that act as a form of social glue, binding people together in annual acts of remembrance and celebration, scratch the surface and there is a real multiplicity to Ga-Mashie. The often cited ‘real Ga’, who came from Egypt (or perhaps Israel) and settled on the coast of Accra, are revealed to be a highly cosmopolitan mixture of various peoples who came, or were brought, to the area, settled and inter-married. The evidence of this cosmopolitanism is everywhere.

In one conversation, it was suggested that we should ‘follow the names’. The names of buildings and roads in James Town, such as Hansen, Bruce, Bannerman, Mills and Richter, clearly speak of a history where Europeans in the area made a great deal of money. Hansen House, Hansen Rd and the now demolished Sea View Hotel, Bruce Road, and so on, all point to the area being not only heavily influenced by Europeans but also Europeans and their descendants settling, living and working within the area over generations.

So, the question becomes: why is James Town not more affluent, more celebrated and more visited? How has it gone from a cosmopolitan trading centre to an area of multiple deprivation? And, perhaps more importantly, why is now considered to have always been poor?

The link below leads to a great article by Nat Nuno Amarteifio, former Mayor of Accra and local historian:

https://adesawyerr.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/the-definitive-story-of-james-town-british-accra-by-nat-nuno-amarteifio/

As ever, please leave comments and thoughts.

Dr Stephen Collins

Stephen.collins@uws.ac.uk