Emancipation in the Gold Coast: The Abolitionist Views of James Hutton Brew

This article deals with the abolitionist views of James Hutton Brew who argued against the British emancipation model in the Gold Coast. Brew was the proprietor and editor of the Gold Coast Times and discussed the British abolition process in its editorial pages. These articles revealed his thinking on abolition. Brew not only opposed the emancipation process set out by the British, which he felt was contradictory and disconnected from the Gold Coast context, but also argued for an alternative model that involved paying compensation to slave owners and creating a program to accommodate freed slaves. The British Governor portrayed some of the arguments of African abolitionists like Brew as those of slave owners trying to retain their positions. In discussing the ideas of James Hutton Brew, this article contributes to the literature on the historiography of slavery and abolition in Africa.