Outsourcing African Labor: Kru Migratory Workers in Global Ports, Estates and Battlefields until the End of the 19th Century PDF
Preview Outsourcing African Labor: Kru Migratory Workers in Global Ports, Estates and Battlefields until the End of the 19th Century
Jeffrey Gunn Outsourcing African Labor Africa in Global History Edited by Joël Glasman, Omar Gueye, Alexander Keese, and Christine Whyte Advisory Board: Joe Alie, Felicitas Becker, William Gervase Clarence-Smith, Lynda Day, Scholastique Diazinga, Andreas Eckert, Babacar Fall, Toyin Falola, Matt Graham, Emma Hunter, Erin Jessee, Isabella Kentridge, Colleen Kriger, Kristin Mann, Patrick Manning, Conceição Neto, Vanessa S. Oliveira, Lorelle Semley, Ibrahim Sundiata Volume 4 Jeffrey Gunn Outsourcing African Labor Kru Migratory Workers in Global Ports, Estates and Battlefields until the End of the 19th Century ISBN 978-3-11-068022-5 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-068033-1 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-068041-6 ISSN 2628-1767 Library of Congress Control Number: 2021936032 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover image: “Kroomen launching a boat”, Sketch by Captain‘s Clerk Charles F. Sands, reproduced from his journal kept on board the U.S. Brig Porpoise during her anti-slavery cruise off West Africa, 1848. Courtesy of Mr. W. F. Sands, 1939. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com I dedicate this book to my Kru brothers and sisters and my family: Saowakhon Pansri, Sandra and David Gunn,Julie, Frank, Logan, Blake, and Hailey Rozsas. Acknowledgements Nogreatundertakingcanbecompletedalone.Inthisspirit,Iwouldliketothank mywife,SaowakhonPansri,myparents,SandraandDavidGunn,mysisterand her family,Julie, Frank, Blake, Logan, and Hailey Rozsas, mycousins,Terrence Jon and Jay Craig, and my lifelong friends Jon Brohman, Jeff Vanderby, Josh Mills,MattLindsay,MichaelMorris,JulieQuinn,JulieTamaki,KristianShepherd, andBillMerrittfortheirencouragement,love,andsupportthroughoutthecom- pletion of this book. I am extremely grateful to my mentor and friend Paul Lovejoy for always driving me to perform at my best and for the incredible opportunity to travel theworldforresearchandconferences.IgivespecialmentiontoGeorgeBrooks at Indiana University for generously providing me with many boxes of unpub- lishedsourcesfromthe1970s,andSuzanneSchwarzandStephenRockelforen- thusiastically sharing information on the Kru when they came upon it in their own research. And, Ithank Mark Williamson for his sketches. Thecompletionofthisbookhasbeenamonumentaljourney,whichhasled me to conduct research in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and the United States. None of these research trips would have been possible without the support of several scholarship pro- gramsandfundingfromkeyinstitutions.Iwouldliketogratefullyacknowledge the support I received to finance my doctoral studies,which inform this book, from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC),theOntarioGraduateScholarshipProgram(OGS),TheHarrietTubman Institute, and the Department of History at York University. IextendadeepsenseofgratitudetomembersoftheKrucommunitiesIvis- ited in Sierra Leone including Chief Tuleh Davis, Rev. Joseph Kamara, and Doe Smith;inLiberia,KruGovernorAliceWeah,DeputyGovernorS.TugbeWorjloh, Rev.NyanfordGibson,AnthonyTeah,JacobP.Myers,MosesBaryor,EdwinWiah, andL.SlewionKontons;andinGhana,OkyeemeGikafoandAllweiBonsoIII.It isanhonortoshareyourstoriesandmemoriesofKruworkersinyourcommun- ities. Iwouldliketogivethankstothosefriendswhoseeffortsmadeforsuccessful research trips including Aiah Yendeh, Taziff Koroma, and Abdullai Brima, for theirguidanceandlodgingsinFreetown,andtoCharlesformotorcycletransport from Sierra Leone to Liberia; Kae Sun for arranging lodgings in Accra, Rev. Kwaku Darko-Mensah for his hospitality, and Sidney Palupa for his guidance, transportation,andtranslations;ConnieAbbeandSilvastoneforprovidinglodg- ingsinLondonwhileIworkedattheBritishLibrary,TheNationalArchivesand https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110680331-001 VIII Acknowledgements SOAS;Nigel Baptiste and his familyfor providinglodgingswhile researchingat the National Archives andthe Universityof the West Indies in Trinidad and To- bago;EonandMarilynSinclairforprovidingcontactsinGuyana,andOsricBest for his time and generosity; George and Elaine Brooks for their hospitality in Bloomington, Indiana; and Bruno Véras, Leidy Alpízar,Vanessa Oliveira, and Dina Issakova for assistance with logistics. Sections of this book were written invariouslocations includingToronto,RiceLake,Thailand, andtheHollywood Hills.IwouldliketothankthePansrifamilyinNakhonRatchasimafortheirhos- pitality,aswellasDonaldColhourandTerrenceJonfortheirgenerosityandthe opportunity to write at the Luftschloss in the Hollywood Hills. It is a great privilege to share the story of the Kru. It has been a grand adventure. Contents List of Tables XI List of Figures XIII Foreword XV Introduction: A Free Wage Labor African Diaspora 1 Diaspora 10 Identifying the Kru 15 Significance of Hiring the Kru 24 Tracing Surfboats 29 Chapter 1: Surfboats 34 European Contact 34 Social Organization 38 Transformations on the Coast 43 Slave Trade 48 Chapter 2: Freetown – A Catalyst for Diaspora 72 Founding of Freetown 72 Freetown and British Anti-Slavery Patrols 79 Krutown 93 Relationship with the Homeland 99 Chapter 3: The Expansion of Kru Labor in the Royal Navy 103 Atlantic Ocean Network 104 Freetown 104 Cape Coast 105 Ascension Island 107 Fernando Po 109 Simon’s Town 115 Indian Ocean Network 121 Zanzibar 126 Chapter 4: Kru Labor in Expeditions and Military Campaigns 129 Expeditions 130 Clapperton’s Second Expedition, 1825–27 130 Lander Brothers’ Expedition, 1830 132 Laird Expedition, 1832–33 132
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