The Abolitionists of the Gold Coast: Fighting the Slave Trade from Within

Long before independence, a generation of Gold Coast intellectuals and chiefs waged a quiet but determined war against the slave trade itself. This episode explores the 19th-century campaign to end slavery within African societies—a story often overshadowed by European abolition. We meet figures like Philip Quaque, the Fante priest who returned from England to preach against the trade; King Aggery of Cape Coast, whose 1865 protest against British taxation was also a stand against collusion with slavers; and the lesser-known Fante abolitionist Jacob Wilson Sey, whose wealth and influence were used to purchase and free enslaved people. We also delve into the role of the Asante Empire, which long resisted abolition, and the complex position of coastal states like the Fante who both profited from and fought against the trade. This is not a simple story of good versus evil, but a nuanced look at how Africans themselves grappled with the legacy of an institution that had shaped their societies for centuries. #GoldCoast #SlaveTrade #Abolition #PhilipQuaque #KingAggery #JacobWilsonSey #Fante #Asante #CapeCoast #19thCentury #AfricanHistory #WestAfrica #Slavery #Colonialism #History #FexingoHistory #GhanaHistory #TransatlanticSlaveTrade #AshantiEmpire #KwameNkrumah Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo