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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Mar 2006 : 21:14:44
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Funny isn't it. Actually the first area occupied by the Latvians was St. Andrews Island in 1651. It was later captured by the British in 1661 and renamed Fort James or James Island as is commonly known today.We would have been speaking one of the slavic languages and perhaps been at center of the cold war had it not been for the annexation by the British.
James Island was taken by the French in 1695 then captured by the British in 1697 and then by the French in 1702.
Infact Tobago Island (British West Indies)was the second colony of the Latvians.
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“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
Edited by - kondorong on 15 Mar 2006 22:35:46 |
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2006 : 23:48:38
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Greetings, Yes 'funny old world' last year we had a lady from Latvia and a friend from Gambia living with us - shame we did not know of this history then, although a book was on the shelf detailing the years 1440 - 1870. This week it has been on & off the shelf following the postings. Part of which is copied below; Next, following in the wake of Carloff, a Baltic aristocrat became concerned. This was the Duke of Courland (Lithuania), then a dependency of Poland. In 1651 seamen acting for that faraway nobleman seized St Andrews Island in the River Gambia; that was the origin of Fort James (James Island) which, after 1658, fell first to the Dutch, and in 1660 to the English.........The low-standing previously uninhabited St.Andrews Island at the mouth of the Gambia was in 1651 brought from the local Nomi chief by Baltic Germans sent by James, Duke of Courland. These representatives of the ancient Hanseatic League thought that possession of this place would give them control over the river, and so enable them to levy tolls on all those, European and African alike, who used the waterway. A fort was built out of local sandstone, a Lutheran pastor appointed, and cannon on the island were placed so as to command both channels to the north & south. The plan, was to sell slaves to the Duke's colony in Tobago, but the scheme did not prosper.
The Dutch bought out the Duke of Courland in 1658, and the Baltic Governor left for Jamaica, with his goods & slaves, but the island was seized in 1661 by the English who renamed it Fort James, after the Duke of York, the future James the second, then Lord High Admiral. Thereafter, the mouth of the river remained under the influence of Britain, though the French three times captured the island, devasted it, and then abandoned it, lacking the will to occupy it permanently. A Welsh pirate captured the island in 1715 and traded extensively; afterwards the RAC strengthened the fort considerably. Regards, freedom & peace......
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The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2006 : 23:58:42
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| You did a good research. Keep it up. This way we will eventually have a small reference section on bantaba. Did deeper for knowledge is the key to progress. Netx time you see a polish say hello. We share some history. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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Janyanfara
Tanzania
1350 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2006 : 00:26:19
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Kondorong,
James Island was not Bathurst.was it?I Really agree with U for I also heard of the latvians in the Gambia in the 1600s but the Island they were I really did not gather.
If you and sab are talking that fell from the Dutch to the English in 1660,then that Island was really James Island in Nuimi near Albreda and Juffree.
This Island was very crutial in the slavery and post slavery days as it was both used as the main prison camp b4 transpotation to the Americas and then After,ti became a strategic point 4 the British to stop the slave trade.Still there is the freedom pole.This the slaves who tried to swam to the pole are let free by their masters.
Roughly 15 million people were transported from Africa to America from the 16th to the 19th centuries alone.Some of them on arrival at the southern plantations,had on their neck a notice which state:
TO BE SOLD & LET.. By public Auction.A certified cupy was found by James windron.Dated monday 18th of may 1829.They used to be sold together with rice Grain,paddy,Books, Muslins Needles and Ribbons.
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2006 : 01:00:47
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| No. James island was not Bathurst. james Island was the initial settlement and Banjul was incorporated in 1816 |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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sankahjang
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2006 : 10:01:03
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| What a history class. I'm realy learning some history.I never heard about the latvian connection to the Gambia.But like you said a very small world. Keep it up. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2006 : 23:43:21
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Hi Sab,
please can you tell me what is the name of the book you are referring too in regards to Latvia's first colony in west Africa?
peace Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
Edited by - Sister Omega on 10 Apr 2006 23:43:44 |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 11 Apr 2006 : 11:50:12
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hi all
ok ok, i think we are running too fast here. The Gambia was never a Latvian Colony.!!! just as in the same way we were never a french, dutch,portugese colony. all of whom occupied the same island the 'latvians' did. we must differentiate between colony and trading posts. colonialism only started with the famous ''Scramble for Africa Conference' in the late 19th century.
before that different European companies had 'ROYAL CHARTERS' eg. Royal African Company etc which gave them monopoly to trade along the african coasts. the River Gambia being the most navigable was strategic and controlling the mouth of the river sounds sensible. infact for more than a century European activites was restricted to the coast.
what is called The Gambia today is only very recent and infact its borders are as recent as those of modern Europe including Latvia shaped by WWI and WWII. the British were in Senegal as well but senegal was never a british colony!!!
the portugese were the first to arrive we were never a portugese colony, there is a difference!
but its true, the rulers of 'Latvia' then had a trading post on an island on the River Gambia. so was Albreda occupied by the French,
a brief history can be found at
http://www.visitthegambia.gm/Historic_sites/historic_sites.html
and on James Island and the 'latvian connection'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_James
i hope this helps
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 11 Apr 2006 : 13:57:12
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Greetings Sister Omega, The Slave Trade (The history of the Atlantic slave trade) 1440 –1870 / Hugh Thomas.
I can see from the posting your eagerness to ascertain some points but Njicks has put that to rest. Going on from the last posting, The President of the Royal African Company (RAC) was James, Duke of York (after whom New York is named). RAC would also be branded on the breasts of slaves during the last quarter of the seventeenth century. John Blunt a financial adventurer conveniently married a daughter of a director of the RAC and was behind The South Sea Company.
The South Sea Company had the same kind of obligations which had been assumed by others; in addition to its requirement to carry 4,800 slaves annually for thirty years, it had to pay the Spanish King thirty-three and half pesos in silver for each captive delivered safe & sound.
The South Sea Company agreed to buy in Africa slaves required from the old RAC; between 1715 and 1731 the South Sea Company sold altogether about 64,000 slaves.
I made reference to the book in an earlier posting; Battimaussa & Cantor, as it contains very interesting geography for l5th century within the facts. You have had much catching up to do since your return and missed it.
It is definately worth a read. Maybe you will give me your opinion in the future.
Regards, sab.
Freedom & peace.
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The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 11 Apr 2006 : 20:04:57
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Njuks
The idea of a colony had varied along with history. The Latvians certainly referred to the acquisition of Fort James as a colony. They stayed for ten years between 1651 t 1661 when the British forced them out.
Infact in the 149 years of British rule,(1816 to 1965) the whole of the Gambia was never a colony. The colony extended to only a small area to the Kombo St marys. The rest of the country was under a Protecorate and indirect rule was the system under the Traditional Chiefs who owed allegaiance to the crown. This is why PPP was called the Protectorate Peoples Party to exploit the administrative set up to their advantage and Brikama was the natural capital of the people of the protectorate and it was there that the party gained legitimacy.
So even in the case of the gambia, the idea of a colony depended on what time in history and what parts of the gambia. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To say that colonialism stareted after the berlin conference is to ingore the facts on the ground. The Berlin conference was just to legitimise it and draw up boundaries and avoid disputes especially between the French and the British.
That is why the statute of Liberty in New york was donated by the French becasue of their hatred for the British and fought with the Americans during the war of indepence to reduce the influence of brisht Crown. The statute derived its name from ( Liberte Egalite et Fraternite coined by the famous Bonarparte.
That was partly why Louisiana was sold to the Americans to increase the size of the USA to formidably stand british aggression. The French and Britsh had to sign a treaty to never go to war against each other and is celebrated every year. Infact last year or so, the Queen went to France to commemorate this treaty. International politics is all about hypocrisy.
Infact, i have said it here that those born of parents in the gambia in the "Protected" territories called the Protectorate could claim British Citizenship if they could prove that by birth. The problem is records and the few towns that had registers of birth were mainly georgetown. You can find a register of Births and deaths during colonialism at the Archives. Being born as a protected person guaranteed you santuary.
The colony was eventuallly declared for remainder of the Gambia at a time when some parts have already been many years earlier.
The Latvians certainly could not match the British power and as such moved to what is present day Tobago. They quickly disappeared in international politics.
Rememeber, the British were calling James island as a trading post even though secretely it was a colony in the making. international politics is as shrewed as the word itself wrapped in carefully crafted phrases to allay fear.
Just like kenyatta said, when the Whiteman came they asked us to pray with our eyes closed. When the prayer was finished and we opened our eyes, we had the bible while they had our Land. This was colonialism through faith. There cannot be a better example. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
Edited by - kondorong on 11 Apr 2006 20:10:10 |
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Alhassan
Sweden
813 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2006 : 22:02:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Sister Omega
Hi Sab,
please can you tell me what is the name of the book you are referring too in regards to Latvia's first colony in west Africa?
peace Sister Omega
Sister,
I think his refrence is history of the Gambia by Grey. I have the book some where here at home. This book even has a lot on the colony of SeneGambia. This was when Gambia was administrated by a leutinant govenor residing in Banjul whilst the govenor resided on Goreé Island.
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2006 : 20:39:35
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Greetings Alhassan, the book I refer to is; The Slave Trade (The history of the Atlantic slave trade) 1440 –1870 / Hugh Thomas.
regards, |
The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2006 : 22:10:42
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Hi Sab and Allhassan thank you both for your references.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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