This paper aims at examining the mythical figure Quarshie and its interpretation. How have the narratives about the beginnings of cocoa cultivation in the Gold Coast changed throughout the 20th century and how was Tetteh Quarshie constructed as an enduring national "lieu de mémoire" that has continued to trigger fascination within the Ghanaian society? This paper will try to give an answer to this question.
The paper proceeds in three steps: Firstly, it presents the introduction of cocoa into the Gold Coast in order to enlighten this complex process marked by a few different actors, among these prominently stands Quarshie. Different sources as well as assessments in the later literature are analysed in this context.
The second chapter deals with the evolution and structures of the ensuing cocoa boom in Ghana that, despite temporal declines, still continues today. As many historians have underscored, cocoa cultivation was successfully performed by local smallholder farmers largely independent from British influence – as a consequence, the construction of Quarshie as a "lieu de mémoire" further accentuates the indigenous and emancipatory character of the Ghanaian cocoa industry.
In a third step, the commemorative culture about the beginnings of cocoa cultivation in the Gold Coast is retraced, from earlier diverging interpretations to the incremental exaltation of Quarshie. Both theoretical literature on commemoration culture and topical Ghanaian newspaper articles are thereby used. In fact, the current project of the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Museum proves that cocoa and its history remain at the core of the Ghanaian self-image – and that Quarshie’s name seems indispensable in this regard.
It is thus high time to track down this highly questionable narrative of the cocoa introduction in the Gold Coast, which has not been done yet in detail. In addition, a goal on the theoretical meta-level of the paper is to underline the merits of the "lieux de mémoire"-approach, particularly in the (West) African context where this has not yet been widely applied.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Advent – The Complex Introduction of Cocoa into the Gold Coast
1.1. The Columbian Exchange of Cocoa
1.2. The Atlantic Islands as Springboards of Cocoa to West Africa
1.3. The Different Actors in the Introduction of Cocoa into the Gold Coast
1.3.1. The Early Attempts: European traders and missionaries
1.3.2. Tetteh Quarshie
1.3.3. Governor Sir William Griffith and the Aburi Botanical Gardens
2. The Boom – The “Smallholder Crop” Becomes the “Golden Pod” for Ghana
2.1. The Take-Off of Cocoa in the Gold Coast: 1891-1911
2.2. The Boom and the Relative Decline from the Mid-1960s
2.3. The Economic Structures of the Ghanaian Cocoa Industry
3. The Memory – The Glorification of Tetteh Quarshie
3.1. The Importance of Cocoa for Ghana’s Economy and Culture
3.2. Diverging Narratives about the Pioneer(s) of Cocoa Introduction into the Gold Coast
3.3. Tetteh Quarshie’s Ascension to a Ghanaian lieu de mémoire
3.4. The Current Project of the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Museum
Conclusion
Bibliography
Sources
Literature
Newspaper articles
Appendix
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