History of the Gold Coast and Ashanti Vol. 1 of 2: From the Earliest Times to the Commencement of the Twentieth Century (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A History of the Gold Coast and Ashanti Vol. 1 of 2: From the Earliest Times to the Commencement of the Twentieth Century<br><br>The records of a Colony the earliest beginnings of which had their inception in the dark days of the slave-trade cannot but hold many things that modern Englishmen must recall with mingled shame and horror. The reader will find much to deplore in the public and private acts of many of the white men who in their time made history on the Coast; and some deeds were done which must for ever remain among the most bitter and humiliating memories of every Britisher who loves his country and is jealous of its fair fame. For these Dr. Claridge has done well to offer neither palliation nor excuse. On the other hand it is at least open to argument that he has occasion ally been somewhat harsh in the verdicts which he passes upon the policy of the Government and upon the actions of its servants. The historian is necessarily in the posi tion of one who is wise after the event but the large bird''s-eye view which he is enabled to take was not at the service of any save very exceptional men among those who were the contemporaries of the events which he records. This must be borne in mind for exceptional men are rare at all times and in all places and few indeed found their way to the West Coast of Africa. Due allowance there fore must be made for the imperfect appreciation which many public servants showed of the situations with which they were confronted and for the bewildering ignorance of the people with whom they were dealing by which they were so frequently hampered.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases an imperfection in the original such as a blemish or missing page may be replicated in our edition. We do however repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.