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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Crossing of the Gyaman to the Cross of Lorraine: Wartime Politics in West Africa, 1941-1942
Author:Lawler, NancyISNI
Year:1997
Periodical:African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society
Volume:96
Issue:382
Period:January
Pages:53-71
Language:English
Geographic terms:Ivory Coast - Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
Subjects:colonialism
Abron polity
World War II
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Politics and Government
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/723750
Abstract:In January 1942 virtually the entire leadership of the Gyaman kingdom of the Abron ('cercle' of Bonduku, Côte d'Ivoire) crossed the border into Ghana (then the Gold Coast), seeking sanctuary from the Vichy-controlled administration of the Côte d'Ivoire. Leaving the 'cercle' of Bonduku, the Gyamanhene, joined by several thousand followers who risked their lives and property, declared that 'they had left a dead flag' and had come to 'continue war until victory'. The Gyamanhene crossed not only a colonial border established almost half a century earlier, but a new international frontier between Axis and Allied blocs. The movement was undoubtedly one of protest against the excesses of French colonial policy, but it was also an affirmation of support for Charles de Gaulle and the Cross of Lorraine. The paper argues that the exodus involved a combination of 'traditional' and 'modern' interests, as the Gyaman leaders skilfully manipulated the colonial system and the wartime situation to their own advantage. It reviews not only the sequence of events, but probes the roles played by British intelligence organizations in facilitating, if not encouraging, the migration. Notes, ref., sum.
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