Review of "Life on the Gold Coast," by Charles Alexander Gordon

 Review of

Life on the Gold Coast, by Charles Alexander Gordon

Five out of five stars

When the British Empire was being created

 The geographical phrase Gold Coast refers to the western coast of Africa in what is now Ghana and Togo. It was given the name because that area was a source of gold for centuries. It was also a major collection point for African slaves that were transported to the Americas. The British government formally took control and made it a crown colony in 1821.

 Charles Alexander Gordon was a prominent British physician, he was even an honorary physician to Queen Victoria. He was also a well-traveled military man of 39 years that somehow managed to survive many combat situations where he treated the wounded. He was literally present at many of the battles that created the worldwide British Empire. He also somehow managed to live to the age of 78.

 He is known for writing many books, in this case he is writing about his experiences serving along the Gold Coast. Service there was for most people a death sentence, tropical diseases claimed a large percentage of the British people that went to Africa to carve out, maintain and expand the Empire. The area was commonly known as “the white man’s grave.” Gordon arrived at the Gold Coast in 1847, thirteen years after the British government abolished slavery in 1834.

 His descriptions of the actions of the members of the African tribes is a lesson in how slavery functioned as a business model, specifically from the source. Even though the British government abolished the slave trade in 1807, that did nothing to stop the internal trade in Africa. Gordon recounts how the various tribes capture and utilize slaves from other tribes and how beheadings of perceived enemies is a routine practice. Gordon is also historically aware enough to remind the reader that the brutal execution of enemies was once a practice in Western Europe.

 This book, told by one of the people present at the creation of the worldwide British Empire, is a very interesting rendition of how the native tribal chiefs exerted control over their territories and fought their enemies. It is easy to understand why it was relatively easy for the British to exert control using a minimum of military force.

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