The Politics of Land and Urban Space in Colonial Accra

This article connects the colonial land ordinances and laws of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century with the changing meanings of property, to show both their impact, and how these developments resonated for the Ga-inhabitants of Accra and the Gold Coast Colony. The laws and African responses to them illustrate the ways in which property took on new meaning for a variety of groups. It also presents the framework for understanding why litigation, and the production of land claims became a central feature of land affairs in Accra with the continued development of the town. This analysis contributes to the existing literature on property rights in colonial Gold Coast by carefully considering the intricacies and nuances of land disputes in the colonial capital, and their intersection with larger transformations in land affairs

Archaeology · Capital (architecture · Cartography · Civil engineering · Colonialism · Economics · Economy · Geography · Gold coast · Intersection (aeronautics · Land use · Meaning (existential · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Property (philosophy · Property rights · Sociology · Space (punctuation) · African history and culture studies · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Engineering · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Law

• Mother Earth, Mother Africa & African Indigenous Religions

  Nobuntu Penxa Matholeni, Georgina Kwanima Boateng et al.•Mother Earth, Mother Africa &…•2020

  Incluir item

• Institutional Barriers to Urban Greenspace Planning in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana

  Open Access•Stephen Kofi Diko, Danilo Palazzo•Urban Forum•2019

  Incluir item

• Democracy in Ghana

  Open Access•Jeffrey W Paller•Democracy in Ghana•2019

  Incluir item

• Claiming the city

  Open Access•Damilola Taiye Agbalajobi, Damilola Agbalajobi et al.•World Development•2025

  Incluir item

• Transparency of tenure institution as a factor in ensuring equity in practice

  Open Access•Paul Boniface Akaabre•Cities•2025

  Incluir item

• Planning by (mis)rule of laws

  Open Access•Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah, Clifford Amoako•Environment and Planning C…•2019

  Incluir item

• A critique of overpopulation as a cause of pathologies in African cities

  Open Access•Festival Godwin Boateng•World Development•2020

  Incluir item

• Blockchain on stool land acquisition

  Open Access•Kwabena Mintah, Festival Godwin Boateng et al.•Land Use Policy•2021

  Incluir item

• Exploring the emergence and governance of new cities in Accra, Ghana

  Open Access•Prosper Issahaku Korah•Cities•2020

  Incluir item

• Imagining a Better Future

  Open Access•Alexander Keese•Itinerario•2020

  Incluir item

• Politics of Disaster

  Open Access•Waseem-Ahmed Bin-Kasim•The Journal of African History•2023

  Incluir item

• The Social, Spatial, and Economic Roots of Urban Inequality in Africa

  Open Access•Franklin Obeng‐odoom, Franklin Obeng-Odoom•American Journal of Economics and…•2015

  Incluir item

• Land and the Politics of Belonging in West Africa

  Richard Kuba, Carola Lentz•Land and the Politics of…•2006

  Incluir item

• Landlords and Lodgers

  Deborah Pellow•Landlords and Lodgers•2002

  Incluir item

• The Transformation of Property Rights in the Gold Coast

  Open Access•Kathryn Firmin-Sellers•Transformation of Property Rights…•1996

  Incluir item

• Sharing the Same Bowl

  Claire C Robertson•Sharing the Same Bowl•1988

  Incluir item

• Law in Colonial Africa

  Kristin Mann, Richard L Roberts•Law in Colonial Africa•1991

  Incluir item

• Law, custom, and social order

  Martin Chanock•Law, custom, and social order•1985

  Incluir item

• A political history of Ghana

  David Kimble•A political history of Ghana•1963

  Incluir item

• Land and society in contemporary Africa

  R E Downs, Stephen P Reyna•Land and society in contemporary…•1988

  Incluir item

• The migrant cocoa-farmers of southern Ghana

  Polly Hill•The migrant cocoa-farmers of…•1997

  Incluir item

• Negotiating property in Africa

  Christian Lund, Kristine Juul•Negotiating property in Africa•2002

  Incluir item

• The enigma of colonialism

  Anne Phillips•The enigma of colonialism•1989

  Incluir item

• The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa

  Lord Frederick J D Lugard, Frederick John Dealtry Baron Lugard•Dual Mandate in British Tropical…•2013

  Incluir item

• The Social Life of Things

  Open Access•Arjun Appadurai•Social Life of Things•1986

  Incluir item

• Introduction

  Open Access•A Appadurai•Social Life of Things•1986

  Incluir item

• Interpreting Cases, Disentangling Disputes

  Kristin Mann•Sources and Methods in African…•2003

  Incluir item

• Writing and Colonialism in Northern Ghana

  Sean Hawkins•Writing and Colonialism in…•2002

  Incluir item

• Africa's Hidden Histories

  K Barber•Africa's hidden histories•2006

  Incluir item

• Do African Systems of Land Tenure Require A Special Terminology

  Open Access•Kwamena Bentsi-Enchill•Journal of African Law•1965

  Incluir item

• Land Registration in Ghana

  Open Access•L K Agbosu•Journal of African Law•1990

  Incluir item

• Conflicting Claims to Custom

  Open Access•Fiona Mackenzie•Journal of African Law•1996

  Incluir item

• Patrons and Power

  A Peace, Sandra T Barnes•The American Historical Review•1989

  Incluir item

• Making the Town

  Lamont Dehaven King•History Reviews of New Books•2001

  Incluir item

• Korle Meets the Sea

  M E Kropp Dakubu, M Dakubu•Korle meets the sea•1997

  Incluir item

• Modern and Traditional Elites in the Politics of Lagos

  Brian Weinstein, Patrick Cole•The American Historical Review•1976

  Incluir item

• Korle Meets the Sea

  Carol Myers‐scotton, Carol Myers-Scotton et al.•Language•1999

  Incluir item

• Sharing the Same Bowl

  Margaret Hay, Margaret Jean Hay et al.•African Economic History•1985

  Incluir item

• Making the Town. Ga State and Society in Early Colonial Accra

  Edmund Abaka, John Parker•African Economic History•2002

  Incluir item

• A Peculiar Sharpness

  Open Access•Martin Chanock•The Journal of African History•1991

  Incluir item

• Introduction. Understanding African Land-Holding

  Open Access•Parker Shipton, Mitzi Goheen•Africa•1992

  Incluir item

• Native Administration in the British African Territories

  Anthony Sillery•African Affairs•1953

  Incluir item

• Native Administration in the British African Territories

  Open Access•Robert W Steel, Lord Hailey•Geographical Review•1952

  Incluir item

• Nigerian Land Law and Custom

  Lucy Mair, L P Mair•African Affairs•1952

  Incluir item

• Patrons and Power. Creating a political community in Metropolitan Lagos

  Jan-Georg Deutsch, Jan‐georg Deutsch•African Affairs•1987

  Incluir item

• Akan and Ga-Adangme Peoples of the Gold Coast

  A D Puplampu•African Affairs•1951

  Incluir item

• African Politics and British Policy in the Gold Coast, 1868–1900

  Edward Reynolds, E Bruce Reynolds•African Affairs•1973

  Incluir item

• The Ideas in Barotse Jurisprudence

  David H P Maybury-Lewis, Max Gluckman•Stanford Law Review•1967

  Incluir item

• African Politics and British Policy in the Gold Coast 1868-1900. A Study in the Forms and Forces of Protest

  Raymond E Dumett, Francis Agbodeka•The International Journal of…•1974

  Incluir item

• The Politics of Landholding in Busoga

  A L Fallers•Economic Development and Cultural…•1955

  Incluir item

• Land Law and Land Ownership in Africa

  Joan Vincent, Robert Debusmann et al.•The International Journal of…•1999

  Incluir item

• The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana

  Marvin P Miracle, G B Kay et al.•The International Journal of…•1973

  Incluir item

• The Political Economy of Colonialism in Ghana. A Collection of Documents and Statistics 1900-1960

  D K Fieldhouse, G B Kay et al.•The Economic History Review•1972

  Incluir item

• Land Law and Custom in the Colonies

  Ekaterina De Vries, C K Meek•Pacific Affairs•1947

  Incluir item

• The Power of Space in the Evolution of an Accra Zongo

  Deborah Pellow•Ethnohistory•1991

  Incluir item

• Family Values, Land Sales and Agricultural Commodification in South-Eastern Ghana

  Open Access•Kojo Amanor, Kojo Sebastian Amanor•Africa•2010

  Incluir item

• Concessions Scramble and Land Alienation in British Southern Ghana, 1885-1915

  Charles U Ilegbune•African Studies Review•1976

  Incluir item

• Hegemony on a shoestring

  Open Access•Sara Berry•Africa•1992

  Incluir item

• Land and Culture in Tropical Africa

  Parker Shipton•Annual Review of Anthropology•1994

  Incluir item