Sierra Leone Inheritance by Fyfe, Christopher (1964)
The Aku Recaptives
” The majority of recaptives in the [Sierra Leone] Colony were Yoruba, enslaved after the Owu War of 1821. They were known in Sierra Leone as ‘Aku’, a name derived from their greeting.
” A larger, more cohesive, group than any other, they had their own King to whom all the Aku in the Colony owed allegiance – a position the government was aware of but did not recognize.
Dr Robert Clarke, who wrote the following [in 1843], was Assistant Colonial Surgeon.
The book it is taken from is full of miscellaneous information about the recaptives, but it is not always accurate, and is unsystematically put together.
” The Akoos who form a great proportion of the liberated Africans, are pre-eminently distinguished for their love of trading, and occasionally amass large sums.
” I would cite the case of Mr Wills, the Chief of the Akoos, who died in 1840, worth two thousand pounds, invested in houses, etc.
” An Eboe, by name Ogoo, died in 1841, possessed of a large amount of property amassed as contractor of Kissy Hospital, Liberated African Yards, and Gaol. This worthy man speculated largely in cattle, rice, etc.
” From their frugal and industrious habits, the Akoos are called the African Jews. They club together their money to purchase European commodities, which they most perseveringly hawk about the streets of Free Town and in the villages.
” Many of them have settled beyond the colonial territory, and have formed a thriving settlement.
” Many Akoos have lately returned to their native country, in vessels freighted by themselves, having obtained from Government passports obtained to that effect,
” I understand they landed at Badagry.……See More
See The Origin Of The Yoruba Tribe In Nigeria
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