Frederick Mitchell Hodgson
Encyclopedia
Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson (1851–1925) was a British
colonial administrator who was Governor of the Gold Coast
(1898–1900), Barbados
(1900–1904) and British Guiana
(1904–1911).
, Dorset
, England
.
He joined the General Post Office, and worked in the Savings Bank department between 1868 and 1869.
He was Postmaster General of British Guiana from 1882 to 1888.
In 1892 he raised the Gold Coast Rifle Volunteers, and was Major commanding this force.
Hodgson was Governor and Commander in Chief of Gold Coast from 1898 to 1900.
He was appointed K.C.M.G. on 3 June 1899.
The 1896 British expedition against the Ashanti led by Sir Francis Scott had entered Coomassie
and forced King Prempeh to submit, with all his treasures being seized except the Golden Stool of Ashanti, which had been hidden. The Golden Stool was said to be an immense throne of solid gold.
The other treasures were taken to London, where they were greatly admired for their artistic workmanship.
When the Asante demanded more political autonomy and the return of Prempeh, who had been banished, Hodgson justified British rule on the grounds that autonomy would lead to a return to the traffic in slaves.
He told them: "As regards the buying of slaves, black men may regard themselves as no better than cattle, to be brought and sold as opportunity offered or as circumstances dictated, but the white man [does] not and would not regard them so". In this view of the more humane attitudes of white men, Hodgson ignored the Atlantic slave trade
, which had ended only a generation earlier.
In 1899 Hodgson sent his private secretary, Captain Armitage, on a secret expedition to find the golden stool.
The expedition succeeded only in arousing the suspicions of the Asante.
In April 1900 Hodgson summoned the Asante Chiefs to an assembly at Kumasi
.
He asked them: "What must I do to the man, whoever he is, who has failed to give to the Queen, who is the paramount power in the country, the stool to which she is entitled? Where is the Golden Stool? Why am I not sitting on the Golden Stool at this moment? I am the representative of the paramount power in this country; why have you relegated me to this chair? Why did you not take the opportunity of my coming to Kumasi to bring the Golden Stool and give it to me to sit upon?" The chiefs listened in silence, then went home to prepare for war.
Hodgson found himself besieged in the fort at Kumasi.
The fort was impregnable to Asante weapons, and defended by machine guns and artillery in the fort's turrets.
On 15 May a force of 170 African soldiers and three British officers reached the fort after marching 238 miles from the north, bringing food and ammunition.
A relief expedition was dispatched from the coast, but moved slowly.
The Asante constructed massive barricades of logs, dirt and stones across the roads, strong enough to be impervious to artillery fire, with fortified and entrenched flanks.
After help had finally arrived, Hodgson managed to break out and reached Cape Coast Castle by July 1900, leaving a small garrison behind. Some lives were lost in the escape.
His wife, Lady Mary Alice Hodgson, nee Young, who was the first English lady to visit Ashanti, wrote "The Siege of Kumassi" an account of the siege and of the subsequent march to the coast.
Sir Frederick was appointed Governor of Barbados, succeeded by Major Matthew Nathan
.
On 26 September 1901 the Ashanti kingdom was formally annexed by Britain.
Queen Yaa Asantewa's forces were defeated on 30 September and she was captured soon after.
Future British administrators were more tactful than Hodgson, and eventually Prempe was restored to his throne and sat again on the Golden Stool.
In August 1904 Hodgson had to deal with an incident in which the Venezuelan authorities had arrested some miners whom they claimed had strayed across the border from Guiana. The men were released, but Hodgson made it clear that his government would not in future assist miners who violated Venezuelan laws.
In 1905, Hodgson intervened with sugar plantation owners in Guiana, persuading them to reverse wage increases.
He was concerned that such increases would cause "trouble" throughout the colonial sugar industry.
At the end of November 1905 dock workers in Georgetown
went on strike for higher wages, and began rioting and looting stores. On 1 December Hodgson met with members of the Georgetown City Council who had agreed to represent the strikers.
He addressed a large crowd, promising to investigate their grievances if they would disperse. The rioters refused, and over the next three days disturbances continued. Two warships arrived on 4 December with a contingent of soldiers who restored calm.
In the aftermath several hundred people were arrested and charged, with some being flogged and others spending time in jail.
No wage increase was granted.
Hodgson caused some controversy in April 1908 when he invited Sir Joseph Godfrey, the District Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge, Surgeon General, and a leading member of the Executive Council, to lay the foundation stone of the new Carnegie Library building in Georgetown. The Roman Catholics strongly objected, but the governor went ahead.
On 23 December 1911 Hodgson was appointed an officer of the new masonic lodge called the Royal Colonial Institute.
In June 1910 Hodgson ordered that the small island of "Kyk-Over-Al
", at the junction of the Mazaruni
and Cuyuni
Rivers, be cleared of its overgrowth. This revealed the remains of a Dutch fort from the late 16th century, including stone ramparts and brick pavements and relics such as bottles and clay pipes. The modern relevance was that it established the British claim to the island as successors to the Dutch.
|title=Fort Kyk Over Al
|journal=Guyana Chronicle
|date=May 5, 2002}}
|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19111223.2.19
|title=New Freemasonry Lodge
|journal=Evening Post
|volume=LXXXII |issue=151 |date=23 December 1911}}
|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=o1QMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321
|title=Four years in Ashantee
|first1=Friedrich August |last1=Ramseyer |first2=Johannes |last2=Kühne
|first3=Mary |last3=Weitbrecht |first4=Hermann |last4=Gundert |first5=Theodor |last5=Christlieb
|publisher=J. Nisbet & co. |year=1875}}
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
colonial administrator who was Governor of the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
(1898–1900), Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
(1900–1904) and British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
(1904–1911).
Early years
Hodgson was the son of the Reverend Octavius Arthur Hodgson, Rector of East StokeEast Stoke
East Stoke could be*East Stoke, Dorset*East Stoke, Nottinghamshire*East Stoke, Somerset...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
He joined the General Post Office, and worked in the Savings Bank department between 1868 and 1869.
He was Postmaster General of British Guiana from 1882 to 1888.
Gold Coast
Hodgson was appointed Colonial Secretary of Gold Coast from 1888-1898.In 1892 he raised the Gold Coast Rifle Volunteers, and was Major commanding this force.
Hodgson was Governor and Commander in Chief of Gold Coast from 1898 to 1900.
He was appointed K.C.M.G. on 3 June 1899.
The 1896 British expedition against the Ashanti led by Sir Francis Scott had entered Coomassie
Coomassie
Coomassie Brilliant Blue is the name of two similar triphenylmethane dyes that were developed for use in the textile industry but are now commonly used for staining proteins in analytical biochemistry. Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 differs from Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 by the addition of two...
and forced King Prempeh to submit, with all his treasures being seized except the Golden Stool of Ashanti, which had been hidden. The Golden Stool was said to be an immense throne of solid gold.
The other treasures were taken to London, where they were greatly admired for their artistic workmanship.
When the Asante demanded more political autonomy and the return of Prempeh, who had been banished, Hodgson justified British rule on the grounds that autonomy would lead to a return to the traffic in slaves.
He told them: "As regards the buying of slaves, black men may regard themselves as no better than cattle, to be brought and sold as opportunity offered or as circumstances dictated, but the white man [does] not and would not regard them so". In this view of the more humane attitudes of white men, Hodgson ignored the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
, which had ended only a generation earlier.
The expedition succeeded only in arousing the suspicions of the Asante.
In April 1900 Hodgson summoned the Asante Chiefs to an assembly at Kumasi
Kumasi
Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...
.
He asked them: "What must I do to the man, whoever he is, who has failed to give to the Queen, who is the paramount power in the country, the stool to which she is entitled? Where is the Golden Stool? Why am I not sitting on the Golden Stool at this moment? I am the representative of the paramount power in this country; why have you relegated me to this chair? Why did you not take the opportunity of my coming to Kumasi to bring the Golden Stool and give it to me to sit upon?" The chiefs listened in silence, then went home to prepare for war.
Hodgson found himself besieged in the fort at Kumasi.
The fort was impregnable to Asante weapons, and defended by machine guns and artillery in the fort's turrets.
On 15 May a force of 170 African soldiers and three British officers reached the fort after marching 238 miles from the north, bringing food and ammunition.
A relief expedition was dispatched from the coast, but moved slowly.
The Asante constructed massive barricades of logs, dirt and stones across the roads, strong enough to be impervious to artillery fire, with fortified and entrenched flanks.
After help had finally arrived, Hodgson managed to break out and reached Cape Coast Castle by July 1900, leaving a small garrison behind. Some lives were lost in the escape.
His wife, Lady Mary Alice Hodgson, nee Young, who was the first English lady to visit Ashanti, wrote "The Siege of Kumassi" an account of the siege and of the subsequent march to the coast.
Sir Frederick was appointed Governor of Barbados, succeeded by Major Matthew Nathan
Matthew Nathan
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG, PC was a British soldier and civil servant, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland...
.
On 26 September 1901 the Ashanti kingdom was formally annexed by Britain.
Queen Yaa Asantewa's forces were defeated on 30 September and she was captured soon after.
Future British administrators were more tactful than Hodgson, and eventually Prempe was restored to his throne and sat again on the Golden Stool.
Later career
Hodgson was Governor and Commander in Chief of Barbados from 1900 to 1904 . He was Governor of British Guiana from 1904 to 1911.In August 1904 Hodgson had to deal with an incident in which the Venezuelan authorities had arrested some miners whom they claimed had strayed across the border from Guiana. The men were released, but Hodgson made it clear that his government would not in future assist miners who violated Venezuelan laws.
In 1905, Hodgson intervened with sugar plantation owners in Guiana, persuading them to reverse wage increases.
He was concerned that such increases would cause "trouble" throughout the colonial sugar industry.
At the end of November 1905 dock workers in Georgetown
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
went on strike for higher wages, and began rioting and looting stores. On 1 December Hodgson met with members of the Georgetown City Council who had agreed to represent the strikers.
He addressed a large crowd, promising to investigate their grievances if they would disperse. The rioters refused, and over the next three days disturbances continued. Two warships arrived on 4 December with a contingent of soldiers who restored calm.
In the aftermath several hundred people were arrested and charged, with some being flogged and others spending time in jail.
No wage increase was granted.
Hodgson caused some controversy in April 1908 when he invited Sir Joseph Godfrey, the District Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge, Surgeon General, and a leading member of the Executive Council, to lay the foundation stone of the new Carnegie Library building in Georgetown. The Roman Catholics strongly objected, but the governor went ahead.
On 23 December 1911 Hodgson was appointed an officer of the new masonic lodge called the Royal Colonial Institute.
In June 1910 Hodgson ordered that the small island of "Kyk-Over-Al
Kyk-Over-Al
Fort Kyk-Over-Al was a Dutch fort in the colony of Essequibo, in what is now Guyana. It was constructed in 1616 on an islet in the mouth of the Mazaruni River. It once served as the centre for the Dutch administration of the county, but now only ruins are left...
", at the junction of the Mazaruni
Mazaruni River
The Mazaruni River is a river in northern Guyana, running from its source in the remote western forests of the Pakaraima Mountains to its confluence with the Cuyuni River near Bartica...
and Cuyuni
Cuyuni River
The Cuyuni River is a South American river and a tributary of the Essequibo River. It rises in the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela where it descends northward to El Dorado, and turns eastward to meander through the tropical rain forests of Guayana Esequiba...
Rivers, be cleared of its overgrowth. This revealed the remains of a Dutch fort from the late 16th century, including stone ramparts and brick pavements and relics such as bottles and clay pipes. The modern relevance was that it established the British claim to the island as successors to the Dutch.
Sources
|url=http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news02/nc205059.htm|title=Fort Kyk Over Al
|journal=Guyana Chronicle
|date=May 5, 2002}}
|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19111223.2.19
|title=New Freemasonry Lodge
|journal=Evening Post
|volume=LXXXII |issue=151 |date=23 December 1911}}
|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=o1QMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321
|title=Four years in Ashantee
|first1=Friedrich August |last1=Ramseyer |first2=Johannes |last2=Kühne
|first3=Mary |last3=Weitbrecht |first4=Hermann |last4=Gundert |first5=Theodor |last5=Christlieb
|publisher=J. Nisbet & co. |year=1875}}