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Mouser Collection

Documents on the Upper Guinea Coast, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century

Introduction by Bruce L. Mouser

This index includes an assortment of documents that I collected during the course of research on the commercial and political history of the Upper Guinea Coast. Nearly all are reports written by colonial officials or by missionaries, either as journals of expeditions into the interior or as commissioned reports respecting circumstances or specific events upon the coast. Nearly all government reports were found as enclosures in regular correspondence between British offices and the colonies.  

I found these sufficiently compelling and time consuming at the time to have them microfilmed or photocopied, with plans to transcribe, analyze, and possibly publish them later. The documents are arranged here using their addresses as used by the relevant archive. Each is given a title and a brief introduction. When possible, a copy of the original document is supplied. And lastly, the transcribed version is given. In some cases, reports are heavily annotated. In others, no annotations are included. All documents are in the public domain and therefore do not require the written permission of the National Archive for their use.

I also include here copies of articles, conference papers, general notes taken from documents, bibliography of items photocopied, list of notes taken from books and articles, and so forth. These are original works.

See also a listing of difficult to find articles that relate to the Rio Pongo. Many are digitized and available here.

Admiralty Records. The National Archive, UK:
– ADM 7
– ADM 51 – Note cards taken in 1966 and 1967
– ADM 53 – Note cards taken in 1966 and 1967

Board of Trade Records. The National Archive, UK:

Church Missionary Society Records. Church Mission Society Archive, Birmingham University, UK:

Colonial Office Records. The National Archive, UK:
– CO 2 – Note cards taken in 1966 and 1967

– CO 267 – Note cards taken in 1966 and 1967;

Summary;

files 6-198;

files 203-239;

files 240-255;

files 255 to 348.

  • 41.Circular – Circular regarding Peddie/Campbell expedition of 1815-16
  • 60.6 – Translation of letter, Almaami AbdulKader of Timbo to Governor McCarthy, c.June 1824
  • 82.68 – Memoir upon Bulama and the Rio Grande … 1827.
  • 82.Confidential – Threat of American Colony in the Rio Pongo, 1827.
  • 102 – Translation of letter, AbuBakr to Governor of Sierra Leone, c.March 1830
  • 110 – Letter, Campbell to Findlay, regarding slave trading in the Rio Pongo, March 1831
  • 115.X – Diary of an Expedition to Lafoure, Capital of Benna, in 1832.
  • 149.31 – Colony’s 1837 intervention at Magbele and the Forekariah Fence
  • 215.93 – British expedition to the Rio Nunez early in 1850
  • 227.Exec32 – 1852 Treaties between Britain and Rio Pongo and Sumbuya.
  • 245.Individual – Humble Memorial of Nathaniel Isaacs, 1854
  • 271.50 – Report of an official embassy sent to Kambia in 1861 to settle a chieftaincy dispute.

– CO 268 – Note cards taken in 1966 and 1967
– CO 270 – Note cards for 2 to 41

  • Vol.8, Richard Bright’s Expedition to Moria in 1802
  • Vol.8 – Journal of Alexander Smith’s voyage to KisiKisi in 1802.

– CO 271 – Note cards for 1 to 3

– CO 272
– CO 714
– CO 879 – Note cards for 1 to 29

Foreign Office Records. The National Archive, UK: 
– FO 27 – Note cards
– FO 84 – Note cards

  • 1336 – French   Treaties and Canings at Binty, 1867-1868
  • 1338 – 1869   Confirmation of Treaties of Cession signed in 1818 for Iles de Los and Moria Shoreline

– FO 313 – Note cards

– FO 925

  • 767 – Sheet VII of West Coast of Africa from Cape Roxo to Isles de Los, by Owen, Belcher, & Arlett, 1826-1834
  • 768 – Isles de Los to Sherbro Island by Owen, Vidal, Boteler, Bedford, 1826-36
  • 830 – Mouths of the Rio Pongo by Belcher, 1830

War Office Records:

Map   Collection:
"A group of maps of the Northern Rivers of Sierra Leone, also known as the Rivières   du Sud."

Maps drawn for publications: The following are listed according to region of the coast.

Theses from Institut Polytechnique Gamal Abdel Nasser, Conakry.