Samuel Rowe (colonial administrator)
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Sir Samuel Rowe (23 March 1835 – 28 August 1888) was a British doctor and colonial administrator who was twice governor of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, and also served as administrator of
the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, governor of the Gold Coast and governor-general of the West Africa settlements. He was known for his ability to form pro-British relationships with the local people. He was in favour of a vigorous programme of expansion from the coast into the interior in response to French activity in the
Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
region, at times in opposition to
Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...
policy.


Early years

Samuel Rowe was born on 23 March 1835 at
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
, Cheshire. He was the youngest son of George Hambly Rowe, a Wesleyan minister, and Lydia Ramshall of London. He was educated at private schools, then studied medicine under Joseph Denton of Leicester and others. He qualified as a doctor in 1856. He was appointed to the army medical staff in 1862 and assigned to
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
in West Africa. Rowe married Susannah, daughter of William Gatliff of Hawker Hall, Whitby, Yorkshire. They had one son, who died young.


Colonial surgeon

Rowe arrived in Lagos in July 1862 and was soon appointed a judicial assessor in the chief magistrate's court and a slave commissioner, a difficult position. He afterwards became colonial surgeon. Rowe got on well with the local people, who would later call him "Old Red Breeches", and was made a commandant of the eastern districts. He was appointed special commissioner to make a treaty with the town of Epe in the
Ijebu Kingdom Ijebu (also known as Jebu or Geebu) is a Yoruba people, Yoruba kingdom in Nigeria. It was formed around the fifteenth century. According to legend, its ruling dynasty was founded by Obanta whose personal name was Ogborogan of Ile-Ife. Its con ...
. He returned home on leave in July 1864, and continued his studies in Aberdeen, graduating in medicine and surgery in 1865. Rowe returned to West Africa in 1866 and stayed in
Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, established ...
. He was again made colonial surgeon and superintendent of the Hausas in Lagos in 1867. In 1869 he also was a magistrate and clerk of the council of Lagos. He was promoted staff surgeon in the army on 4 July 1870. He returned for a stay in England, then was dispatched to the
Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...
in January 1872. On 1 March 1973 he was appointed surgeon-major. He may have advised
Nathaniel King Nathaniel Thomas King (14 July 1847 – 12 June 1884) was one of the earliest western-trained West African doctors to practise medicine in Nigeria. Life King was born in Hastings, Sierra Leone, to the Yoruba family of Reverend Thomas and Mary Kin ...
and Sylvester Cole, members of the Sierra Leone elite, to study medicine at Aberdeen. King graduated in 1876 and returned to practice in Lagos, while Cole graduated in 1883 and entered government service in the Gold Coast. In 1873 Rowe was involved in action against the
Ashantis The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asant ...
and twice saw action near
Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante people, Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal District, Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, Ghana, Centra ...
, for which he was decorated with a medal and clasp. He was appointed to the Ashanti expeditionary force under Captain
John Hawley Glover Sir John Hawley Glover (24 February 1829 – 30 September 1885) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Governor of Lagos Colony, Governor of Newfoundland, and Governor of British Leeward Islands. Naval career He entered the service in 1841 ...
. Through his experience in working with the local people he helped to enlist
Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
volunteers. He was appointed C.M.G. in 1874 for his services in the
Anglo-Ashanti wars The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victorio ...
. In 1875, he became colonial surgeon of the Gold Coast colony. Rowe retired from the army on 4 December 1876 with the honorary rank of brigade-surgeon.


Colonial administrator


The Gambia

While still in the army, Rowe was in turn head of the governments of
the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. The Gambia was governed from Sierra Leone during this period. Surgeon Major Rowe was appointed administrator of the Gambia in June 1875. The former administrator, Cornelius Hendricksen KortC. H. Kortright, had left the Gambia on 12 February 1875 and Captain Henry T. M. Cooper was acting as administrator. Samuel Rowe arrived on 2 July 1875, but transferred to Sierra Leone the next day, leaving Cooper to continue as acting administrator. Rowe left Bathurst to take office in
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
, Sierra Leone, as acting governor. Cooper died on 9 January 1877 and on 30 March 1877 Surgeon Major Valesius S. Gouldsbury arrived to take office as administrator.


Sierra Leone

In Rowe's first tour of duty as governor of Sierra Leone in 1875–81 he was supported by the Colonial Office in pursuing a policy of aggressive colonial intervention in the interior. He led two successful expeditions against the
Sherbro people The Sherbro people are a native people of Sierra Leone, who speak the Sherbro language; they make up 1.9% of Sierra Leone's population or 134,606. The Sherbro are found primarily in their homeland in Bonthe District, where they make up 40% of ...
. On 29 April 1887 Rowe returned to the Gambia as administrator, replacing the acting administrator Gilbert T. Carter. During his brief term of office various local rulers agreed to accept British protection. On 12 June 1887 Rowe was promoted to governor-in-chief of the West Africa settlements. On 27 November 1887 he left the Gambia and was replaced by T. Risely Griffith as acting administrator. While governor-in-chief of the British West African Settlements he continued to act as governor of Sierra Leone. As governor in chief he opposed cession of the Gambia, and strongly opposed the Colonial Office police of giving in to the demands from the French. He planned the expedition by administrator V. S. Gouldsbury to the upper Gambia River in 1881. On 20 April 1880 Rowe was made K.C.M.G. (Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George). He was replaced in Sierra Leone by A. E. Havelock in 1881. The acting governor got news of Havelock's appointment from a foreign consul some weeks before this was confirmed by the Colonial Office.


Gold Coast and Lagos

On 28 January 1881 Rowe became governor of the Gold Coast and Lagos. This was a better-paid position than Sierra Leone. He replaced W. Brandford Griffith. He managed to avoid another war with the Ashantis through his diplomacy. In March 1883 Rowe issued an ordinance establishing registry offices for instruments affecting land in the Gold Coast Colony. In 1884 he was replaced by
W. A. G. Young Sir William Alexander George Young, (c. 1827 – 25 April 1885), was a British colonial administrator who acted in an interim capacity as Governor of Jamaica in 1874, and later served as Governor of Gold Coast from 1884 to his death in 1885. ...
.


West Africa Settlements

On 30 December 1884 Rowe was again appointed governor of the West Africa settlements in response to a special petition of the traders and others. Rowe took office in 1885, replacing A. E. Havelock. During his second term, following the
Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...
of 1884–85, British activity in the interior increased and there was growing competition with the French, who had colonial ambitions in the same region. Rowe was given enlarged powers to annex land to the north and east of Sierra Leone. On 11 November 1885 he signed the Havelock Draft Convention, which fixed the northwest boundary of Liberia at the southeast bank of the
Mano River The Mano River is a river in West Africa. It originates in the Guinea Highlands in Liberia and forms part of the Liberia-Sierra Leone Liberia–Sierra Leone border, border. The districts through which the river flows include the Parrot's Beak ...
, making Sierra Leone and Liberia coterminous. In 1886 Rowe was made an LL.D. by Aberdeen University. In August 1887 the Secretary of State for the Colonies said he had received a report from Rowe saying the chiefs of Jarra and Fogni, who had been suffering from raids by slave traders, had offered to place their territories under British protection. Rowe's health began to fail in 1887, in part due to worries about the advance of the French in the region. On his way home to recuperate he died at
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on 28 August 1888. He was replaced as governor by J. M. Maltby.


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Samuel 1835 births 1888 deaths Governors of the Gambia Governors of Sierra Leone Governors of the Gold Coast (British colony) Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of the Lagos Colony British surgeons People from Macclesfield Colonial Surgeons