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K. R. S. Morris and Tsetse Eradication in the Gold Coast, 1928–51

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Jeff D. Grischow
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Abstract

This article investigates the anti-tsetse fly work of colonial entomologist K. R. S. Morris in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast between 1928 and 1951. Morris's main programme was directed at the Lawra District of the north-west, where he claimed to have eliminated the tsetse population and trypanosomiasis by the end of his tenure. This achievement allowed farmers to move into the formerly infested land and reclaim the area for agricultural development. As an added benefit, Morris also claimed, eliminating tsetse flies in the Lawra District reduced the incidence of sleeping sickness in the main market towns of north-west Ashanti. The article charts Morris's work, which is historically significant for a number of reasons. First, it reveals much about the connection between anti-tsetse work and colonial development doctrine in northern Ghana. Second, it highlights the importance of studying colonial practices. Morris's clearing programme appears to have worked, but it was almost certainly based on faulty theories of tsetse ecology. In this sense, the story of anti-tsetse work in the Northern Territories shows that we might learn as much from colonial practices as from colonial ideologies.

Résumé

Cet article examine les travaux menés par l'entomologiste colonial K. R. S. Morris pour lutter contre la mouche tsé-tsé dans les Territoires du Nord de la Côte de l'Or entre 1928 et 1951. Le principal programme de recherche de Morris ciblait le district de Lawra, au nord-ouest, où il prétend avoir éliminé la population tsé-tsé et la trypanosomiase au terme de ses travaux. Ce faisant, il a permis aux paysans de s'installer sur ces terres autrefois infestées et de les rendre cultivables. D'autre part, Morris affirmait également que l'éradication de la mouche tsé-tsé dans le district de Lawra avait diminué l'incidence de la maladie du sommeil dans les principales villes de marchés du nord-ouest de la région Ashanti. Cet article retrace les travaux de Morris, qui revêtent une importance historique à plusieurs titres. D'abord, ils nous renseignent sur la relation entre la lutte anti-tsé-tsé et ladoctrinedu développement colonial dans le nord du Ghana. Ensuite, ils soulignent l'intérêt d'étudier les pratiques coloniales. Le programme d'éradication de Morris semble avoir réussi, mais il reposait presque certainement sur des théories erronées de l'écologie de la mouche tsé-tsé. Dans ce sens, le récit des travaux de lutte anti-tsé-tsé dans les Territoires du Nord montre que l'on peut apprendre autant des pratiques coloniales que des idéologies coloniales.

Type
Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , August 2006 , pp. 381 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2006

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