Kamfanin Royal African Company

Kamfanin Royal African Company ( RAC ) wani kamfani ne na kasuwanci na Ingilishi da aka kafa a cikin 1660 ta gidan Stuart da 'yan kasuwa na birnin London don kasuwanci a bakin tekun Afirka ta Yamma .  Duke na York, ɗan'uwan Charles II na Ingila ne ya kula da shi; An kafa RAC ne bayan da Charles II ya hau gadon sarautar Ingila a cikin 1660 Stuart Restoration, kuma ya ba ta ikon mallakar duk kasuwancin Ingilishi da Afirka.  Duk da yake ainihin manufar kamfanin shine cinikin zinari a cikin kogin Gambia, kamar yadda Prince Rupert na Rhine ya gano adadin zinare a yankin a lokacin Interregnum, RAC da sauri ya fara ciniki a cikin bayi, wanda ya zama mafi girma kayayyaki.

Masana tarihi sun kiyasta cewa RAC ta aika da bayin Afirka da yawa zuwa Amurka a lokacin cinikin bayi na Atlantic fiye da kowane kamfani. Hakanan RAC ta yi hulɗa da wasu kayayyaki kamar hauren giwa, waɗanda aka samo asali daga yankin Gold Coast . Bayan William III na Ingila ya soke ikon mallakar kamfani a cikin 1697 a ƙarƙashin matsin lamba daga Majalisar Ingila, RAC ta zama rashin ƙarfi ta 1708, ko da yake ta tsira a cikin yanayin raguwar ayyuka har zuwa 1752, lokacin da aka mayar da kadarorinsa zuwa sabon Kamfanonin Kasuwanci na Afirka da aka kafa, wanda ya dade har zuwa 1821. 

 Tarihi 

 Fage 
A yammacin gabar tekun Afirka 'yan Turawa sun zauna a masana'antu masu kagara (masu kasuwanci). Ba su da ikon mallakar ƙasa ko ƴan asalinta, kuma ƙanƙara ce ta rigakafin cututtuka na wurare masu zafi. Ƙabilun bakin teku sun zama masu shiga tsakani a tsakanin su da masu farautar bayi na cikin gida. Babu wani abin ƙarfafawa ga mazajen Turai don bincika kogin, kuma kaɗan daga cikinsu sun yi hakan. Yanayin zai iya zama na yau da kullun na yau da kullun ga 'yan kasuwa idan ba a sami gasa mai tsanani tsakanin ƙasashen Turai ba; musamman 'yan kasar Holland, wadanda suka yi amfani da abokansu na asali a kan abokan hamayyarsu. Kafin Maidowa, Yaren mutanen Holland sun kasance manyan masu samar da bayi ga gonakin Ingilishi na Yammacin Indiya, amma yana cikin manufofin Ayyukan Kewayawa na Ingilishi don fitar da su daga wannan kasuwancin mai riba. Tsakanin shekara ta 1676 zuwa 1700, darajar zinari da ake fitarwa daga Afirka ya yi kama da jimillar kimar cinikin bayi. Bayan Amincin Ryswick a cikin 1697, farashin bayi a Afirka da adadin bayi da aka fitar ya ninka sau biyu; Daga nan, har zuwa lokacin da ciniki ya ragu bayan 1807, a bayyane yake cewa bayi sun kasance mafi daraja a Afirka.

 Kamfanin Royal Adventurers Trading zuwa Afirka 
Asalin sunan kamfani na Royal Adventurers Trading zuwa Afirka, ta kundin tsarin mulkin da aka bayar a ranar 18 ga Disamba 1660 an ba shi ikon mallakar kasuwancin Ingilishi a yammacin gabar tekun Afirka, tare da babban makasudin shine neman zinare . Kwamitin na shida ne zai gudanar da kamfanin: Earl of Pembroke, Lord Craven, George Caveret, Ellis Leighton da Cornelius Vermuyden . 
A shekara ta 1663, an sami sabuwar yarjejeniya wacce kuma ta ambaci cinikin bayi .  Wannan shi ne kamfani na uku na Ingilishi na Afirka, amma ya fara sabon farawa a cikin cinikin bayi kuma akwai masana'anta guda ɗaya kawai da ke da mahimmanci don karbe shi daga Kamfanin Gabashin Indiya, wanda ya ba da hayar shi a matsayin wurin kira a kan hanyar teku ta kewayen Cape . Wannan shine Cormantin, 'yan mil mil gabas da tashar Dutch na Cape Coast Castle, yanzu a Ghana . Yarjejeniya ta 1663 ta haramta wa wasu yin ciniki da “redwood, haƙoran giwaye, ƙwaya, bayi, fatu, kakin zuma, hatsin Guinea, ko wasu kayayyaki na waɗannan ƙasashe”.  A cikin 1663, a matsayin share fage ga yakin Dutch, balaguron Kyaftin Holmes ya kama ko ya lalata dukkan matsugunan Dutch a bakin teku, kuma a cikin 1664, an kafa Fort James a tsibiri mai nisan mil ashirin sama da kogin Gambia, a matsayin sabuwar cibiyar kasuwanci da iko ta Ingilishi. Wannan, duk da haka, shine farkon jerin kamawa da sake kamawa. A cikin wannan shekarar, de Ruyter ya ci nasarar mayar da dukkan garu na Dutch ban da Cape Coast Castle kuma ya dauki Cormantin. A cikin 1667, yarjejeniyar Breda ta tabbatar da Cape Coast Castle ga Ingilishi.  

Garuruwa sun yi aiki a matsayin tashoshi da kasuwanci, kuma kamfanin ne ke da alhakin kame duk wani jirgin ruwa na Ingilishi da ya yi ƙoƙarin yin aiki da cin zarafi (wanda aka sani da masu shiga tsakani). A cikin "kotun kyauta", Sarkin ya karbi rabin abin da aka samu da kuma rabin kamfanin daga kama wadannan masu shiga tsakani. 

Kamfanin ya fadi cikin bashi sosai a cikin 1667, lokacin yakin Anglo-Dutch na biyu . Shekaru da yawa bayan haka, kamfanin ya ci gaba da yin ciniki, ciki har da ba da lasisi ga 'yan kasuwa masu zaman kansu na tafiya guda ɗaya, amma babban ƙoƙarinsa shine ƙirƙirar a 1668 na Gambiya Adventurers.  Wannan sabon kamfani ya kasance daban kuma an ba shi lasisin shekaru goma don kasuwancin Afirka a arewacin Bight na Benin daga 1 Janairu 1669.  A ƙarshen 1678, lasisin zuwa Gambiya Adventurers ya ƙare kuma cinikin Gambiya ya haɗu cikin kamfanin. 

Kamfanin Royal African na Ingila
Kamfanin Afirka ya lalace sakamakon asararsa, kuma ya mika lasisin aikinsa a shekara ta 1672, inda aka kafa wani kamfani mafi himma da ake kira Kamfanin Royal African na Ingila. Sabon lasisin da aka bayar ya fi na baya fadi, inda ya kunshi damar gina sansanonin soja da masana’antu, kula da sojoji, da kuma aiwatar da dokar soja a Afirka ta Yamma domin yin kasuwanci da "zinariya, azurfa, bakaken fata, bayi, kaya, hajojin kasuwanci da duk wani irin kaya". Har zuwa shekara ta 1687, kamfanin ya yi nasara sosai. Ya kafa sansanoni guda shida a Gabar Zinariya, da kuma wani matsuguni a Ouidah, a gabashi a kan Gabar Bayi, wanda ya zama cibiyarsa ta farko wajen kasuwanci. Gidan Ganuwar Cape Coast an kara karfafa shi, kuma ya zama na biyu mafi muhimmanci bayan masana’antar Dutch da ke Elmina. Duk da haka, rikicin tsakanin Birtaniya da Holland ya daina yin tasiri a yankin, domin Dutch ba su da karfin daukar matakai masu zafi a lokacin Yakin Birtaniya da Holland na Uku.

Cinikin Bayi

A cikin shekarun 1680s, kamfanin yana jigilar kusan bayi 5,000 a kowace shekara zuwa kasuwanni, musamman a yankin Caribbean ta cikin Tekun Atlantika. Da dama daga cikinsu an yi musu alamar da haruffan "DoY", don Gwamnan kamfanin, Duke na York, wanda ya gaji ɗan uwansa a mulki a shekarar 1685, ya zama Sarki James II. Sauran bayin kuma an yi musu alamar kamfanin da haruffan RAC a ƙirjinsu.Micklethwait, John, da Adrian Wooldridge. The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea. New York: Modern Library, 2003. . Tarihin William Pettigrew ya bayyana cewa wannan kamfani "ya fi kowace hukuma guda jigilar mata, maza da yara bayin Afirka zuwa Amurka a duk tsawon lokacin cinikin bayi ta Atlantika", kuma masu zuba jari a kamfanin sun san ayyukansa sosai kuma sun nufa yin riba daga wannan cin zarafi.

Daga shekara ta 1672 zuwa 1731, Kamfanin Royal African ya jigilar bayi 187,697 a cikin jiragen ruwansa (653 tafiye-tafiye) zuwa ƙasar mallakar Birtaniya a Amurka. Daga cikin waɗanda aka jigilar, bayi 38,497 ne suka mutu a hanya. Kamfanin da ya gabata, wato Company of Royal Adventurers (1662–1672), ya jigilar bayi 26,925 a cikin jiragen ruwansa (104 tafiye-tafiye), inda bayi 6,620 suka mutu a kan hanya.

Ayyuka na baya da kuma rashin kuɗi

A shekara ta 1689, kamfanin ya amince da cewa ya rasa ikon mallakar kasuwanci bayan ƙarshen ikon sarauta a cikin Juyin Juya Halin Glorious Revolution, kuma ya daina fitar da takardun ikon kai hari (letters of marque). Edward Colston ya mika babban kaso na hannun jarinsa ga William III a farkon shekarar 1689, domin samun tagomashin sabon mulkin. Domin ci gaba da gudanar da kamfanin da tsarinsa da kuma kawo ƙarshen mallakar sa, majalisa ta wuce dokar Trade with Africa Act 1697 (9 Will. 3 c. 26). Daga cikin abubuwan da dokar ta ƙunsa, ta buɗe kasuwancin Afirka ga dukkan ‘yan kasuwar Ingila da suka biya kaso goma cikin ɗari (10%) na haraji ga kamfanin kan dukan kaya da aka fitar daga Afirka.P.E.H. Hair & Robin Law, 'The English in West Africa to 1700', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume 1, The Origins of Empire: British Overseas Enterprise to the close of the Seventeenth Century, ed. Nicholas Canny (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 259

Daga 1694 zuwa 1700, kamfanin ya taka muhimmiyar rawa a Yaƙin Komenda a birnin tashar jiragen ruwa na Komenda a masarautar Eguafo, a inda ake kira Ghana a yau. Kamfanin ya haɗu da wani fitaccen ɗan kasuwa mai suna John Cabess da wasu masarautun Afirka kusa da su domin kifar da sarkin Eguafo da kafa katafaren sansani da masana’anta a Komenda. Ingilishi sun kwace sansanonin Faransa guda biyu sannan suka sake rasa su, daga baya Faransawa suka rusa Fort James. Wurin ya dawo hannun Ingila bayan wasu lokuta, kuma a cikin Yaƙin Gādon Mulkin Spain, an sake kwace shi sau biyu daga hannun Faransawa. A cikin yarjejeniyar Utrecht ya ci gaba da kasancewa na Ingila. Yaƙe-yaƙen da Faransawa suka yi sun jawo wa kamfanin asara mai yawa.

Kamfanin bai iya jure wa gasa da aka ƙayyade a dokar ba, kuma a 1708 ya zama mara kuɗi, sai dai ya ci gaba da aiki kaɗan har zuwa 1750. A 1709 Charles Davenant ya wallafa Reflections upon the Constitution and Management of Trade to Africa, inda ya “koma ga halayensa na rashin yarda da kuma tsatsauran ra’ayi kan Dutch.”Waddell, p. 286. Wannan risala ta nemi a sabunta ikon mallakar kamfanin na kasuwancin bayi bisa hujjar cewa gasa da Dutch suka kawo “na bukatar kula da sansanoni, abin da kamfani mai hannun jari kawai zai iya iya.” Kyaftin John Massey an tura shi a matsayin injiniya zuwa sansanin kamfanin RAC a kogin Gambia a farkon shekarun 1720; lokacin da ya ga sansanin ba shi da isassun kayan aiki kuma sojojinsa na mutuwa, sai ya koma fashin teku tare da George Lowther.

Kamfanin ya ci gaba da saye da jigilar bayi har zuwa shekara ta 1731, lokacin da ya daina wannan ciniki, ya koma cinikin hauren giwa da ƙurar zinariya.

Daga 1668 zuwa 1722, Kamfanin Royal African yana ba da zinariya ga Ma’aikatar Kudi ta Ingila. Kudin da aka ƙera da wannan zinariya ana siffanta su da giwa ƙarƙashin ƙirjin sarki ko sarauniya. Wannan zinariyar ce ta sa aka kira kuɗin da suna “guinea.”

Mambobi da jami'ai
A lokacin kafa kamfanin, kundin tsarin mulkinsa ya tanadi Gwamna, Mataimakin Gwamna, Mataimakin Gwamna na biyu da kuma Mataimaka guda 24. Wadannan Mataimaka (ana kuma kiran su Mambobin Kotun Mataimaka) za a iya daukar su tamkar kwamitin daraktoci a zamani na yau.
 James Stuart, Duke na York, wanda daga baya ya zama Sarki James II – Gwamnan kamfanin daga 1660 zuwa 1688; wanda ya cigaba da kasancewa babban mai hannun jari lokacin da ya hau karagar mulki.
 Edward Colston (1636–1721), ɗan kasuwa, mai bayar da taimako, kuma ɗan Majalisa, ya kasance mai hannun jari a Kamfanin Royal African daga 1680 zuwa 1692; daga 1689 zuwa 1690 ya kasance Mataimakin Gwamna na kamfanin, mukamin babbar shugabanci, wanda hakan ne yasa ake danganta shi da cinikin bayi.Statue of Edward Colston A Grade II Listed Building in Bristol, listing at britishlistedbuildings.co.uk, accessed 10 June 2020
 Charles Hayes (1678–1760), masani lissafi da kwararren mai lissafin lokaci, ya kasance Mataimakin Gwamna na Kamfanin Royal African a 1752, lokacin da aka rushe shi.
 Malachy Postlethwayt, daraktaThe Changing Terrain of Race and Ethnicity kuma mai yada ra'ayi na kamfanin.

 Jerin manyan masu saka jari da jami'ai masu tasiri 

 Charles na biyu na Ingila
 Sir Edmund Andros
 Sir John Banks
 Benjamin Bathurst, Mataimakin Gwamnan Leeward Islands
 Henry Bennet, Earl na farko na Arlington
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 Earl na Craven
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 Ferdinand Gorges jikan Ferdinando Gorges
 Francis, Lord Hawley
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 Sir Jeffrey Jeffreys
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 James Phipps
 Thomas Povey
 Sir William Prichard
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 Prince Rupert
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 Sir John Shaw
 Sir Robert Vyner
 Matthew Wren

 Rushewa 

Kamfanin Royal African ya rushe ta dokar African Company Act 1750, inda aka mayar da kadarorinsa zuwa Kamfanin 'Yan Kasuwa na Afirka. Wadannan sun hada da manyan wuraren kasuwanci tara a gabar tekun Gold Coast da ake kira masana'antu: Fort Anomabo, Fort James, Fort Sekondi, Fort Winneba, Fort Apollonia, Fort Tantumquery, Fort Metal Cross, Fort Komenda da Cape Coast Castle, wanda shine cibiyar gudanarwa.

 Manazarta 

Ƙara karatu

 Davies, Kenneth Gordon. The Royal African Company. Routledge/Thoemmes Press, 1999. 
 Pettigrew, William A. Freedom's Debt: The Royal African Company and the Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1672–1752. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2013.