The Aku speaking peoples of The Gambia
represent less than 2% of the population and their language is a hybrid of Creole and the English
language. Akus hold prominent positions in society as prominent public
administrators, engineers, journalists, teachers, pastors and private
business people. They are predominantly of the
Christian faith.
History:
The Aku's origins are from the descendants of former recaptured freed
slaves, (these were people who were rescued from intercepted ships
attempting to take them from West Africa to the Americas after the abolition of the
slave trade in 1807), who were repatriated back to the West coast of
Africa in the 19th century. Their origins date back to the late
eighteenth century when 400 impoverished Africans were sent to Sierra
Leone from London. They were followed by ex-soldiers who had fought
for the British in the American War of Independence and were promised
freedom if they fought on the side of the British. By 1850 the Akus
were spread across West Africa in small communities from Gambia to Bioko Island off the West African
coast.
In the 1830s the British began a large scale transfer of
some recaptured former slaves from Sierra Leone to Bathurst (now
Banjul)
and up-river to Georgetown (Janjangbureh) in the Central River
Division of The Gambia. The community excelled compared to the
indigenous communities as they had the advantage of being better
English speakers and the British saw them as a way to spread
Christianity and European values. Many were engaged in the fields of
teaching, the clergy, clerical work, skilled building workers and
labourers. Some distinguished Akus emerged such as Thomas Rafell and
Thomas Joiner who were both wealth businessmen. However, the most
prominent of them all was Edward Francis Small who was at the leading
edge of politics from the 1920s when he called for self-rule and is
regarded as the father of modern Gambian politics. The Aku community themselves
were active proponents of nationalism throughout the sub-region.
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