ABSTRACT
This i s a study o f the administration o f abolition laws and the emancipation of slaves in the Gold Coast between 1 874 and 1 940. The question has been the subject of considerable discussion. Robertson's case study of post proclamation female slavery in Accra shows that the courts failed to act as an engine of freedom and sheds light on the demographics of the slaves who used the courts . 1 McSheffrey has argued that there was significant slave flight after the proclamation of emancipation and suggests that the were instrumental in freeing slaves.2 Dumett and Johnson disagreed, arguing that the impact of the abolition was inconsequential and that the courts remained marginal to the freeing of slaves.'
