John Mensah Sarbah

A Ghanaian journalist and anti-colonial activist who exposed British exploitation in West Africa through his writings.

John Mensah Sarbah (1859–1925) was a pivotal voice against British colonial rule in Ghana. A trained lawyer and journalist, he published British Rule in West Africa (1898), a scathing critique of colonial policies that denied Africans political representation. His work influenced Pan-African thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois and Kwame Nkrumah. Sarbah also founded newspapers like Gold Coast Independent, using them to mobilize public opinion against forced labor and taxation. Despite being exiled by colonial authorities, his writings remain foundational texts in African historiography. His life is detailed in Wikipedia.