Trajectory of Disenchantment. A Freetown Writer and the Insolubility of the Creole Problematic

Abstract

The Sierra Leonean Creoles, formed by a conglomeration of black returnees to Africa, arrived over the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century from Britain, Nova Scotia, the West Indies, and other parts of Africa. Heavily influenced by the British, their culture set them apart from the surrounding natives. That distinction resulted in critical identity problems as British philanthropy turned into colonial racism. The Rambler was a contributor to the Sierra Leone Weekly News from 1913 to 1919 and from 1929 to 1939. His work suggests that he was an energetic and informed thinker. Historians use him to support points concerning Creole and West African history, but do not examine him completely. His work, examined holistically, reveals a Creole still struggling with British abandonment, native encroachment, and Creole obstinacy while clinging to the civilizing mission. His struggle fails and eventually he dismisses the civilizing morality, subscribing instead to a racially assertive morality.