Accounting artefacts as a means of augmenting knowledge of the past: The case of Chief Hillis Hadjo and Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Nicolls

Abstract

Accounting artefacts are a useful source of information on the history of accounting techniques. However, as this article discusses and demonstrates, they can also contain rich narrative that provides additional historical insight. This article describes a journey of discovery to understand the contextual historiography surrounding an accounting artefact, looking at how the artefact came into being and its ramifications for the two main protagonists: a Creek Chief, Hillis Hadjo, and a British Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Nicolls.

Keywords

Accounting artefact archival research Edward Nicolls Hillis Hadjo Indigenous peoples

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