King Glass

R'Ogouarowe, known to European merchants as King Glass, was born circa 1790 along the Gabon Estuary. Ascending the leadership of the Agekaza-Glass clan of the Mpongwe people, King Glass welcomed American Protestant missionaries and British merchants to establish free schools and trading posts.

When French naval officers attempted to force the Mpongwe chiefs into colonial submission, King Glass refused to sign treaties, petitioning the British Parliament and Queen Victoria for diplomatic protection. Bombarded by French warships in 1845, he defended the autonomy of Glass Town until his death in 1848, revered as an early defender of African territorial independence.