Brandenburger Gold Coast

colony
Part of	Brandenburg colonial empire
Year dem found am	1683
Religion anaa worldview	Protestantism
Country	Ghana, Margraviate of Brandenburg
Capital	Princes Town
Edey de administrative territorial entity insyd	Western Region
Ein location	Princes Town
Coordinate location	4°45′13″N 2°4′1″W
Date dem dissolve, abolish anaa demolish	1721

De Brandenburger Gold Coast, later Prussian Gold Coast, na e be a colony of Brandenburg-Prussia, later de Kingdom of Prussia, for de Gold Coast. Na de Brandenburg colony exist from 1682 to 1701, after wich na ecam be a Prussian colony from 1701 to 1721. Insyd 1721, na King Frederick William I of Prussia sell am for 7,200 ducats den 12 slaves to de Dutch West India Company.

Brandenburger Gold Coast

Insyd May 1682, na de German colonization of Africa begin wen de newly founded Brandenburg African Company (BAC, insyd German Brandenburgisch-Afrikanische Compagnie), a company wey administer de colony, wich na e be granted a royal charter by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (core of de later Kingdom of Prussia), dem establish a small West African colony wey dey consist of two Gold Coast settlements on de Gulf of Guinea, around Cape Three Points insyd present Ghana:

Groß Friedrichsburg, dem sanso call Hollandia,^[1] now Pokesu: (1682–1717), wich cam be de capital
Fort Dorothea, dem sanso call Accada, now Akwida: (April 1684 – 1687, 1698–1711, April 1712 – 1717), wich from 1687–1698 den 1711–April 1712 na de Dutch occupy^[2]

Governors during de Brandenburger era

May 1682 – 1683 – Philip Peterson Blonck
1683–1684 – Nathaniel Dillinger
1684–1686 – Karl Konstantin von Schnitter
1686–1691 – Johann Niemann

Prussian Gold Coast

On 15 January 1701, na dem rename small colony Prussian Gold Coast Settlements, insyd connection plus de founding of de Kingdom of Prussia, wich na e formally take place three days later, wen Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg den Duke of Prussia, he crown einself King insyd Prussia (after wich he cam be known as Frederick I of Prussia).

From 1711 to April 1712, na de Dutch occupy Fort Dorothea. Insyd 1717, na de Prussian Gold Coast colony be physically abandoned by Prussia; from then til 1724, John Konny (insyd Dutch Jan Conny) dem occupy Groß Friedrichsburg, despite de sale of de colony to de Dutch insyd 1721.

Governors during de Prussian era

1701–1704 – Adriaan Grobbe
1704–1706 – Johann Münz
1706–1709 – Heinrich Lamy
1709–1710 – Frans de Lange
1710–1716 – Nicholas Dubois
1716–1717 – Anton Günther van der Menden

Ambitions of de colony

Na Prussia be de last major European power, den first German state, make e enter transatlantic trade. Na dem relatively isolate am from major European trade hubs for de time, so na de incentive wey exist make dem enter transatlantic trade den fortify de Prussian economy.^[3]

Na dem found de colony for chaw reasons, mainly: for Prussia make e increase ein gold reserves,^[4] to supply slaves give Prussia ein entry insyd de human cargo trade, den make dem engage insyd gum arabic den ostrich feathers trade. Yet shortly after ein founding, na dem soon realize say de greatest profits only fi be made from human cargo trade as na gold eventually run scarce insyd de area, so na de focus of de colony be put almost exclusively for trading slaves.

Na Prussia sanso lease part of de island Saint Thomas insyd de Caribbean (present-day part of de U.S. Virgin Islands) from de Kingdom of Denmark as a colony to wich na e fi transport slaves, den thus na dem born a transatlantic trade between de Prussian Gold Coast den de Caribbean.^[5]

Sale to de Dutch

Under King Frederick William I, insyd 1721, after 39 years of administration, na de Kingdom of Prussia sell de remaining rights to de colony to de Dutch, wey dem rename am Hollandia, as part of dema larger Dutch Gold Coast colony. Na de king get no personal ties to de colony wey na he see am as a drain for ein kingdom ein resources.^[5] By dis time na de Brandenburg African Company loose all buh one of ein ships for de colony secof Dutch den French plundering, den competition primarily plus a growing Dutch presence insyd de area lower Prussian revenues. Na Prussia ein slave output be, for ein peak, less dan a quarter of de United Netherlands'. Na resources wey dey go into de colony be restricted as de colony near ein end.

References

↑ Accada and Hollandia: p.252. New Cambridge Modern History Atlas, H.C. Darby and Harold Fullard
↑ Briggs, P. (2014). Ghana. Bradt Travel Guide Series. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-84162-478-5. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
↑ Jones, Adam (1984). "Archival Materials on the Brandenburg African Company (1682-1721)". History in Africa. 11: 379–389. doi:10.2307/3171645. ISSN 0361-5413. JSTOR 3171645.
↑ Walter, Rodney (1969). "Gold and Slaves on the Gold Coast". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 10: 13–28.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Koslofsky, Craig; Zaugg, Roberto (2016-06-16). "Ship's Surgeon Johann Peter Oettinger: A Hinterlander in the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1682–96". Slavery Hinterland: 25–44. doi:10.1017/9781782047032.002. ISBN 978-1-78204-703-2.

External links

Grossfriedrichsburg.de – (mostly in German language).
Grossfriedrichsburg, a German colony in Ghana? (short documentary video)

[auto-1] Accada and Hollandia: p.252. New Cambridge Modern History Atlas, H.C. Darby and Harold Fullard

[Briggs_2014_p._257-2] Briggs, P. (2014). Ghana. Bradt Travel Guide Series. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-84162-478-5. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

[3] Jones, Adam (1984). "Archival Materials on the Brandenburg African Company (1682-1721)". History in Africa. 11: 379–389. doi:10.2307/3171645. ISSN 0361-5413. JSTOR 3171645.

[:1-4] Walter, Rodney (1969). "Gold and Slaves on the Gold Coast". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 10: 13–28.

[:0-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Koslofsky, Craig; Zaugg, Roberto (2016-06-16). "Ship's Surgeon Johann Peter Oettinger: A Hinterlander in the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1682–96". Slavery Hinterland: 25–44. doi:10.1017/9781782047032.002. ISBN 978-1-78204-703-2.

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