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William Smith (surveyor)
William Smith was an English surveyor employed by the Royal African Company (RAC) in 1726 to survey their castles in West Africa. The RAC dispatched him in response to reports of their castles deteriorating conditions and low personnel numbers. His account of the trip, ''A new voyage to Guinea'', was published posthumously in 1744, with a second edition being published in 1745. The full title of his book was ''A new voyage to Guinea: describing the customs, manners, soil, manual arts, agriculture, trade, employments, languages, ranks of distinction climate, habits, buildings, education, habitations, diversions, marriages, and whatever else is memorable among the inhabitants''. In the book, Smith gave an account of several locations in West Africa, including Fort Tantumquery and Fort Winneba. Upon Smith's return to London in September 1727, he submitted a report to the RAC indicating they could not afford the maintenance costs of the castles, which amounted to about £13,500 by 1731. ...
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Royal African Company
The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trade, trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal House of Stuart, Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the West Africa, west coast of Africa. It was led by the James II of England, Duke of York, who was the brother of King Charles II of England, Charles II and in 1685, York took the throne as James II of England, James II. It was established after Charles II gained the Kingdom of England, English throne in the English Restoration, Restoration of 1660. While its original purpose was to exploit the gold fields up the Gambia River, which were identified by Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Prince Rupert during the Interregnum (England), Interregnum, it soon developed and led a brutal and sustained slave trade. It also extracted other commodities, mainly from the Gold Coast (region), Gold Coast. After becoming insolvent in 1708, it survived in a state of much reduced activity until 1752 when its assets were ...
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List Of Castles In Ghana
During the colonial period in Ghana (at the time known as the Gold Coast) roughly corresponding to the 15th through 19th centuries, European-style coastal forts and castles were built, mostly by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. These forts linked the trading routes established by the Portuguese and acted as important market places for the gold and slave trades. Because of their testimony to precolonial and colonial Afro-European commerce (including the Atlantic slave trade) and their profound effect on the history of West Africa, a number of these fortifications and outposts were designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. Kumasi Fort in the Ashanti Region was originally built by an Asante king in imitation of these colonial forts.Kumasi Fort and Military Museum
at


Coastal reg ...
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West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom Overseas Territory).Paul R. Masson, Catherine Anne Pattillo, "Monetary union in West Africa (ECOWAS): is it desirable and how could it be achieved?" (Introduction). International Monetary Fund, 2001. The population of West Africa is estimated at about million people as of , and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 are female and 192,309,000 male. The region is demographically and economically one of the fastest growing on the African continent. Early history in West Africa included a number of prominent regional powers that dominated different parts of both the coastal and internal trade networks, suc ...
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John Nourse
John Nourse (baptised 8 July 1705, in Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ... – 24 April 1780, in London) was an English bookseller and book publisher noted for his publication of scientific books. He had dealings with a number of notable people including Benjamin Franklin. Education He was the son of a surgeon and was educated at John Roysse's Free school (England), Free School, in Abingdon (now Abingdon School). He later became a Steward of the List of Old Abingdonians, OA Club in 1747. Career Nourse became apprenticed to William Mears (publisher), William Mears as a bookseller. His brother, the surgeon Charles Nourse took over the business when he died. His premises were at the Old King's Arms opposite Catherine Street on the Strand, London. He was licensed ...
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Fort Tantumquery
Fort Tantumquery is a military structure designed to facilitate the slave trade. The Royal African Company built it in the 1720s, at Otuam in the Mfantsiman Municipal District, Central Region (Ghana), Central Region, Ghana, in what was known at the time as the Gold Coast (region), Gold Coast. In 1727 William Smith (surveyor), William Smith surveyed it after the RAC had appointed him to review their castles in Africa following disturbing reports that they were unprofitable. Smith described it as follows: :"The next Day, at Noon we anchor'd at ''Tantumquery'' in Nine Fathoms Water. I went ashore and finding their Tank pretty low, could get but Four Casks of Water which I sent off in our Yawl, Yaul. This is a pretty litte regular Fort having Four Flankers, on which are mounted Twelve Pieces of Ordnance. It is pleasantly situated near the Sea Side. The Landing-place, indeed, is but very indifferent, I have seen Eight fishing Canoes out of Fifteen overset at their Landing here, by which ...
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Fort Winneba
Fort Winneba was a slave fort designed to facilitate the trade in enslaved people. The Royal African Company built the fort in 1694, on the Gold Coast, in modern-day Ghana. William Smith, who had been appointed to review the Company's castles in Africa following disturbing reports that they were unprofitable, in 1727 surveyed the fort. He described it as follows: :"(...) the next Day eanchor'd at ''Winneba'' in Five Fathom Water. Here we were supplied with pure fresh Water from out of their Tank, and tho' we had drawn several Tons of it, I could not perceive we had lowerd it Six Inches, from whence I concluded the Tank at ''Winneba'' has a Spring in it, the bottom being all a Rock . This Fort is exactly the same Plan and Dimensions as '' Tantumquery'', nor is the Landing-Place any better. The Fort stands on a rising Ground about Fourteen Yards from the Seaside, having a handsome Avenue of Trees up to the Outer Gate. Here is also a large Spurr, which contributes very much to t ...
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London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ...
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Parliament Of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdom of Great Britain and created the parliament of Great Britain located in the former home of the English parliament in the Palace of Westminster, near the City of London. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801. History Following the Treaty of Union in 1706, Acts of Union ratifying the Treaty were passed in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, which created a new Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts paved the way for the enactment of the treaty of Union which created a new parliament, referred to as the 'Parliament of Great Britain', based in the home of the former Eng ...
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Robert W
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Scots, Danish, and Icelandic. It can be use ...
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A Voyage Through The Worlds Of The Slave Trade
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, " a", and its variant " an", are indefinite articles. History The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also written 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which consisted entirely of consonants (for that reason, it is also called an abjad to distinguish it fro ...
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Government Of The United Kingdom
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, Royal Arms , date_established = , state = United Kingdom , address = 10 Downing Street, London , leader_title = Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak) , appointed = Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarch of the United Kingdom (Charles III) , budget = 882 billion , main_organ = Cabinet of the United Kingdom , ministries = 23 Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom#Ministerial departments, ministerial departments, 20 Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom#Non-ministerial departments, non-ministerial departments , responsible = Parliament of the United Kingdom , url = The Government of the United Kingdom (commonly referred to as British Governmen ...
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Gold Coast (British Colony)
The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the administration of the Governor of the Gold Coast. These were the Gold Coast itself, Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate and the British Togoland trust territory. The first European explorers To arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial deposits of gold in the soil. In 1483, the Portuguese came to the continent for increased trade. They built the Castle of Elmina, the first European settlement on the Gold Coast. From here they acquired slaves and gold in trade for European goods, such as metal knives, beads, mirrors, rum, and guns. News of the successful trading spread quickly, and British, Dutch, Danish, Prussian and Swedish traders ar ...
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