Henry van Hien (1857 or 1858 – 4 July 1928) was a

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

leader.

Biography

Early life and business career

Van Hien was born in

Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante people, Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal District, Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, Ghana, Centra ...

to Carel Hendrik David van Hien (1833–1864), a government official and Acting Governor of the

Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. ...

, and Elizabeth Essuman (ca. 1839–1930), sister of

Willem Essuman Pietersen Willem Essuman Pietersen (c. 1844 – 6 January 1914), also known as Willem Edmund Pietersen, was a Gold Coast merchant, politician, and educationist. He is also remembered as a goldsmith and watch repairer. Pietersen was co-founder of Mfants ...

. He was educated at the

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

Government School and, according to family tradition, went to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for further education (this was not uncommon for the Euro-African elite in Cape Coast and Elmina). When he returned to the Gold Coast in 1878, he began working as an agent for F. & A. Swanzy at Shama, and later for Alexander Miller Bros. at

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

and

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of 55,331. Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coa ...

. He was partner in the firm of his maternal uncle Willem Essuman Pietersen at Cape Coast, and managed it after his uncle's death in 1914. In his later years he was based in Accra.

Political career

In 1923, Van Hien became a member of the Cape Coast Chamber of Commerce. A year later, he was installed as temporary unofficial member of the Gold Coast Legislative Council. From 1925 until 1927, he served as extraordinary member of the said Legislative Council, and later he served as member of the Cape Coast Town Council. Van Hien served as President of the

Aborigines' Rights Protection Society The Gold Coast Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS) was an African anti-colonialist organization formed in 1897 in the Gold Coast, as Ghana was then known. Originally established by traditional leaders and the educated elite to protest the ...

and was a founder of the

National Congress of British West Africa The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA), founded in 1917, was one of the earliest nationalist organizations in West Africa, and one of the earliest formal organizations working toward African emancipation. It was largely composed of a ...

, for which he also served as president.

Educationism

Van Hien actively promoted the establishment of educational institutions in Cape Coast. He was co-founder of Achimota College and founder of St. Monica's School.

Personal life

Van Hien married Marian Victoria Plange. In his lifetime, he has both been a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Chancellor of the Anglican Church at Cape Coast. Van Hien was also a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Van Hien and Plange did not have any children. Van Hien died on 4 July 1928 of

cerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

and was buried in either the Sekondi Road Cemetery or the Anglican Cemetery in Cape Coast. Van Hien's cousin

Kobina Sekyi William Esuman-Gwira Sekyi, better known as Kobina Sekyi (1 November 1892, Cape Coast – 20 June 1956), was a nationalist lawyer, politician and writer in the Gold Coast. Biography Sekyi was the son of John Gladstone Sackey, headmaster of the We ...

was his heir.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hien, Henry van Dutch Gold Coast people 1928 deaths People from Elmina Year of birth uncertain Ghanaian people of Dutch descent