Jan Frederik König (unknown – 17 April 1810) was a colonial administrator on the

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 ...

, who served as acting commander of the Dutch Gold Coast between 4 August 1808 and 23 February 1810.

Biography

Jan Frederik König was born in Langelsheim in the

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (german: Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 ...

. König made a career in the colonial administration of the Dutch Gold Coast, being appointed on 12 May 1801 as resident of Fort Amsterdam at

Kormantin Fort Amsterdam, is a former slave fort in Abandze, Central region, Ghana. It was built by the English between 1638 and 1645 as Fort Cormantin or Fort Courmantyne, and was captured by admiral Michiel de Ruyter of the Dutch West India Company in 1 ...

. On 13 December 1803 he became commandant of

Fort Saint Anthony Fort Saint Anthony (Portuguese: ''Forte de Santo António''; Dutch: ''Fort Sint Anthony'') was a fort built by the Portuguese in 1515 near the town of Axim, in what is now Ghana. In 1642, the Dutch captured the fort and subsequently made it part ...

Axim Axim is a coastal town and the capital of Nzema East Municipal district, a district in Western Region of South Ghana. Axim lies 64 kilometers west of the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region, west of Cape Three Points. Axim has ...

. When the acting governor-general Isaac de Roever repatriated to the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...

to recover from illness on 16 June 1805, König as the most senior resident on the Gold Coast was the logical successor. Instead,

Pieter Linthorst Pieter Linthorst (circa 1757 – 21 July 1807) was a Dutch writer of plays and political pamphlets, politician, and colonial administrator on the Gold Coast, who served as governor-general of the Dutch Gold Coast between 16 June 1805 and his ...

was appointed by the Small Council, of which König was not a member. König protested the procedure, but nevertheless accepted the decision made. After acting governor

Johannes Petrus Hoogenboom Johannes Petrus Hoogenboom (circa 1778 – 4 August 1808) was a colonial administrator on the Gold Coast, who served as acting governor-general of the Dutch Gold Coast between 21 July 1807 and his death on 4 August 1808. Biography Johannes ...

died on 4 August 1808, König became acting governor-general. During König's time in office,

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 ...

was attacked by the Fante during the

Ga–Fante War The Ga–Fante War in 1811 was a war fought by the Ashanti Empire. The war was started when an Ashanti ally started a war against the Fante Confederacy, and resulted in victory, albeit an inconclusive one, for the Ashanti. The Fante enjoyed signifi ...

. One of the reasons given by the Fante for their attack of Elmina was the activity of Jan Nieser, a Euro-African merchant based in Elmina, whom they accused of inciting the Asante to invade Fante during the

Ashanti–Fante War The Ashanti–Fante War (1806–1807) was a war fought between the Ashanti Empire and the Fante Confederacy in the region of what is currently the Republic of Ghana. The Ashanti Empire became the most powerful of the interior after finally defea ...

of 1806–1807. The siege was still ongoing when the recently arrived

Abraham de Veer Abraham de Veer (born 8 January 1767 – 1 February 1838) was a Dutch colonial administrator, who served as governor of Curaçao (1803–1804); the Dutch Gold Coast (1810–1816); Sint Eustatius, Saba (island), Saba and Sint Maarten (1817–18 ...

was installed as commandant-general on 5 March 1810 to succeed König. De Veer's appointment referred specifically to the disputes among the colonial administrators on the Gold Coast, and it was De Veer's first and foremost task to put an end to these disputes by putting a "new order of business" in place. König died soon after, on 17 April 1810.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:König, Jan Frederik 1810 deaths Colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast