King Ghartey IV (born Kwamena Akyempong; 1820 – July 30, 1897) was the king of

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 ...

, enstooled in 1872. He became king after the death of King Henry Acqual, alias Kwesi Eguasi. He was the first President of the Fante confederation. He was a politician, author, entrepreneur, statesman, innovator and philanthropist. He was a leading figure in the business transactions which flowed from 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 ...

to Britain to France. He was succeeded by King Kodwo Abeka (George Acquah Robertson).

Biography

He was born in 1820 at

and named Kwamena Akyempong. His parents are King Gyateh Kumah III and Obaapanyin Ekua Kaadze, who was a princess of

Senya Beraku Senya Beraku is a residential area in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region of Ghana. Senya Beraku is the site of Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K ...

. During his career, Mynheer Stooves gave him the name Robert Johnson Ghartey due to his intelligence and his father's name " Gyatey(Tiger)" was anglicized to "Ghartey". His wife was Sarah Efuwa Betse Ghartey. He did not have any formal education. He was able to read and write by reading books given to him by Mynheer Stooves. Through this, he was able to speak English,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. He was very religious. He died on July 30, 1897.

Career

As a young boy living in a fishing community, he worked as a fisherman. Afterwards, he worked as a

cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

in the factory of Stooves at Apam.Later, he was transferred to

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 ...

and then to Shama where he worked for 14 years. He established his personal enterprise at

Anomabu Anomabu, also spelled Anomabo and formerly as Annamaboe, is a town on the coast of the Mfantsiman Municipal District of the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of South Ghana. Anomabu has a Human settlements, settlement population of 14,389 pe ...

which he named Ghartey Bros. He worked with the European firm at

. In 1867, he was appointed treasurer then later, a magistrate for the town court by King Kofie Afedsi and the chiefs of Anomabu.

Achievements

* He dug a bore-hole at Anomabu which became the only source of water for the people at a cost of £150. * He also introduced the cover shoulder dress;Kabasrotu currently known as " Kaba fashion style" to aid cover the upper part of the body of the Fante women who went about their daily activities bare-chested. He started this initiative first on his maidservants then on the girls at his temperance society. * He created the "band of hope" which sung at church services and at funerals, using the girls at the Temperance society and his maidservants * In 1864,he measured the distance from the coast to Ashanti using his pocket watch at three miles an hour. * In 1864, he published a pamphlet entitled "A guide to coomassie". * He became the first King-President of the Fante confederation. * He instituted a branch of

Temperance Society The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders empha ...

at Anomabu with the help of Revds. T.B. Freeman, J. A. Solomon, J. Fynn and Messrs John Ogoe, J. E. Sampson among others. * He promoted the mining of gold and the timber industry in the Gold Coast. * In his reign as king, he invited European merchants to establish in winneba for rapid development of winneba. * He pioneered the cracking of palm nuts and its exportation in the gold coast.

References

1820 births 1897 deaths 19th-century rulers in Africa History of Ghana Fante people {{Ghana-bio-stub