The Brandenburger Gold Coast, later Prussian Gold Coast, was a part of 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 ...

. The

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

colony existed from 1682 to 1721, when King

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuch ...

sold it for 7200

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

s to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

Brandenburger Gold Coast

In May 1682 the

German colonization of Africa Germany colonized Africa during two distinct periods. In the 1680s, the Margraviate of Brandenburg, then leading the broader realm of Brandenburg-Prussia, pursued limited imperial efforts in West Africa. The Brandenburg African Company was charter ...

began when the newly founded Brandenburg African Company (German: ''Brandenburgisch-Afrikanische Compagnie'' ( de), which had been granted a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

by Frederick William,

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

(core of the later

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n kingdom), established a small

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, Maurit ...

n colony consisting of two Gold Coast settlements on the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

, around

Cape Three Points Cape Three Points is a small peninsula in the Western Region of Ghana on the Atlantic Ocean. It forms the southernmost tip of Ghana. Location Cape Three Points is located between the coastal village of Dixcove and town of Princes Town, Ghana. ...

in present

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

: * Groß Friedrichsburg, also called Hollandia,Accada and Hollandia: p.252. New Cambridge Modern History Atlas, H.C. Darby and Harold Fullard now

Pokesu Princes Town or Pokesu is located 5 km east of Fort Santo Antonio, Fort St. Antonio on Manfro Hill in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region, Ghana, Western Region of south Ghana. It lies between Axim to the west and Sekondi-Takorad ...

: (1682–1717), which became the capital *

Fort Dorothea Akwidaa is a small town and fishing village in Ahanta West district, a district in the Western Region of south-west Ghana, and is one of the southernmost places in Ghana. Economy The economy is primarily based upon fishing, with many fishing ...

, also called Accada, now

Akwida Akwidaa is a small town and fishing village in Ahanta West district, a district in the Western Region of south-west Ghana, and is one of the southernmost places in Ghana. Economy The economy is primarily based upon fishing, with many fishing ...

: (April 1684–1687, 1698–1711, April 1712–1717), which in 1687–1698 the

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 ...

occupied

German governors during the Brandenburger era

* May 1682–1683 – Philip Peterson Blonck * 1683–1684 – Nathaniel Dillinger * 1684–1686 – * 1686–1691 – Johann Niemann

Prussian Gold Coast

On 15 January 1701, the small colony was renamed Prussian Gold Coast Settlements, in connection with the founding of the

Prussian kingdom The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. R ...

, which formally took place three days later, when Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, crowned himself

King in Prussia King ''in'' Prussia (German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of'' Prussia (''König von Preußen''). Th ...

(after which he became known as Frederick I of Prussia). From 1711 to April 1712 the Dutch occupied Fort Dorothea again. In 1717 the colony was physically abandoned by Prussia, so that from 1717 to 1724 John Konny (in Dutch: Jan Conny) was able to occupy Groß Friedrichsburg, from 1721 in opposition to Dutch rule. In 1721 the rights to the colony were sold to the Dutch, who renamed it Hollandia, as part of their larger

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. ...

colony.

Governors during the Prussian era

* 1701–1704 – Adriaan Grobbe * 1704–1706 – Johann Münz * 1706–1709 –

Heinrich Lamy Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

* 1709–1710 – Frans de Lange * 1710–1716 – Nicholas Dubois * 1716–1717 – Anton Günther van der Menden

References

* World Statesmen.org
Ghana
* Accada and Hollandia: pg. 252. New Cambridge Modern History Atlas, H.C. Darby and Harold Fullard

External links