The Swedish Gold Coast ( sv, Svenska Guldkusten) was a colony of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Africa Company founded in 1650 by

Hendrik Carloff Hendrik Carloff (died after 1677) was an adventurer active in the 17th century. Carloff began his career as a cabin boy but rose to become the Commander and Director of the Dutch West India Company. He later joined the Swedish Africa Company and ...

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 ...

in present-day

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 ...

in Africa. Under foreign occupation for much of its existence, it disappeared for good in April 1663 when it became part 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. ...

History

Following the foundation of the

Swedish Africa Company The Swedish Africa Company ( sv, Svenska Afrikanska Kompaniet) was a Swedish trading company, founded in 1649 on the initiative of the Walloon-Dutch merchant Louis De Geer and his son Laurens, for whom Sweden had become a second home. The primar ...

(1649) by Louis de Geer an expedition under the command of

was sent to Africa in 1650. Carloff made a treaty with the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano languages, a language group w ...

''King of Futu'' (also ''Feta'') on selling some areas of land. On 22 April 1650 the Swedish Gold Coast was founded and Carloff became its first administrator. In 1652 the foundations were laid of the fort Carlsborg In 1656 Johan Filip von Krusenstierna (brother of the great-grandfather of

Adam Johann von Krusenstern Adam Johann von Krusenstern (also Krusenstjerna in Swedish; russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Крузенште́рн, tr. ; 10 October 177012 August 1846) was a Russian admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation o ...

) was appointed the new Governor. This enraged Carloff. He left Cabo Corso only to return on 27 January 1658 on the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

''Glückstadt''. Fort Carlsborg was seized and made part of the

Danish Gold Coast The Danish Gold Coast ( da, Danske Guldkyst or ''Dansk Guinea'') comprised the colonies that Denmark–Norway controlled in Africa as a part of the Gold Coast (roughly present-day southeast Ghana), which is on the Gulf of Guinea. It was coloniz ...

colony. King

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

made this one of his reasons to go to war with Denmark. After the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660, Cabo Corso Castle was to be returned to Swedish administration: However it then was revealed that Carloff's associate Samuel Schmidt (Smith, Smit) had already illegally sold the colony in April 1659 to the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

on his own, and had disappeared with the gold to

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. Later on the local population started a successful uprising against their new masters and in December 1660 the King of the

Akan people The Akan () people live primarily in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo ...

subgroup- Futu again offered Sweden control over the area. A new expedition was sent to the colony which remained under Swedish administration only for a short period. Von Krusenstierna was reappointed as administrator. On 20 April 1663 Fort Carlsborg and the capital Fort Christiansborg were again seized by the Dutch after a long defense under the Swedish commander Anton (Tönnies) Voss. On 9 May 1664 the Dutch controlled area again was seized by Robert Holmes who made it part of the

British Gold Coast 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 ad ...

colony. Swedish claims to the colony were later formally relinquished in the 1667 Treaty of Breda.

Geography

The colony consisted of only a few forts and trading posts scattered around ''Cabo Corso'' (present-day

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 ...

) along the coast on the

in what later would become the

then

. The eastern section of the colony later swapped hands from the German Empire (where it had noticeably expanded northward) to France, and then later gained independence as

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. The colony consisted of

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s and

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

s (

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

): * Fort Carlsborg (also ''Carolusborg'' and ''

Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, established ...

''), present day

, Central Region, under Swedish administration 22 April 1650 – January/February 1658, 10 December 1660 – 22 April 1663. * Fort William (also ''Annamabo''), present day

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 ...

, Central region, under Swedish administration 1650 – 1657 *

Fort Batenstein Fort Batenstein was a fort and trading post established by the Dutch on the Gold Coast in 1656. It was situated near Butre (old spelling: ''Boutry''). The fort was ceded with the entire Dutch Gold Coast to Britain in 1872. At this fort, the Treaty ...

(also ''Batensteyn''), present day

Butri Butre is a village in the Ahanta West district, district in the Western Region of Ghana. Butre contains the Fort Batenstein Fort Batenstein was a fort and trading post established by the Dutch on the Gold Coast in 1656. It was situated near But ...

near

Sekondi-Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indus ...

, Western region, under Swedish administration 1650 – 1656 *

Fort Christiansborg Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership ...

(also ''Fort Frederiksborg'' and ''

Osu Castle Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership ...

''), present day Osu, Ghana in

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, , ...

, headquarters, under Swedish administration 1652 – 1658 *

Fort Witsen Fort Witsen, also Fort Tacaray, was a fort on the Dutch Gold Coast, established in 1665 near Takoradi. This fort was destroyed after a few years, and in 1684 the site was abandoned. A map from 1791 shows, however, that the Dutch had renewed their p ...

(also ''Taccorari''), present day

, Western region, under Swedish administration 1653 – 1658 *

Fort Apollonia Fort Apollonia is a fort in Beyin, Ghana. The name Apollonia was given to the area by a Portuguese explorer who sighted the place on the Feast of Saint Apollonia, 9 February. Because of its importance during the European colonial period and its te ...

, present day

Beyin Beyin is a village in the Jomoro District, Jomoro district, a Districts of Ghana, district in the Western Region (Ghana), Western Region of Ghana. Beyin contains the Fort Apollonia Castle.Western region, under Swedish administration 1655 – 1657 *Gemoree Factory * Accara Factory

Colonial heads

Each of the three Swedish administrators had a different gubernatorial title: * Director:

, 22 April 1650 – 1655 * Governor:

Johann Philipp von Krusenstjerna Johann Philipp von Krusenstjerna (1624–1659) was a German soldier who entered the service of the Swedish Africa Company. He was the second governor of Cape Coast Castle (1655 – 27 January 1658). However, this was not to the liking of Hendrik Car ...

(son of

Philipp Crusius Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864� ...

), 1655 – 27 Jan 1658 * Danish occupation: 27 Jan 1658 – Mar 1659 * Dutch occupation: Mar 1659 – 10 Dec 1660 * Futu occupation (nominally Swedish): 10 Dec 1660 – 1662 * Commander: Tönnies Voss 16 Mar 1662 – 22 Apr 1663

References

Sources

WorldStatesmen.org: Swedish Gold Coast

{{coord missing, Ghana History of Ghana Former colonies in Africa

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 ...

Swedish colonisation in Africa Cape Coast 17th century in Ghana 1650s in Africa 1660s in Africa States and territories established in 1650 States and territories disestablished in 1663 1650 establishments in Africa 1663 disestablishments in Africa 1650 establishments in the Swedish colonial empire 1658 disestablishments in the Swedish colonial empire 1660 establishments in the Swedish colonial empire 1663 disestablishments in the Swedish colonial empire History of West Africa Ghana–Sweden relations