Willem Essuman Pietersen (c. 1844 – 6 January 1914), also known as Willem Edmund Pietersen, 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,

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 ...

, and

educationist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...

. He is also remembered as a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

and watch repairer. Pietersen was co-founder of

Mfantsipim School Mfantsipim is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High School and ...

in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Biography

Early years in Elmina

Pietersen was born in

Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast. Elmina w ...

to Essuman and Nana Ambaam. His paternal grandfather Nana Kobina Gwira had introduced the salt industry to Elmina. He was educated at the Dutch government school of Elmina, and was employed as a clerk for the Dutch governor of Elmina on 30 April 1864. He was however fired on 24 November of the same year because of unsuitability. Pietersen then became a trader and a personal clerk to Mr. Stoové, before establishing himself as a goldsmith and watchmaker. During the early 1870s, it became apparent that the Dutch would soon cede their possessions on the Gold Coast to the British, which led to protest among the Elminese and Ashanti, who feared an end to their substantial autonomy in a Gold Coast increasingly dominated by 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Pietersen, however, was part of the pro-British faction in Elmina led by George Emil Eminsang, who later became the first mayor installed in Elmina by the British. Pietersen was a member of the Gold Coast Volunteers and took part in the Fante-Elmina war of 1868 and in the

Third Anglo-Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victorio ...

. He left Elmina after the British bombardment of the town in 1873, and moved to Cape Coast.

Cape Coast

In Cape Coast, Pietersen founded a flourishing business under the name W.E. Pieterson & Co. For a time, he was a business partner of

Hendrik Vroom Hendrik Vroom CMG (20 May 1850 – 13 January 1902) was a Gold Coast Euro-African merchant and government official on the Gold Coast. Vroom was known as a strong supporter of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and lived in Bridge House, Elmina, ...

. He also started his political career in Cape Coast, eventually becoming president of the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society in 1907. Pietersen already had links to the Wesleyan mission in Cape Coast before 1873, and became an active member of the Wesleyan Church after moving to Cape Coast. Among other things, he was superintendent of Sunday Schools, and a lay member of Synod. Pietersen died on 6 January 1914 of

cardiac failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

, after having been ill for eight weeks. He was buried the next day at the Old Wesleyan Cemetery.

Personal life

Pietersen married Nancy Akyere and had two sons and two daughters with her. Pietersen was the maternal uncle of Henry van Hien and the maternal grandfather of Kobina Sekyi. Pietersen regarded Kobina Sekyi as his heir, and even accompanied him to the United Kingdom when Sekyi started his law studies there.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietersen, Willem Essuman Dutch Gold Coast people 1844 births 1914 deaths People from Elmina Watch technicians