Brandenburger Gold Coast
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The Brandenburger Gold Coast, later Prussian Gold Coast, was a part of the Gold Coast. The
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a 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 area of 29,480 squ ...
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 Neu ...
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 ...
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 historiograph ...
.


Brandenburger Gold Coast

In May 1682 the German colonization of Africa 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 re ...
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 ...
of
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a 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 area of 29,480 squ ...
(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 e ...
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 ...
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 i ...
, 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 Tog ...
: * Groß Friedrichsburg, also called Hollandia,Accada and Hollandia: p.252. New Cambridge Modern History Atlas, H.C. Darby and Harold Fullard now Pokesu: (1682–1717), which became the capital * Fort Dorothea, also called Accada, now Akwida: (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, which formally took place three days later, when Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, crowned himself King in Prussia (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 161 ...
colony.


Governors during the Prussian era

* 1701–1704 – Adriaan Grobbe * 1704–1706 – Johann Münz * 1706–1709 – Heinrich Lamy * 1709–1710 – Frans de Lange * 1710–1716 – Nicholas Dubois * 1716–1717 – Anton Günther van der Menden


See also

*
Princes Town, Ghana Princes Town or Pokesu is located 5 km east of Fort St. Antonio on Manfro Hill in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region of south Ghana. It lies between Axim to the west and Sekondi-Takoradi to the east. On 1 January 1681, a Bran ...
*
German colonial projects before 1871 When the German Empire came into existence in 1871, none of its constituent states had any overseas colonies. Only after the Berlin Conference in 1884 did Germany begin to acquire new overseas possessions, but it had a much longer relationship w ...


References

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


External links


Grossfriedrichsburg.de
– ''(mostly in German language)''. *
Grossfriedrichsburg, a German colony in Ghana?
' (short documentary video) {{Chartered companies German colonisation in Africa History of Ghana Former colonies in Africa Former German colonies Brandenburg-Prussia Chartered companies History of West Africa 1682 establishments in Africa 1721 disestablishments in Africa 1682 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1720s disestablishments in Prussia