Dutch Gold Coast

Origins

Dutch merchants began trading on the Gold Coast in the 1590s, challenging the Portuguese monopoly. In 1612, at the invitation of the Kingdom of Asebu, they built Fort Nassau at Moree. The Dutch West India Company captured Elmina from the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1637 and Axim in 1642, making Elmina its headquarters.

Rule and society

A director-general at Elmina governed a chain of forts and lodges along the coast, trading cloth, guns and metal goods for gold and, from the late 17th century, enslaved Africans shipped to Dutch colonies in the Americas. Relations with inland powers such as Denkyira and the Ashanti Empire were vital; Ashanti held the Elmina Note, a rent paid by the Dutch. In the 1830s and 1840s the Dutch recruited soldiers there for the East Indies army.

Decline and legacy

In 1868 the Dutch and British exchanged forts to consolidate their zones, and in 1872 the Netherlands handed its remaining posts to Britain. They became part of the Gold Coast Colony, and Elmina Castle is now a World Heritage Site.