- Swedish Gold Coast
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Swedish Gold Coast
Cabo Corso
Svenska GuldkustenSwedish colony ←
←1650–1658
1660–1663→
→
Historic map of the Gold Coast Capital Fort Christiansborg Language(s) Swedish Political structure Colony King/Queen of Sweden - 1632-1654 Christina - 1654-1660 Charles X Gustav - 1660-1697 Charles XI Administrator - 1650-1656 Henrik Carloff - 1656-1658 Johan Filip von Krusenstierna - 1659-1660 Johan Filip von Krusenstierna - 1663 Tönnies Voss Historical era Colonial period - Established 1650 - Danish conquest 1658 - Treaty of Copenhagen 1660 - Fall 1663 Today part of Ghana
Togo
The Swedish Gold Coast was a Swedish colony founded in 1650 on the Gulf of Guinea in present-day Ghana and Togo in West Africa. It lasted to April 1663 when the whole Swedish Gold Coast was seized by the Danes, and integrated in the Danish Gold Coast.
Contents
Geography
The colony consisted of only a few forts and trading posts scattered around Cabo Corso (present-day Cape Coast) along the coast on the Gulf of Guinea in what later would become the British Gold Coast.
The colony consisted of fortifications and trading posts (factories):
- Fort Carlsborg (also Carolusborg and Cape Coast Castle), present day Cape Coast, Centralregion, under Swedish administration 22 April 1650 - January/February 1658, 10 December 1660 - 22 April 1663.
- Fort William (also Annamabo), present day Anomabu, Central region, under Swedish administration 1650 - 1657
- Fort Batenstein (also Batensteyn), present day Butri near Sekondi-Takoradi, Western region, under Swedish administration 1650 - 1656
- Fort Christiansborg (also Fort Frederiksborg and Osu Castle), present day Osu, Ghana in Accra, headquarters, under Swedish administration 1652 - 1658
- Fort Witsen (also Taccorari), present day Sekondi-Takoradi, Western region, under Swedish administration 1653 - 1658
- Fort Apollonia, present day Benyin, 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: Henrik Carloff, 22 April 1650 - 1656
- Governor: Johan Filip von Krusenstierna (son of Philipp Crusius), 1656 - February 1658, 1659 - 1660
- Commander: Tönnies Voss, 16 - 22 April 1663
History
Following the foundation of the Swedish Africa Company in 1649 an expedition under the command of Henrik Carloff was sent to Africa in 1650. Carloff made a treaty with the 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 1656 Johan Filip von Krusenstierna (brother of the greatgrandfather of Adam Johann von Krusenstern)[1] was appointed the new Governor. This enraged Carloff. He left Cabo Corso only to return on 27 January 1658 on the Danish Privateer "Glückstadt". Fort Carlsborg was seized and made part of the Danish Gold Coast colony.
King Charles X Gustav of Sweden made this one of his reasons to go to war with Denmark. After the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660 Cabo Corso was to be returned to Swedish administration: However it then was revealed that Carloff's associate Schmidt had already sold the colony in March 1659 to the Netherlands on his own, and had disappeared with the money.
Later on the local population started a successful uprising against their new masters and in December 1660 the King of 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 again were seized by the Danes after a long defense under the Swedish commander Anton Voss.
On 9 May 1664 the area again was seized, this time by the British who made it part of the British Gold Coast colony.
References
- ^ (German) Baltic nobility genealogy handbook Governor Johan Filip von Krusenstierna family
Sources
Former Swedish colonies
Europe Americas Africa - Swedish Gold Coast
Categories:- Former countries in Africa
- Former Swedish colonies
- States and territories established in 1650
- States and territories disestablished in 1663
- History of Sweden
- History of Ghana
- Swedish colonisation in Africa
- Former colonies in Africa
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