Treaty of Butre (1656)

Infobox Treaty
name = Treaty of Butre (1656)
long_name = Dedication of Upper Ahanta and Butre

---

image_width = 250px
caption = Copy of the Treaty of Butre (1656) between the Netherlands and Ahanta (Gold Coast). Nationaal Archief, coll. OWIC 12.
type = Creation of a protectorate
date_drafted =
date_signed = 27 August 1656
location_signed = Butre, Ahanta (now Ghana)
date_sealed =
date_effective = 27 August 1656
condition_effective =
date_expiration = 6 April 1872
signatories = chiefs of Ahanta, director general of the Dutch Gold Coast
depositor =
parties = States General of the Netherlands, Dutch West India Company, government of Butre and Upper Ahanta
language = Dutch
languages =
wikisource = Treaty of Butre (1656)

The Treaty of Butre was concluded between the Netherlands and Ahanta and signed at Butre (historical spelling: "Boutry"), Gold Coast on 27 August 1656. The treaty regulated the jurisdiction of the Netherlands and the Dutch West India Company over the town of Butre and the surrounding country of Upper Ahanta, factually creating a Dutch protectorate over the area, which would last until the Dutch departure from the Gold Coast in April 1872.

Background

The country of Ahanta, in what is now the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana, constituted a regional power in the form of a confederacy of chiefdoms which had come in early contact with the European nations settling on the Gold Coast for the purpose of trade.cite book | last = van Dantzig | title = Forts and castles of Ghana | pages= 21-24]

In the middle of the seventeenth century the two European competitors in the area were the Dutch West India Company and the Swedish Africa Company. The European powers allied themselves with African states and chiefs in order to gain a sustainable upper hand. In this case the African allies were the Ahanta chiefdoms on the one hand and the state of Encasser, a political entity of which little is known, on the other.cite book | last = van Dantzig | title = Forts and castles of Ghana | pages= 25-26]

The Dutch had been active in the area for some time and resident in neighbouring Axim since 1642. In their efforts to dislodge the Swedish from Butre, where they had been established with a trading lodge since 1650, the Dutch struck up different tactical alliances, including with the people of Encasser.

After the Dutch had driven the Swedish out of the area, the director general of the Dutch West India Company, with headquarters in St. George d'Elmina in the central Gold Coast, decided that it would be beneficial to negotiate a proper treaty with the local political leadership in order to establish a peaceful long-term relationship. The Ahanta leaders, for their part, found it equally beneficial to enter into such an agreement. The 1656 treaty signalled the definitive switch in European jurisdiction in the area until 1872.cite book | last = Doortmont | coauthors = Smit | title = Sources for the mutual history of Ghana and the Netherlands | pages = 281] [cite book | last = Doortmont | coauthors = Smit | title = Sources for the mutual history of Ghana and the Netherlands | pages = 255-256]

The treaty and the terms of the protectorate turned out to be very sturdy, most likely in part because the Dutch never had the intention to interfere in the affairs of the Ahanta states. That is, except for the town of Butre, where they built a fort (Fort Batenstein) and worked in close cooperation with the local chief, who was also the second in line in the political leadership of what became known as the Kingdom of Ahanta and had its capital at the nearby seaside town of Busua.Citation | editor-last = Doortmont | editor2-last = Savoldi | title = The castles of Ghana | pages = 106-109.] [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Butre_(1656) See text of treaty at Wikisource] ]

Actually, the treaty could therefore for the most part be interpreted as a treaty of friendship and cooperation, rather than as a treaty establishing a Dutch protectorate. However, when in 1837 the king of Ahanta, Bonsoe II, rebelled against the Dutch government, and killed several officers, including acting governor Tonneboeijer, the Dutch government used the treaty as the basis for military action. An expeditionary force was sent to Ahanta, and in the war that followed King Bonsoe II was killed. Afterwards, the Dutch reorganised the Ahanta state, appointing the chief of Butre as regent, and keeping the country under close control with an enlarged military and civilian presence.cite book | last = Doortmont | coauthors = Smit | title = Sources for the mutual history of Ghana and the Netherlands | pages = 279, 282-283]

When the Dutch transferred their possessions on the Gold Coast to the British on 6 April 1872, the treaty of 1656 was still in effect, having regulated political relations between the Dutch and Ahanta for more than 213 years. This makes it not only one of the oldest, but also one of the longest functioning treaties between an African and a European state.

With the Dutch possessions the British took over all legal obligations of the Dutch as well, which included the existing treaties and contracts. However, soon after the transfer the British started to develop their own policies towards the now united Gold Coast possessions. Ahanta resisted the British take-over, with the result that the British Royal Navy bombed Butre in 1873 to achieve political submission. In 1874 Britain declared the entire Gold Coast – including Ahanta – a Crown Colony, "de jure" and "de facto" ending all former diplomatic and legal obligations.

Content

Title

The treaty is titled "Dedication of Upper Ahanta and Butre" ("Opdracht van Hooghanta ende Boutry"), which immediately indicates the nature of the contract, namely the establishment of a protectorate.

Location and date

The treaty was signed by both the Ahanta and the Dutch delegates at Butre on 27 August 1656 and took effect immediately.

Contracting partners

The contracting parties on the Dutch side were: the Dutch West India Company, for itself, and by way of its director general representing the States General, the sovereign power of the country, for the Republic of the United Netherlands. Signatories were Eduard Man, fiscal, and Adriaan Hoogenhouck, commissioner in the service of the Dutch West India Company..

The contracting partners on the Ahanta side were Cubiesang, Aloiny, Ampatee and Maniboy, "chiefs of the Country Anta". They were also the signatories of the treaty, together with Ladrou, Azizon, Guary, and Acha. Harman van Saccondé, Menemé, and Rochia, "captain of Boutry" are mentioned as additional parties in the treaty, and they ratified the treaty, together with Tanoe.

Terms

Being a dedication, the treaty is rather unilateral in its terms. Ahanta declared that in view of former good relations with the Dutch government established in the past at neighbouring Axim, and in view of the adverse circumstances caused by the war with Encasser, it was decided to invite the Dutch director general at Elmina to come to Butre and "accept possession of that what was offered him". Ahanta placed itself under the protection of both the States General of the United Netherlands and the Dutch West India Company. This was done on the condition that the Dutch fortified and defended the places under their protection, and kept the Ahanta free from the dangers of war.

ee also

* Dutch Gold Coast
* Gold Coast (British colony)
* List of colonial heads of the Dutch Gold Coast
* Swedish Gold Coast
* Treaty of Axim (1642)

References

Notes

Literature

*cite book
last = Doortmont
first = Michel R.
authorlink = User:Doortmont
coauthors = Jinna Smit
title = Sources for the mutual history of Ghana and the Netherlands. An annotated guide to the Dutch archives relating to Ghana and West Africa in the Nationaal Archief, 1593-1960s
publisher = Brill
date = 2007
location = Leiden
isbn = 978-90-04-15850-4
*cite book
last = van Dantzig
first = Albert
title = Forts and castles of Ghana
publisher = Sedco Publishing
date = 1981
location = Accra
isbn = 9964-72-010-6
*Citation
editor-last = Doortmont
editor-first = Michel R.
editor-link = User:Doortmont
editor2-last = Savoldi
editor2-first = Benedetta
title = The castles of Ghana: Axim, Butre, Anomabu. Historical and architectural research of three Ghanaian forts
year = 2006
place = Lurano
publisher = Associazione Giovanni Secco Suardo.