Portuguese Gold Coast

Portuguese colony in west Africa (1482–1642)

The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present day Ghana) along the Gulf of Guinea. Established in 1482, the colony was officially incorporated into Dutch territory in 1642 From their seat of power at the fortress of São Jorge da Mina (located in modern Elmina), the Portuguese commanded a vast internal slave trade, creating a slave network that would expand after the end of Portuguese colonialism in the region. The primary export of the colony was gold, which was obtained through barter with the local population. Portuguese presence along the Gold Coast increased seamanship and trade in the Gulf, introduced American crops (such as maize and cassava) into the African agricultural landscape, and made Portuguese an enduring language of trade in the area.

In 1471, Portuguese explorers encountered fishing villages rich with ivory and gold along the Atlantic coast of modern day Ghana, which the Portuguese called the Gold Coast. The castle was erected near a populated African town which was also called Elmina. The other major Portuguese settlements on the Gold Coast included the following: After the Portuguese threatened violence, Caramansa met Portuguese demands. However, he prohibited the use of sacred local rock, known to the native Elminans as Kokobo, and forbid the Portuguese from accessing the natives’ freshwater supply. In order to establish good trade relationships with neighboring African nations, the Portuguese frequently extended gifts to the leaders of interior states, including to the Eguafo state to which Elmina belonged. Portuguese violence along the coast soured their relations with neighboring African states; as such, the Portuguese lacked sufficient manpower to enforce their rule across the entire Gulf of Guinea. Portuguese influence along the Gold Coast extended from an area near modern day New Town, Ghana, in the west to the historic settlement of Adda (near modern day Denu, Ghana) in the east. Other European nations conducting trade in the Gulf, including the English and Dutch, offered lower priced commodities than the Portuguese, driving many Africans to accept the risk of Portuguese retaliation in order to yield a larger profit from trade. After gaining some local support, the Dutch were better equipped to take on the opposing Portuguese forces and succeeded in capturing a hill facing the fort of Elmina. After enduring days of cannon fire, the Portuguese conceded, and Elmina castle officially came under Dutch control on August 29, 1637. Without their stronghold in Elmina, the Portuguese were completely expelled from the region by 1642. The following is a list of the known donatary captaincies in São Jorge da Mina:
+Duration of TermDonatary Captain1482 —1485Diogo de Azambuja1485 —1486Álvaro Vaz Pestanoc. mid 1480s — n. dÁlvaro Mascarenhasc.1487 — n. dJoão Fogaça1495 — 1499Lopo Soares de Albergariac.1499 — c.1503Fernão Lopes Correiac.1503 — c.1506Diogo Lopes de Sequeirac.1506 — c.1509António de Bobadilhac.1510 — n. dManuel de Góis1513 — n. dAfonso Caldeirac.1513 — n. dAntónio Fróis1514 — c.1516Nuno Vaz de Castelo Brancoc.1516 — 1519Fernão Lopes Correia1519 — 1522Duarte Pacheco Pereira1522 — 1524Afonso de Albuquerque1524 — 1525João de Barros1526 — 1529João Vaz de Almada1529 — 1532Estêvão da Gama1536 — 1537Manuel de Albuquerque1537 — c.1540unknown1540 — 1543António de Miranda de Azevedo1541 — c.1545Lopo de Sousa Coutinho1545 — n. dDiogo Soares de Albergaria1545 — 1548António de Brito1548 — 1550Lopo de Sousa Coutinhoc.1550 — n. dMartim de Castroc.1550 — c.1552Diogo Soares de Albergariac.1552 — n. dFilipe Loboc.1552 — c.1556Rui de Melo1556 — c. mid 1550sAfonso Gonçalves de Botafogoc. mid 1550s — 1559António de Melo1559 — n. dManuel da Fonseca1559 — 1562Rui Gomes de Azevedo1562 — n. dManuel de Mesquita Perestreloc.1562 — n. dJoão Vaz de Almada Falcãoc. mid 1560s — n. dFrancisco de Barros de Paiva1564 — n. dFernando Cardoson. d. — 1570unknown1570 — 1573António de Sác.1573 — n. dMartim Afonsoc.1574 — n. dMendio da Motan. d. — c.1579unknown1579 — c.1583Vasco Fernandes Pimentel1583 — 1586João Rodrigues Pessanha1586 — n. dBernardinho Ribeiro Pachecon. d. — 1586unknown1586 —1594João Róis Coutinhoc.1595 —c.1596Duarte Lôbo da Gama1596 — 1608Cristóvão de Melo1608 — 1610Duarte de Lima1610 — 1613João de Castro1613 — 1616Pedro da Silvac.1616 — 1624Manuel da Cunha de Teive1624 — c.1625Francisco de Souto Maiorc. mid 1620s — c. mid 1620sLuís Tomé de Castroc. mid 1620s — 1629João da Serra de Morais1629 — c.1632unknown1632 — 1634Pedro de Mascarenhas1634 — 1634Duarte Borges (acting)1634 — 1642André da Rocha Magalhães1642 — 1642Francisco de Sotte

The internal African slave trade established by the Portuguese laid the groundwork for the vast networks of human trafficking that would flourish in the region during the centuries to come, as the Dutch and, later, the British capitalized on pre established trade routes during the Atlantic slave trade. After generations of intimate contact with local African dialects, Portuguese creole emerged as an important language of trade along the Gulf Coast, second only to Portuguese itself.