Danish Guinea

History

ca. 1400 Yoruba kingdom of Oyo established in southwestern part of East Gold Coast

ca. 1600 A commonwealth of Adangme tribes is created forming the Chiefdom of Ga. It is the first centralized chiefdom on the Gold Coast with its capital at Okaikoi, near present-day Ayawaso. Its cultural influences spread to other cheifdoms along the Gold Coast, and slave provinces are established for Akan slaves at Akwapim and Akwamu

ca. mid 1600s By this time, Europeans had begun trading along the coast and the Ga capital is moved to Akra. The Ga dominate coastal trade with the interior people. They establish a market at Abonse, a few miles north-east of Akra. By doing so, the Ga succeed in confining the Akim and Akwamu traders at this market to trade only with them, and prevent them from coming into direct trading contact with the Europeans on the coast. The Akim Chiefdom essentially becomes a vassal of the Ga Chiefdom.

1651 The Danish-Norwegian king, Christian IV, creates the Danish African Company to trade along the Slave Coast, the Grain Coast, the Gold Coast, and the Ivory Coast

1658 The Dano-Norwegians conquer the Swedish built castle in Osu (near Akra) and name it Christiansborg

1659 The Dano-Norwegian build Frederiksborg Castle in the Cape Coast

1671 The Danish African Company merges with the Danish West Indian Company, forming the Danish Guinea-Westindian Company

1680 The Portuguese conquer Christiansborg, only to abandon it in 1682

1682 The Akwamu take control of Christiansborg

1683 The Danes retake control of Christiansborg

1685 The Austro-Dalmatians conquer Frederiksborg Castle and rename it Cape Coast Castle. It becomes the capital of the Austro-Dalmatian Gold Coast. The Dano-Norwegians then move their capital of Danish Guinea to Christiansborg in Osu (near Akra). The Dano-Norwegian strategy from then on becomes a move of expansion east of Christiansborg to eventually dominate the entire Volta River delta.

1750s Protestant missionaries arrive in Danish Guinea

1787 Free schooling for slave children throughout Danish Guinea-Westindia. At the same time, the old Adangme commonwealth is recreated when the Krobo-Adangmes and the Ada-Adangmes join the Ga-Adangmes under the rule of Ga-Mantse Tackie I.

1788 Paul Erdmann Isert establishes the first plantations in order to prove that there is an alternative to the slave trade. He is assassinated the following year, but his projects prove to be feasable and convinces the Danish-Norwegian Crown to end the slave trade.

1792 The slave-trade is declared illegal by the Danish King. The full effect to be enforced ten years later. This ten year period so a drastic rise in the amount of slaves sent to the Danish West Indies (Cruzan Islands) as plantation owners try to ensure their share of slaves before the full effect of the ban

1803 The full effect of the slave-trade ban is enforced. The Dano-Norwegians and the Adangmes try to find alternatives to the slave trade. Palm oil and sugar plantations are experimented with, unfortunately, the Danish Gold Coast (the Volta River Delta) is the driest part of the Gold Coast and is not ideal for plantations. Only the Akwapim and Akwamu highlands are suitable. Most of Gadangmeland is coastal savanah - actually, quite unique in the Gold Coast.

1809 Danish Guinea-Westindia becomes Scandinavian Guinea-Westindia when Sweden goes into personal union with Denmark-Norway

1815 A grand irrigation project is completed so that plantations can also created in the Volta River Delta

1820 Danish Guinea split into Gadangmeland, Pepper coast and Gjebaland.