The documented history of Elmina, a town in what is now Ghana, begins in 1482 with an agreement between the Portuguese navigator Diogo de Azambuja and the ruler of Elmina, called Caramansa by the Portuguese. In it, the Portuguese were allowed to build the first European fortress in sub-Saharan Africa. For the next 150 years until the conquest by the Dutch in 1637, Elmina was the capital of the Portuguese bases on the Gold Coast, then for about 250 years the capital of the Dutch Empire in West Africa. Since the capture of the lease for the two fortresses of Elmina by the Ashanti in 1701, the city was also important to the Ashanti Empire. Until the 19th century, Elmina was one of the most populous cities in the Gold Coast, surpassing Accra and Kumasi. The trade in gold, slaves and palm oil brought the city into direct contact with Europe, North America, Brazil and, through the recruitment of soldiers, also with Southeast Asia. It was not until the takeover and destruction of the city by the British in 1873 that Elmina lost its prominent position in the Gold Coast.
Elmina before the arrival of the Portuguese
Elmina today extends over two peninsulas, north and south of the Benya River. The settlement of the southern peninsula has been documented since at least the year 1000 AD. The settlement of the North Peninsula began in modern times. Before the arrival of the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century, the population was probably a few hundred people and Elmina was thus one of the larger settlements of the coastal section later called the Gold Coast. In addition, 100 years before the arrival of the Portuguese, its inhabitants were already in trade with the Akan people of the inland area via the salt trade.Yarak 1979 Through these indigenous people, Elmina was connected to several trade routes of West Africa such as the Trans-Saharan trade routes.
A village divided into two Elmina was located on the border between two ancient Guan states, Komenda (also known as Eguafo) and Fetu. Since the Portuguese also called the later Elmina "Aldea das duas Partes", which translates as "village of two parts", it has been assumed that before the arrival of the Portuguese, there were two different fishing villages on both banks of the Benya Lagoon, one of which belonged to Eguafo and the other to Fetu. Archaeological investigations in the 1990s has shown that there was no settlement north of the Benya before the arrival of the Portuguese. Both halves of old Elmina were located on the southern peninsula. The one settlement core was located immediately west of today's Elmina Castle (and partly buried under the castle today); the other part about 400 meters west was situated at Bantuma. The reason for the division of the village into two parts may have been that both parts were located at the elevated points of the peninsula and the area in between was occasionally flooded.
Later Dutch maps show that the areas in the west and northwest of Elmina were dominated by Eguafo / Komenda, while the areas in the east were dominated by Fetu. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, the rulers of both states made claims to Elmina.
The unresolved question to the political affiliation of the original Elmina has led to various speculations. For example, a phonetic similarity between the word "Caramansa", which was used to refer to the "King of Elmina" in the first Portuguese reports, and the title of ruler "Mansa" of the Mandinka people from the Sahel region, led to a conclusion that Mandinka traders ruled in Elmina before the Portuguese period. Apart from the sound similarity, there is no evidence of this. Since the term Caramansa no longer appears except in the earliest reports, it is more likely that the Mandinka term was used by an African translator as a general term for "ruler".
The Portuguese period (1482–1637)
In 1471, the Portuguese first explored the coast off Elmina on behalf of the Lisbon merchant Fernão Gomes. Around 1482 they returned with a fleet of 10 caravels and two cargo ships under the command of Diogo de Azambuja.Hadeler 12 De Azambuja was commissioned to build a fortress on this site. He carried the necessary materials intended for the construction of a fortress on his ships according to European sources. The locals were interested in trading with the Portuguese and were friendly to them as long as the trade was from the Portuguese ships. The plan to build a fortress at Elmina was met with rejection. The negotiating partner of the Portuguese was a local ruler named Kwamina Ansa, called Caramansa by the Portuguese. A flowery speech by Caramansa has been handed down, which amounted to the fact that "friends who see each other occasionally remain better friends than if they became neighbors." Caramansa gave his consent for the construction of the fort after the Portuguese threatened with violence. Caramansa still prohibited the use of the sacred local rock, known to the native Elminans as , to build the fort. He also denied the Portuguese access to their freshwater supply. The destruction of the rocks for construction purposes by de Azambuja's men sparked outrage from the people of Elmina. The Portuguese managed to avoid conflict after they sent gifts to Caramansa and his officials. The construction of the Fort São Jorge da Mina began on 21 January 1482. The Portuguese built a rectangular fortress with towers at every corner on the elevated eastern end of the peninsula and called it Castelo de São Jorge da Mina, the fortress of St. George of Mina, now known as Elmina Castle. They called the place itself "El Mina", which means "The Mine", as a reference to the place as the source of the gold they wanted to negotiate. Diogo de Azambuja was appointed the first of 48 governors of Elmina. The governors of Elmina were also governors of all later Portuguese possessions on the Gold Coast.
It was no coincidence that Elmina became the site of the first European fortress on the Gold Coast. What spoke in favour of this place was that there was already an African settlement of noteworthy size as a prerequisite for trade and the use of local labour. The coast of later Ghana – in contrast to the inland – hardly had any larger villages at that time. A spring from 1479 by Eustache de la Fosse, for example, mentions only Elmina and Shama to the west as noteworthy port towns. Even in this area, it took three to four days in the 15th century before the news of the arrival of a ship had spread by drumming and the merchants had arrived there with their goods. In addition, the natural conditions were ideal. The rocky peninsula, located between Benya Lagoon and ocean, made it easier to defend against an enemy. The lagoon also served as a natural harbor. On the peninsula, there was also the possibility of mining sandstone for the construction of the fortress. De Azambuja did not carry the complete material for the construction of the fortress, as indicated in some sources, but only prefabricated stones for the foundations, archways and window openings. Most of the material for the fortress came from a quarry on the peninsula. Decisive for the interest of the Portuguese in the entire coastal section was that from there, the trade routes inland led to the sources of gold in the Ashanti area. Since salt had already been extracted in Elmina before the arrival of the Europeans and transported inland from there, a trade route to the interior already existed at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese.
Origin of the state of Elmina
The city of Elmina, formerly subordinate to Fetu or Komenda, became an independent political entity through the alliance with the Portuguese in the first decades of the 16th century and later became the state of Elmina. The state increasingly expanded its territorial sphere of influence.
Population in Portuguese times There is no reliable information on the development of the city's population in Portuguese times. It can be assumed that the rapid growth of the urban population already began at that time. The adjacent view of Elmina from the year of the conquest by the Dutch shows a large African settlement west of the fortress. Whether it had more than several hundred inhabitants is unclear. In any case, their growth is more likely to have been through immigration, especially from the surrounding villages, than through natural birth growth. The European population in the city was low in Portuguese times. When Azambuja built the fortress of Sao Jorge da Mina, he had 63 Europeans with him. At no time in the Portuguese period did more Europeans live in the city, and at the time of the Dutch conquest, the Portuguese garrison consisted of 35 men. The commanders came mainly from the lower nobility of Portugal and many of the common men were sentenced to exile in Elmina for offences. A contemporary listing in 1529 lists only four women among Elmina's Europeans, all convicted. From the Portuguese-African connections emerged the group called Mulattos. Their number can only be estimated. It is documented that after the capture of Elmina by the Dutch, the Mulattos received a special permit to settle with the Portuguese garrison on the island of São Tomé and 200 of them remained in Elmina.
Cityscape in Portuguese times The African settlement of Elmina extended directly from the walls of the fortress westwards, limited by the natural conditions (location between the ocean, lagoon and swampy lowlands) and a ban on settlement that the Portuguese issued after the construction of the fortress for the eastern part of the peninsula around their castle. The fortress itself was built in the style of medieval castles: rectangular with towers at the four corners. Probably during the 2nd half of the 16th century, the Portuguese built a cannon-reinforced wall to protect the city, a few hundred meters west of the fortress, which protected the entire settlement from the land side. The "urban area" of Elmina, enclosed by the wall and the sea or lagoon, thus covered an area of about three hectares. An indication of the hygienic conditions Elmina is given by the report of a contemporary observer, de Marees, who wrote in 1602 that the city could be smelled at sea in wind from land at a distance of 2.5 kilometers.
Relationship between Portuguese and locals of Elmina The Portuguese did not exercise unfettered power over the population of Elmina. Although the locals accepted it as a power that could settle disputes between Ghanaians. This is probably due to the role of the Portuguese as neutral outsiders. The Portuguese were able to impose a tax on fish and newly elected local Ghanaian leaders were officially recognized by them. At the same time, the Portuguese were dependent on the cooperation of the Ghanaians. As a last resort in the event of dissatisfaction with European powers, the locals were left with the effective means of leaving the city. Significant is a letter from the Portuguese king to the governor of Elmina from 1523. In it, he expressed his concern that the people there were being treated too harshly, resulting in the city's depopulation. By royal decree in 1529, the first school for locals was established in Elmina, where writing, reading and Sacred Scripture were taught.