Dutch Gold Coast

Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea
Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea (in Dutch)
1612–1872
Flag of Dutch Guinea
Flag
of Dutch Guinea
Coat of arms
The Dutch Gold Coast around 1675
The Dutch Gold Coast around 1675
StatusDutch colony
CapitalFort Nassau (1612–1637)
Fort Elmina (1637–1872)
Common languagesDutch
Religion
Dutch Reformed
Governor 
• 1624–1638
Adriaan Jacobs
• 1656–1659
Jan Valckenburgh
• 1764–1767
Jan Pieter Theodoor Huydecoper
• 1816–1818
Herman Willem Daendels
• 1869–1871
Cornelis Nagtglas
History 
• Established
1612
• Disestablished
6 April 1872
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Portuguese Gold Coast
Brandenburger Gold Coast
Swedish Gold Coast
Ashanti Empire
Gold Coast (British colony)
Today part ofGhana

The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea) was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. The Dutch began trading in the area around 1598, joining the Portuguese which had a trading post there since the late 1400s. Eventually, the Dutch Gold Coast became the most important Dutch colony in West Africa after Fort Elmina was captured from the Portuguese in 1637, but fell into disarray after the abolition of the slave trade in the early 19th century. On 6 April 1872, the Dutch Gold Coast was, in accordance with the Anglo-Dutch Treaties of 1870–71, ceded to the United Kingdom.[1]

  1. ^ Adhin 1961, p. 6