Publication Date
2009
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São Jorge da Mina was the first permanent fortified area built by the Portuguese in Sub-Saharan Africa. Erected in 1482, the fortress owed its significance to the lucrative amounts of gold brought from the Mina Coast. In the following century, the fortress would also become an important commercial center for West African Coast slave trade. It was located in what currently is the Republic of Ghana, at the coordinates 5º 05'13.17" N, 1º20'56.57" W.
The settlement of São Jorge da Mina by the Portuguese was the outcome of decades of exploration of the West African Coast, during the 15th century. This process was intensified after 1468 with the concession to a merchant, Fernão Gomes, of the monopoly of "resgate e trato" of the Gulf of Guinea. Through this concession, Dom Afonso V would begin receiving rent in the amount of 200,000 reais per year. Fernão Gomes also guaranteed the exploration of one hundred leagues of African Coast to be conducted by ships he equipped. This concession resulted in a period of intense exploration, which led to the first acquisition of gold for the Kingdom in the Ghana region in 1471, the initial site of this activity in the Gulf of Guinea. The discovery of this source of gold occurred in the region between Cabo das Palmeiras and the Volta River, which was named Mina Coast as a result.
The profits from the amounts of gold brought from the Mina Coast grew throughout the decade, and establishing a permanent Portuguese location in the area became pressing. This necessity foreboded the emergence of European competitors, bringing Portuguese monopoly of the African Coast commerce into question. Castillians were prominent among these competitors, sending fleets to the Gulf of Guinea. This competition, would soon assume a violent nature, since the Portuguese attempted to stop Castillian intrusions into the gold commerce, being connected to the conflict around Castillian succession that was generated in the Iberian Peninsula in 1475 and 1479.
The signature of the Peace Treaty of Alcáçovas-Toledo in 1479, freed the Portuguese from this undesirable competition, and their sovereignty over the discovered and undiscovered territories south of the Canary archipelago was recognized, as their sphere of influence was confirmed by the Bull Aeterni Regis in June 1481. However, it became necessary to consolidate this influence de facto and to defend the Portuguese monopoly. While a prince, the future King Dom João II became aware of the central importance of the gold brought from the Mina Coast to the Portuguese Crown´s income. With the construction of a fortress, he intended to divert the commercial trade routes and flow of Sub-Saharan gold to the coast.
Consequently, on 12 December, 1481, a fleet was dispatched from the Kingdom, under the command of Diogo de Azambuja, a knight of the Order of Avis and one of the recently-crowned King´s trusted men. This fleet had the objective of finding a favorable location for the construction of a permanent fortress on the Mina Coast, carrying a load of prefabricated building materials that would allow for its speedy construction. Thus on 19 January, 1482, Diogo de Azambuja´s fleet reached Aldeia das Duas Partes, one of the sites where significant amounts of gold could be obtained, which clearly showed it possessed ideal conditions for the establishment of a fortress.
The site benefitted from a protected bay, one of the best natural harbors of the West African Coast, at the mouth of the Benya river, counting on a high, rocky promontory where the fortress would be erected. Furthermore, the region benefitted from natural and climatic conditions that were exotic to the Portuguese but relatively benign.
The region was densely populated and politically divided into several kingdoms with shared cultural affinities. The mouth of the Benya River marked the fronteer between two of these states: the Kingdom of Comenda or Eguafo, containing the promontory that was chosen for the construction of the fortress, and the Kingdom of Fetu or Efetu. Friendly relations between these two states were essential to the success of Portuguese occupation. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, a difficult, intense negotiation with the ruler of Eguafo took place immediately. Despite some initial reticence, the fortress was finally built during the first months of 1482, and Diogo de Azambuja took on its government until 1484.
Raised to city in 1486, São Jorge da Mina assumed the role of main locus of Portuguese presence on the African Coast. It nevertheless was a relatively atypical commercial center, emerging as an entity closed in on itself. This closure foreboded the Crown´s close control over the gold trade and, consequently, over the fortress itself. In fact, after two decades of some liberalism in royal control, the reign of Dom Manuel I witnessed an intensification of the conditions imposed by the Crown, seeking to limit the potential corruption and subversion of the royal monopoly. The life of the entire city was the focus of strict regulation, which was embodied in the Ordinance of the City, and in its various modifications, the most prominent of which was the Ordinance of 1529, issued during the reign of Dom João III, which modified the regulation.
Thus, the number of residents of the city was limited to fifty or sixty. Each resident fulfilled defined functions, as the number of royal officials, clerics, and artisans was stipulated, and their salaries as well as a maximum amount of time to be served in the fortress were prescribed. Except for occasional exceptions, time of service was not to exceed two uninterrupted years without renewal.
The position of captain-governor was at the head of the royal posts which were granted by the king as a reward for services rendered to the Crown, representing honor and the trust of the Crown. All officials had their powers equally regulated and prescribed. Freedom of movement was strongly controlled, as voyages to the interior were prohibited - except under the Crown´s express orders - as was contact with the Africans inside the fortress.
This royal control emerged from Casa da Mina, whose offical designation and field of action varied over the decades. This entity coordinated commerce in Guinea and in the Mina Coast, organizing the provisioning of the city. In fact, São Jorge da Mina was a port where stopovers were prohibited; only the ships from São Tomé could stop there in order to promote commerce between the coast, the African Islands, and the supply ships from Lisbon. Even these were tightly controlled, as the number of contacts with the residents of the fortress was limited to a maximum. Contact with Africans was itself limited to the fairs, trading events under close watch by the Captain-Governor. Thus, the Crown´s intensive efforts to restrict all threats to its monopoly of the gold trade were evident, though never completely effective.
The commerce of gold organized from São Jorge da Mina and the Axém satelite trading post, which was founded in 1503, was based on exchange for goods brought by the Portuguese: textiles, wines, brass and copper objects, and slaves. Despite being lucrative, however, the gold trade never reached the uniformity that was aimed for, nor did the Portuguese succeed at inserting themselves into African commerce or at diverting it from the traditional trade routes in the interior of the continent. In fact, the profits were quite irregular, particularly because the Portuguese were dependent on the surrounding African potentates for access to gold. This situation was in place because - despite several attempts - the Portuguese succeeded neither at finding the origin of the gold nor at directly contacting the rulers who produced it. Taking into account the myriad of local sovereignties, complex negotiations were needed and any instability affected the flux of gold into São Jorge da Mina. Additionally, especially after the mid-1500s, the Portuguese started to experience the effects of competition by other European nations, such as the French, English and, later on, the Dutch.
Since the 1520s and 1530s, there had been attacks on Portuguese ships in the Gulf of Guinea, especially by French corsairs. In the following decades they were joined by their British counterparts, who themselves promoted efforts at obtaining gold, often with the connivance of the local powers. At the end of the 16th century, the Dutch represented the main and final challenge to Portuguese monopoly. After an attack on the fortress in 1596, they sought points of support in the region, establishing a network of friendships with local rulers, who in 1612 allowed them to establish a fort occupied by soldiers, just a few dozen kilometers from São Jorge da Mina. In this way, as was the case in other regions of the globe, the Portuguese lost their influence in the Mina Coast due to collaboration between their European and their local enemies.
These factors represented significant internal constraints for the Portuguese Crown. External competition led to failed, expensive attempts at territorial conquests in the region and, in 1567, the Kingdom accepted its incapacity to bear the direct costs of the Mina commerce, opting for granting trading rights to private parties. In 1615, the Mina Coast commerce was actually opened to all Portuguese.
Therefore, a noticeable worsening of the conditions of exploration, went hand in hand with growing hostility from indigenous populations and Dutch attacks. Despite the repelling of a large first attack in 1625, on 27 August, 1637, São Jorge da Mina fortress fell to the Dutch forces, which were supported by the Eguafo natives. Thus ended Portuguese domain of Mina Coast commerce, which had integrated the region into European commercial circuits, the outcome of the decompartmentalization of the World that was fostered by Portuguese expansion.
Bibliography:
BALLONG-WEN-MEWUDA, J. Bato'ora, São Jorge da Mina, 1482-1637, 2 vols., Lisboa/Paris, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkien, 1993. PEREIRA, João Cordeiro, Resgate do ouro na Costa da Mina nos reinados de D. João III e D. Sebastião, Lisboa, Sep. de Studia, nº 50, 1991.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel
The settlement of São Jorge da Mina by the Portuguese was the outcome of decades of exploration of the West African Coast, during the 15th century. This process was intensified after 1468 with the concession to a merchant, Fernão Gomes, of the monopoly of "resgate e trato" of the Gulf of Guinea. Through this concession, Dom Afonso V would begin receiving rent in the amount of 200,000 reais per year. Fernão Gomes also guaranteed the exploration of one hundred leagues of African Coast to be conducted by ships he equipped. This concession resulted in a period of intense exploration, which led to the first acquisition of gold for the Kingdom in the Ghana region in 1471, the initial site of this activity in the Gulf of Guinea. The discovery of this source of gold occurred in the region between Cabo das Palmeiras and the Volta River, which was named Mina Coast as a result.
The profits from the amounts of gold brought from the Mina Coast grew throughout the decade, and establishing a permanent Portuguese location in the area became pressing. This necessity foreboded the emergence of European competitors, bringing Portuguese monopoly of the African Coast commerce into question. Castillians were prominent among these competitors, sending fleets to the Gulf of Guinea. This competition, would soon assume a violent nature, since the Portuguese attempted to stop Castillian intrusions into the gold commerce, being connected to the conflict around Castillian succession that was generated in the Iberian Peninsula in 1475 and 1479.
The signature of the Peace Treaty of Alcáçovas-Toledo in 1479, freed the Portuguese from this undesirable competition, and their sovereignty over the discovered and undiscovered territories south of the Canary archipelago was recognized, as their sphere of influence was confirmed by the Bull Aeterni Regis in June 1481. However, it became necessary to consolidate this influence de facto and to defend the Portuguese monopoly. While a prince, the future King Dom João II became aware of the central importance of the gold brought from the Mina Coast to the Portuguese Crown´s income. With the construction of a fortress, he intended to divert the commercial trade routes and flow of Sub-Saharan gold to the coast.
Consequently, on 12 December, 1481, a fleet was dispatched from the Kingdom, under the command of Diogo de Azambuja, a knight of the Order of Avis and one of the recently-crowned King´s trusted men. This fleet had the objective of finding a favorable location for the construction of a permanent fortress on the Mina Coast, carrying a load of prefabricated building materials that would allow for its speedy construction. Thus on 19 January, 1482, Diogo de Azambuja´s fleet reached Aldeia das Duas Partes, one of the sites where significant amounts of gold could be obtained, which clearly showed it possessed ideal conditions for the establishment of a fortress.
The site benefitted from a protected bay, one of the best natural harbors of the West African Coast, at the mouth of the Benya river, counting on a high, rocky promontory where the fortress would be erected. Furthermore, the region benefitted from natural and climatic conditions that were exotic to the Portuguese but relatively benign.
The region was densely populated and politically divided into several kingdoms with shared cultural affinities. The mouth of the Benya River marked the fronteer between two of these states: the Kingdom of Comenda or Eguafo, containing the promontory that was chosen for the construction of the fortress, and the Kingdom of Fetu or Efetu. Friendly relations between these two states were essential to the success of Portuguese occupation. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, a difficult, intense negotiation with the ruler of Eguafo took place immediately. Despite some initial reticence, the fortress was finally built during the first months of 1482, and Diogo de Azambuja took on its government until 1484.
Raised to city in 1486, São Jorge da Mina assumed the role of main locus of Portuguese presence on the African Coast. It nevertheless was a relatively atypical commercial center, emerging as an entity closed in on itself. This closure foreboded the Crown´s close control over the gold trade and, consequently, over the fortress itself. In fact, after two decades of some liberalism in royal control, the reign of Dom Manuel I witnessed an intensification of the conditions imposed by the Crown, seeking to limit the potential corruption and subversion of the royal monopoly. The life of the entire city was the focus of strict regulation, which was embodied in the Ordinance of the City, and in its various modifications, the most prominent of which was the Ordinance of 1529, issued during the reign of Dom João III, which modified the regulation.
Thus, the number of residents of the city was limited to fifty or sixty. Each resident fulfilled defined functions, as the number of royal officials, clerics, and artisans was stipulated, and their salaries as well as a maximum amount of time to be served in the fortress were prescribed. Except for occasional exceptions, time of service was not to exceed two uninterrupted years without renewal.
The position of captain-governor was at the head of the royal posts which were granted by the king as a reward for services rendered to the Crown, representing honor and the trust of the Crown. All officials had their powers equally regulated and prescribed. Freedom of movement was strongly controlled, as voyages to the interior were prohibited - except under the Crown´s express orders - as was contact with the Africans inside the fortress.
This royal control emerged from Casa da Mina, whose offical designation and field of action varied over the decades. This entity coordinated commerce in Guinea and in the Mina Coast, organizing the provisioning of the city. In fact, São Jorge da Mina was a port where stopovers were prohibited; only the ships from São Tomé could stop there in order to promote commerce between the coast, the African Islands, and the supply ships from Lisbon. Even these were tightly controlled, as the number of contacts with the residents of the fortress was limited to a maximum. Contact with Africans was itself limited to the fairs, trading events under close watch by the Captain-Governor. Thus, the Crown´s intensive efforts to restrict all threats to its monopoly of the gold trade were evident, though never completely effective.
The commerce of gold organized from São Jorge da Mina and the Axém satelite trading post, which was founded in 1503, was based on exchange for goods brought by the Portuguese: textiles, wines, brass and copper objects, and slaves. Despite being lucrative, however, the gold trade never reached the uniformity that was aimed for, nor did the Portuguese succeed at inserting themselves into African commerce or at diverting it from the traditional trade routes in the interior of the continent. In fact, the profits were quite irregular, particularly because the Portuguese were dependent on the surrounding African potentates for access to gold. This situation was in place because - despite several attempts - the Portuguese succeeded neither at finding the origin of the gold nor at directly contacting the rulers who produced it. Taking into account the myriad of local sovereignties, complex negotiations were needed and any instability affected the flux of gold into São Jorge da Mina. Additionally, especially after the mid-1500s, the Portuguese started to experience the effects of competition by other European nations, such as the French, English and, later on, the Dutch.
Since the 1520s and 1530s, there had been attacks on Portuguese ships in the Gulf of Guinea, especially by French corsairs. In the following decades they were joined by their British counterparts, who themselves promoted efforts at obtaining gold, often with the connivance of the local powers. At the end of the 16th century, the Dutch represented the main and final challenge to Portuguese monopoly. After an attack on the fortress in 1596, they sought points of support in the region, establishing a network of friendships with local rulers, who in 1612 allowed them to establish a fort occupied by soldiers, just a few dozen kilometers from São Jorge da Mina. In this way, as was the case in other regions of the globe, the Portuguese lost their influence in the Mina Coast due to collaboration between their European and their local enemies.
These factors represented significant internal constraints for the Portuguese Crown. External competition led to failed, expensive attempts at territorial conquests in the region and, in 1567, the Kingdom accepted its incapacity to bear the direct costs of the Mina commerce, opting for granting trading rights to private parties. In 1615, the Mina Coast commerce was actually opened to all Portuguese.
Therefore, a noticeable worsening of the conditions of exploration, went hand in hand with growing hostility from indigenous populations and Dutch attacks. Despite the repelling of a large first attack in 1625, on 27 August, 1637, São Jorge da Mina fortress fell to the Dutch forces, which were supported by the Eguafo natives. Thus ended Portuguese domain of Mina Coast commerce, which had integrated the region into European commercial circuits, the outcome of the decompartmentalization of the World that was fostered by Portuguese expansion.
Bibliography:
BALLONG-WEN-MEWUDA, J. Bato'ora, São Jorge da Mina, 1482-1637, 2 vols., Lisboa/Paris, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkien, 1993. PEREIRA, João Cordeiro, Resgate do ouro na Costa da Mina nos reinados de D. João III e D. Sebastião, Lisboa, Sep. de Studia, nº 50, 1991.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel