Danish Gold Coast

Na de **Danish Gold Coast** (Danish: *Danske Guldkyst* anaa *Dansk Guinea*) comprise de colonies wey Denmark–Norway control insyd Africa as a part of de Gold Coast (roughly present-day southeast Ghana), wich dey for de Gulf of Guinea. Na ebe colonized by de Dano-Norwegian fleet, first under indirect rule by de Danish West India Company (a chartered company), later as a crown colony of de kingdom of Denmark-Norway. Na de area under Danish influence be over 10,000 square kilometres.

Na dem sell de five Danish Gold Coast Territorial Settlements den forts of de Kingdom of Denmark to de United Kingdom insyd 1850. Na Denmark want make e sell dese colonies for same tim as de expenses dem require to run de colonies increase dey follow de abolition of slavery. Although na Britain sanso dey struggle plus rising costs, na e seek make e purchase dem to reduce French den Belgian influence insyd de region, as well as make e further curtail de slave trade wey still be operated der. Na dem later incorporate de purchased settlements den forts into de British Gold Coast.

## History

For April 20, 1663, na de Danish seizure of Fort Christiansborg den Carlsborg plete de annexation of de Swedish Gold Coast settlements. From 1674 to 1755 na de settlements be administered by de Danish West India-Guinea Company. From December 1680 to 29 August 1682, na de Portuguese occupy Fort Christiansborg. Insyd 1750 na dem make am a Danish crown colony. From 1782 to 1785 na e dey under British occupation. 

Dey follow de 1792 decree wey dey abolish Denmark ein participation insyd de Atlantic slave trade (na dem implement insyd 1803), de purpose of dema forts for de Guinea coast cam be uncertain. Previously, na dese outposts serve solely for se slave trade, plus no real impact beyond isolated trading activities. Colonial planners, wey dey recognise dema limited knowledge of de surrounding territories (as be evidenced by requests for detailed information), seek for oda options. Na dis shift coincide plus growing abolitionist sentiment den de desire make dem establish plantation colonies insyd Africa make dem produce tropical commodities such as sugar den coffee.

### Danish slave trade
Na de Danes be involved insyd de slave trade from de mid-17th century til de early 19th century. Na dem record de Danish navy den ein mercantile marine as de fourth largest insyd Europe insyd dis period. Plus de establishment of de Gold Coast colony insyd de 1660s, na commodities such as gold den ivory dominate at first, buh by de turn of de 18th century, na slaves be de most important commodity insyd de Danish trade. Those wey na dem command de large slave ships often be instructed make dem convert dema cabin into a kind of moveable showroom upon arrival for de African coast. While thru out de 18th century, na Danish exports of enslaved Africans account for about 5 percent of de total exports from de Gold Coast, by de 1780s, na dis be up to 10 percent.

Insyd 1672, na de Danish West India and Guinea Company sanso begin dey establish colonies insyd de Caribbean for Saint Thomas, Saint John insyd 1718, den Saint Croix insyd 1733. While na dese possessions be rather small, for 350 square kilometers per collectively, na dem cam be of utmost importance insyd de transatlantic slave trade under de Danish flag secof dema intensive den highly profitable sugar production wich na depend on slave labor. As a result, den secof na mortality rates be higher dan fertility rates among slaves insyd de Danish West Indies, na e cam be necessary make dem import slaves every year. Na chaw of dese enslaved human beings cam directly from Africa while na odas cam from foreign Caribbean islands.

## Forts den settlements

### Main forts
Na de forts wey dey follow dey for de possession of Denmark til na dem sell all forts to de United Kingdom insyd 1850.

### Forts den trading posts dem temporarily hold
Apart from dese main forts, na de Danes temporarily hold forts den trading posts.

## References

## Read further

* *Closing the Books: Governor Edward Carstensen on Danish Guinea, 1842-50*. Translated from the Danish by Tove Storsveen. Accra, Ghana: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2010.

## External links

*Article about the Danish Gold Coast during the Napoleonic Wars (insyd Danish)
*WorldStatesmen- Ghana