Black Cattle:
Elmina Castle
Elmina Castle (St. George d'Elmina) was the headquarters of the Dutch West India Company (WIC) on the West African coast. Slaves were transported there from other trading posts and, if necessary, detained while awaiting transport ships. The original Portuguese name of Elmina was São Jorge da Mina (Mina meaning "mine," as in gold mine). The castle was founded in 1482 and captured by the Dutch in 1637. In 1871, it was sold to the British.
Elmina in 1665.
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Elmina in 1799.
Elmina had long been an important African trading hub, even before the arrival of the Portuguese. Originally, it consisted of two parts, separated by the Benya River: the western part belonged to Eguafo (Komenda), and the eastern part to Fetu. With the help of the Portuguese, the Elminese gained independence in 1514, giving the settlement a unique position on the Gold Coast. Due to mutual dependence between Europeans and Africans, the settlement evolved into a melting pot of nationalities without a specific ethnic identity. After the conquest in 1637, the Dutch took over the position of the Portuguese, inheriting all associated rights and obligations. For example, the Company had to conform to existing customary law and could not impose its own legal rules on the Africans.
The area under Dutch jurisdiction was limited in size. According to a memorandum from around 1670, "the jurisdiction does not extend half a mile or slightly more in any direction." Despite the limited territory, Elmina provided a safe haven for the Dutch amidst coastal states over which the Company had little influence. It was also the only place along the coast where the two population groups mixed to any significant degree (see also the chapter on Asafo militias and Bombas).
Source: Den Heijer, 'Goud, ivoor en slaven' (Gold, ivory, and slaves)
Model of Elmina Castle. Source: Six Architects, Doorn
After the conquest of the Portuguese, the Dutch began reinforcing and improving the castle. By the 1680s, it had reached its full military and defensive potential; after this, no European power dared attack it again. In 1682, the castle housed 48 iron cannons. To deter intruders, the drawbridge was defended by eight cannons, further reinforced by a six-meter-deep and five-meter-wide trench, a portcullis, four mortars, and a permanent guard post.
The castle consisted of three main sections:
1. The General Rebuild on the Large Inner Courtyard (Parade Ground)
The reconstruction of the parade ground took nearly the entire 17th century. The old Portuguese church in the courtyard was a particular eyesore for the Dutch Director-General, who, upon moving in, ordered the removal of all “Papist” symbols and converted the church into a trading house, or house of negotie. An additional floor was added, with the ground floor serving as a storage area and the upper floor as a recreation space for soldiers. A kitchen was also built nearby.
In the surrounding buildings, soldier accommodations were located on the upper floors, while the male slave cells stretched along the northeast wall on the ground floor. These male slave quarters, referred to in sources as the male slave pit, were strictly separated from the female slave cells, which overlooked the small courtyard in the Governor’s Quarter.
2. The Governor's Quarter
Located in the center of the fort, between the inner courtyard and the riverside courtyard, this section housed the most important room: the great hall, where the Director-General received political envoys and prominent merchants. Below this “great hall” stretched a warehouse, including the ammunition room.
The fiscal officer’s quarters were located at the top of the round tower overlooking the northern bastion. The Director-General’s private chambers were in the semi-circular tower near the guard post, overlooking the fort’s gate, with the Council Chamber above. One of the spacious rooms adjacent to the small courtyard was converted into a church. In the middle of this small plain was a well, surrounded by warehouses and the female slave quarters.
Source: Seth Yates
3. The Kattenplaats (Riverside Courtyard)
This courtyard, facing the river, served as the fort’s work center. It housed the quarters for the quartermaster, foreman, and craftsmen who formed the workforce of the WIC on the West African coast. The courtyard included a smithy, a cooperage, and a carpentry shop where timber from the nearby Elmina forests was cut into planks and beams.
Additionally, the kattenplaats had two small kitchens for the craftsmen, a gunpowder depot (powder pit), a pigsty, a chicken coop, a bakery oven, and two warehouses for storing tools and equipment.
Bron: Penash Media
More video's on Elmina via Google.
Fort Coenraadsburg
Fort Coenraadsburg (also known as Conradsburg or Fort Saint Jago) is a fort built by the WIC near Elmina Castle. It was named after Albert Coenraetsz. Burgh, Head Director of the Amsterdam Chamber of the WIC and, starting in 1638, also Mayor of Amsterdam.
Immediately after the conquest of Elmina in 1637, the Dutch began dismantling a Portuguese church (built in 1503) on Saint Jacob’s Hill (Jago Hill). They constructed a temporary four-sided fortification consisting of earthen walls with a tower, a gate, and a small building to house soldiers. In the 1660s, this structure was replaced with a stone fort named Coenraadsburg. It is the only fortification on the Gold Coast built exclusively for military purposes. The motivation for its construction was to avoid a repetition of what had happened to the Portuguese: the Dutch themselves had captured Fort São Jorge da Mina by bombarding it from Saint Jacob’s Hill.
In the center of the fort stood a long, narrow tower 14 meters high, providing a panoramic view of the ocean. From this vantage point, approaching ships could be spotted as far as 7 or 8 miles away.
On the fort’s inner courtyard, where soldiers practiced drills, were the soldiers' quarters as well as the sleeping chambers for the commander, corporal, and sergeant. In 1671, Director-General Dirck Wilree ordered the construction of an outer wall with seventeen gun ports, completing the fort’s final fortifications.
The fort also served as a treatment and care facility for sick soldiers and WIC staff, kept separate from the rest of Elmina to prevent the spread of disease.
Source: Wikipedia and Nederlands Elmina, een socio-economische analyse van de Tweede Westindische Compagnie inWest-Afrika in 1715, door Yves Delepeleire
Source: Michael Kunke