| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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[Wir sind keine schweizerische internationale Gesellschaft, sondern eine deutsche Gesellschaft welche zufällig auf schweizerischem boden ihren Sitz hat].66
The Gold Coast
The Gold Coast (Ghana) lies along the shores of the west coast of Africa between present day Togo in the east, Ivory Coast in the west, and Burkina Faso in the north.67 Historically, this region was known as the Gulf of Guinea and is marked by lagoons and mangroves separated from the Atlantic by nearly sixty miles of sandy shores. The tropical forest stretches thirty miles beyond the coastal plains reaching northwards along the western borders deeper into Ashanti. It covers over nearly two hundred miles of land.68 It is interspersed with hills with an average height of one thousand meters, ranging from the Akwapim Hills in the east to the Ashanti uplands. The mineral wealth of the forest regions—gold, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese—provided the stimulus for the imperial powers’ struggle for the Gold Coast.69 Climatically, the Gold Coast is tropical and divided linguistically among the Gas in the south, the Ashanti in the midlands, the Ewes in the east, and the Fantis in the west, and the Dagombas who border on the northern regions.
Religion and the Formation of the GC
For the Gulf of Guinea, the fifteenth century was the beginning of an era that would profoundly affect the social structures of its people.70 In 1471, the Portuguese Captain Diogo de Azambuja and his entourage landed on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea.71 The landing inaugurated the relationship between the colonizers and local inhabitants, and, for the Portuguese, the right to convert local inhabitants.72 The early attempts to introduce Roman Catholicism were conducted within the compounds of the settlement for the garrison and traders.73 What was lacking in their search for power was a fortification to protect them against the local inhabitants and other foreign states. Thus, in 1482, the Portuguese built the castle St. George de la Mina, now commonly known as Elmina (The Mine). According to Wiltgen: