Groß Friedrichsburg (colony)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 4 ° 47 ′  N , 2 ° 8 ′  W

Map: Ghana
marker
Great Friedrichsburg​
Magnify-clip.png
Ghana

Groß Friedrichsburg was a Kurbrandenburg colony in West Africa that existed from 1683 to 1717 . It consisted of several branches protected by fortifications on an approximately 30-kilometer-long coastal strip on the Cape of the Three Points ( Cabo tres Puntas, Cape Three Points ) in what is now Princes Town in Ghana .

Geostrategic situation in West Africa

As early as the end of the 15th century, Portuguese forces began to set up bases in West Africa . Around 1680 there were Dutch, British, Swedish and Danish branches in West Africa in addition to the Portuguese. There were repeated military conflicts among the European neighbors, as a result of which the bases changed hands.

The real goals of the Europeans in West Africa were the acquisition of gold , ivory , pepper and slaves . They were interested in the triangular trade between Africa - Central America - Europe. On the basis of this trade, various coastal areas in West Africa were given corresponding names by the Europeans, from which the Ivory Coast state still derives its state name.

Maritime starting situation in Brandenburg-Prussia

The Brandenburg-Prussian state with its colonies on the Gold Coast (top left)

As recently as 1675 when the Swedish-Brandenburg War broke out, Brandenburg had practically no ocean-going navy . Only when the Dutchman Benjamin Raule offered himself to the Brandenburgers in 1675 did this situation change. The Brandenburgers then chartered several Raules frigates, with which they succeeded in capturing 21 Swedish ships. These captures contributed to the victory of Brandenburg-Prussia over the Swedes. In 1676, Raule was commissioned to further develop the Brandenburg Navy. This new navy, already 502 guns strong, successfully took part against Sweden in the sieges of Stettin (1677), Stralsund (1678) and the conquest of Rügen (1678). In Pillau , the fortified outer port of Königsberg , the Brandenburg frigates were manufactured from 1680.

The surprising successes which the Brandenburg fleet had achieved encouraged the elector to undertake more daring. The elector, who had seen during his studies in Leiden (Netherlands) what overseas trade can bring a small country, began to force all the resources for his overseas plans to build a colonial empire.

"Seafaring and trading are the most noble pillars of an estate, whereby the subjects obtain their food and livelihood both by water and by the factories on land."

- Friedrich Wilhelm (quote from an electoral edict of January 1, 1686)

At the beginning of Brandenburg-Prussia's first overseas ventures in 1680, the Brandenburg Navy had 28 ships at its disposal . The Dutch fleet, which was the largest of the time, had 16,000 ships. Thus, the Brandenburg Navy did not represent any competition for the established seafaring nations. Despite these class differences, the other seafaring nations harbored envy and concern about the ambitions of the Brandenburg Elector. Holland in particular looked suspicious of the young maritime power, as did France, which grudged Elector Friedrich Wilhelm's successes and the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I , who declared that he did not want a new maritime power to emerge on the Baltic Sea.

history

First trade expedition to West Africa, contract signing (1680–1681)

On August 2, 1679, the former privateer captain and later Brandenburg naval director-general Benjamin Raule presented the elector with a plan to set up bases on the West African coast, as other European countries, including Holland, France and England, had already done. For this purpose, a trading expedition was formed from two ships. It consisted of the frigate "Morian" with 16 cannons, the captain of which was Philipp Pietersen Blonck , and the frigate "Wappen von Brandenburg", the new name of the former Spanish "Carolus Secundus", which had been captured a year earlier, with 22 cannons under captain Joeris Bartelsen . The ships belonged privately to Raule, both captains were Dutch, the elector only provided the soldiers and allowed the use of his flag. The order also included bringing six “ Moors ” for the electoral court.

They started on September 17, 1680 from the port of Pillau . In January 1681 they reached the Guinea and Angola coasts . There, however, one of the two ships was lost: In January 1681, the "Wappen von Brandenburg" had sold a barrel of brandy to Africans when it was taking in fresh water. The Dutch West India Company saw it as a "trade" within the territory they claimed and confiscated the entire ship and its cargo. All that was left was the “Morian”, whose two ship officers Jakob van der Bleke and Isaak van de Geer succeeded on May 16, 1681 in signing a friendship and trade agreement with the three Ahanta chiefs Pregate on the Gold Coast a little west of the Cape of the Three Peaks , Sophonie and Apany to close. The chiefs were taken away from the assurance that they were not under Dutch command and recognized the suzerainty of the Brandenburg elector.

In the treaty the Brandenburgers were allowed to build a settlement and a fort on the territory of the Ahanta in order to protect their trade and also themselves against their enemies. The condition was that the Brandenburgers had to start building their fort within eight to ten months. Despite the annoyance about the behavior of the Dutch and their confiscation of the second Brandenburg ship, the joy at the Potsdamer Hof was great after the return of the expedition in August 1681 in Glückstadt (Elbe) when the contract was presented.

Foundation of the Brandenburg-African Compagnie (1682)

The equipment for a related expedition was immediately commissioned and at the same time the establishment of a Brandenburg-African trading company was suggested. The Brandenburg-African Company was founded in the presence of the Elector, Raules and merchants from Emden on March 17, 1682 in Berlin. The company had its headquarters first in Königsberg, then in Pillau and finally from April 22, 1683 in Emden. The deployment of warships and soldiers of the Kurbrandenburg Navy was also regulated to protect possessions .

Another expedition and foundation of the Groß Friedrichsburg Fort (1682–1683)

Otto Friedrich von der Groeben, leader of the second expedition and founder of Groß-Friedrichsburg

On July 12, 1682, the expedition under the command of Major Otto Friedrich von der Groebens started in the Danish town of Glückstadt with the frigates Morian (Captain Philipp Blonck) and Chur Prinz von Brandenburg (Captain Mattheus de Voss) to the so-called Gold Coast , with the aim of getting there to found Brandenburg colonies.

On board were, among others, the two fortress construction engineers Walter and Leugreben, the ensign von Selbig as military leader in addition to a sergeant , two corporals, 40 soldiers, two minstrels and numerous recruited workers. On December 27, 1682 Otto Friedrich von der Groeben set foot on the Cape of the Three Peaks near the village of Accada for the first time on African soil (after three soldiers and two sailors had died during the crossing due to the hard surf). However, because the Dutch suddenly appeared, they sailed on and landed a few nautical miles to the northwest between the towns of Taccrama and Axim . There, near the village of Poquesoe (today: Princes Town, Ahanta West District ), an almost ideal location for the future fort was found. On January 1, 1683, the Brandenburg flag was raised in a military ceremony at this location. Otto von der Groeben wrote about this in his book about his experiences in Africa:

“The following day, as the first January, in 1683, Capitain Voss brought the large Elector's Brandenburg flag from the ship, which I fetched with kettledrum and sound, received with all the soldiers standing in the rifle, and raised a high flag stick, dabey I shot the New Year with 5 sharply loaded items, each ship answered with 5, and I thanked you again with drey. And because Sr. Churfl. Passed name all over the world is big, so I also called the mountain: The Great Friedrichs-Berg. "

- Otto Friedrich von der Groeben

From this naming after the name of the elector, the later name of Fort Groß Friedrichsburg and the entire colony emerged. Immediately after the flag was raised, construction of the fortress began. The Ahanta brought tree trunks, which were then processed into palisades by soldiers . On January 5, 1683, the contract with the Ahanta was renewed. ( Tract between His Elector Highness of Brandenburg Africanische Compagnie, and those of Cabusiers from Cabo tris Puntas ) Pregate and Sophonie had been killed in an argument between the first and second arrival of the Brandenburgers. The contract was concluded accordingly with their successors and with Apany.

Barter trade on the African coast not far from Großfriedrichsburg

The contract regulated, among other things, which obligations the Ahanta should assume. These included, for example, protecting the fortress Groß Friedrichsburg, compulsory labor for the fortress commanders and the garrison , trading only with Brandenburg ships and merchants, and enforcing the settlement monopoly for Brandenburgers. The Brandenburgers, in turn, committed themselves to the military protection of the locals against attacks by neighboring tribes.

A brisk barter began, here the triangular trade . Handguns with ammunition, simple iron products and ruby ​​glass were exchanged for ivory, gold and slaves.

During the construction work, the fever among the Brandenburgers was rampant, and at times only five of 40 men were still operational. Von der Groeben also fell ill, along with the secretary, the sergeant, four soldiers and two sailors. The two fortress construction engineers died, and everyone else was too weak or busy with nursing, so that construction work soon came to a standstill. After Groeben had recovered, he returned to Hamburg with the Morian in July or August 1683 , while the Chur Prinz sailed to the island of St. Thomas ( West India ) with a first load of slaves . The Chur Prinz reached the port of Emden in November 1683. The new captain of the "Morian", Philipp Pietersen Blonck, became the new commander and head of construction of the fort.

Foundation of further branches (1683–1695)

The Großfriedrichsburg fort around 1684

Between 1683 and 1685, the Brandenburgers built further branches and fortifications. Fort Groß Friedrichsburg, however, remained the most important. As early as 1684 it had four mighty masonry bastions, which were connected by thick walls, and was equipped with 32 large-caliber cannons. The imposing gate was crowned by a bell tower more than 10 m high. Several two-story buildings were erected in the inner courtyard to serve as accommodation for the garrison (of around 90 Europeans) and for the traders as warehouses and slave prisons.

The European soldiers were supported by local people who were called up for military service, but for fear of a rebellion they were only given rifles in emergencies and were locked up under guard during the night.

Neighbors were on the one hand the Dutch with the branches Axim, Butry and Sekondi and on the other hand the English and British possessions of Dixcove . The sphere of influence of the Brandenburgers remained limited to the immediate coastal zone. Attempts to penetrate inland failed. In addition, the branches were exposed to constant attacks by the Dutch and hostile tribes. The ship connections were constantly threatened. Numerous Brandenburg ships were hijacked. The Brandenburgers were dependent on the cooperation with local "brokers", the "caboceers". The local rulers, in turn, used alliances with the Europeans for their own benefit, for example to protect against enemies - but had to expect to be abandoned by the Europeans. The Brandenburgers benefited from this in 1684, for example, when the Ahanta subgroup of the Akwida concluded a protection treaty out of disappointment at the lack of support from the Dutch.

The most important of the local middlemen for the Brandenburgers was Jan Conny , who increasingly took control of the hinterland of Groß Friedrichsburg and was powerful enough, for example, to bring about the dismissal of the new governor-general de Lange, which he did not like.

In order to avoid legitimacy problems in their contracts with local potentates - the branch in the former Swedish Tacorary was problematic in this regard, as the contract was only concluded with some of the groups based there - the Brandenburgers, like the other European groups, began to provide information about the local To collect and hold power structures.

The trade in precious metals and other products developed over the following years. The slave trade was also expanded: According to estimates, the Brandenburgers sold between 10,000 and 30,000 Africans as slaves to America from there. Due to the economic success in 1686, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm was able to resign his partner and take sole control of the African Company . In order to secure the trade in slaves from its African colonies, it was necessary for Brandenburg to have a base in the Caribbean. For this purpose, Benjamin Raule, General Director of the Brandenburg Navy, signed a contract on November 24, 1685 with representatives of the Danish West India Company to lease part of the Antilles island of St. Thomas an Brandenburg, which has belonged to Denmark since 1666 .

  • View from the entrance area of ​​the fort

  • Inside area with stairs to the main building

  • View of the outbuilding

  • Look into a "slave dungeon"

  • View from the fort over the bay

  • View from the fort to the neighboring town of Princes Town

Gradual decline and decline of the colony (1695-1717)

The successful course of business continued until around 1695. After that, a gradual decline set in. The reasons for the colony's decline lay in the limited financial and military resources that Brandenburg-Prussia had at their disposal. Despite all his efforts, the Great Elector could not win enough supporters for his colonial plans. After his death in 1688, his son, Elector Friedrich III. (from 1701 to 1713 Friedrich I. König in Prussia ) continued the company more out of consideration, but no one was found who was willing and able to further develop the double work of the fleet and colonies. The ships of the Brandenburg Navy bobbed around without employment in the port and fell into disrepair, while the fort in West Africa fell into disrepair. In 1711 King Friedrich I declared the colony's financial bankruptcy.

Sale and end of the Brandenburg colony (1717–1724)

Friedrich I's successor (1688–1713), his son Friedrich Wilhelm I (1713–1740), had no personal connections or inclinations to the navy and colonies and instead concentrated on expanding the Prussian army , for which the majority of the financial ones Resources of the Prussian state was expended. With the treaties of 1717 and 1720, the king sold his African colonies to the Dutch-West Indian Company for 7200 ducats and 12  moors . After 35 years the episode of Brandenburg-Prussia as a colonial power in Africa ended.

A year earlier, in 1716, the last German representative in Groß Friedrichsburg, General Director Dubois, decided to transfer the protection of the fortress to the powerful local trader and de facto ruler of the coastal area, Jan Conny , and to return to Prussia. Conny did not recognize the sale of the fortress to the Dutch. When the Dutch arrived with a fleet in front of the fortress, he refused to hand it over with the remark that he was managing the administration in the name of the king in Prussia. The Dutch then attacked the fortress, but were repulsed bloodily. It was not until 1724 that Jan Conny was driven out. Jan Conny had used the time of his rule over the fortress to profitably trade with ships from different nations. This is likely to have been the motivation for his “loyalty to Prussia”. The imperial-German colonial propaganda of the 19th century and later the National Socialists , on the other hand, spread the legend of a local king loyal to Prussia who, after being driven out by the Dutch, went into hiding in the jungle, taking the Brandenburg flag with him. The Dutch renamed the fortress "Hollandia", but soon afterwards did not care about it and left it to its fate.

Traces of the colony after 1724

At the end of the 19th century two cannons were recovered from the fortress and brought back to Germany. They were given to the city of Emden and placed there in front of the police station on the Ratsdelft . After the Second World War , they found a place in the Bundeswehr barracks in Emden; Today they are - fitted with new wooden mounts - on the Falderndelft .

Since 1979 Great Friedrichsburg belongs together with other European fortresses in the area for World Heritage of UNESCO .

The fortifications

List of the commanders of Groß Friedrichsburg

The governors of Groß-Friedrichsburg were called:

The exact dates and spellings are not certain. A version of this list that differs in many details can be found here .

See also

swell

  • Great General Staff (ed.): Brandenburg-Prussia on the west coast of Africa . (Voigtlander's source books 2). Voigtländer, Leipzig 1912 ( digitized version of the Georg Eckert Institute - Leibniz Institute for international textbook research)

literature

  • Ernst Lewalter : The Great Elector. Keil Verlag Scherl, Berlin 1935.
  • Josef Günther Lettenmair: Red eagle on a white field. Novel of the first German colony 1688–1717 . Zeitgeschichte Verlag, Berlin 1938.
  • Albert van Dantzig: Forts and Castles of Ghana . Sedco Publishing, Accra 1980, ISBN 9964-720-10-6 .
  • Kurt Petsch: Seafaring for Brandenburg-Prussia 1650–1815 . 1986, p. 63 ff.
  • Ulrich van der Heyden: Red eagles on Africa's coast. The Brandenburg-Prussian colony Großfriedrichsburg in West Africa . Selignow, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-933889-04-9 .
  • Ulrich van der Heyden: Slave fortresses on the coast of Ghana as places of remembrance: The example of Großfriedrichsburg - a monument to German-African relations. In: W. Speitkamp (Ed.): Communication spaces - memory spaces. Contributions to transcultural encounters in Africa. Munich 2005, pp. 101–118.
  • Ulrich van der Heyden: The first German-language description of the fortress Großfriedrichsburg by Otto Friedrich von der Groeben and the reception of his travelogue up to the present day. In: Leipzig yearbook on book history. Volume 24, Wiesbaden 2016, pp. 11–38.
  • Ulrich van der Heyden: The Brandenburg-Prussian trading colony Großfriedrichsburg. In: H. founder, H. Hiery (ed.): The Germans and their colonies. An overview. Berlin 2017, pp. 26–44.
  • Angela Sutton: The Seventeenth-Century Slave Trade in the Documents of the English, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Prussian Royal Slave Trading Companies . In: Slavery and Abolition . tape 36 (3) , 2015, p. 445–459 , doi : 10.1080 / 0144039X.2015.1067975 ( tandfonline.com ).
  • Roberto Zaugg: Grossfriedrichsburg, the first German colony in Africa? Brandenburg-Prussia, Atlantic entanglements and national memory. In: John Kwadwo Osei-Tutu, Victoria Ellen Smith (Ed.): Shadows of Empire in West Africa. New Perspectives on European Fortifications. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2018, pp. 33-73.

Web links

Commons : Gross Friedrichsburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ From: Bruno Gloger: Friedrich Wilhelm - Elector of Brandenburg. Biography, 3rd edition. Berlin (East) 1989, p. 329.
  2. ↑ Ulrich van der Heyden : Red eagles on Africa's coast: the Brandenburg-Prussian colony Grossfriedrichsburg in West Africa. 2nd, modified edition. Berlin, Selignow, 2001. (Preview on Google)
  3. ↑ Ulrich van der Heyden: Otto Friedrich von der Groeben - founder of Großfriedrichsburg. In: The Mark Brandenburg. Journal for the Mark and the State of Brandenburg. Lucie Großer Edition, issue 67, 2007, p. 6.
  4. ↑ Brandenburg-Prussia on the west coast of Africa , p. 38f.
  5. ^ Sutton, p. 452.
  6. ^ Sutton, p. 452.
  7. ^ Ulrich van der Heyden: West-Africa: 17th-18th Century . In: Prem Poddar (Ed.): Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures . Edinburgh University Press, 2011 ( google.de ).
  8. ↑ Ulrich van der Heyden: Red eagles on Africa's coast. Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1993, p. 44.