Fort Vredenburgh was a Dutch fort on the Gold Coast, established on the left bank of the Komenda River (Dutch Komenda). The fort exists as preserved ruins. Because of its testimony to European economic and colonial influence in West Africa, the fort was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in 1979, along with other nearby forts and castles.

History

Fort Vredenburgh was built in 1682 on the left bank of the Komenda River (Dutch Komenda). At the same site, a trading post was established by the Dutch around 1600, but abandoned soon afterwards. Since halfway through the 17th century, the state of Komenda (a part of the Kingdom of Eguafo), was a site of fierce competition between the English, Dutch, Danish, Brandenburgish and French traders. This competition between European powers was compounded by competition between African states in the region, which concluded changing alliances with the various European powers. The Dutch had intermittently operated a lodge at Komenda, which they extended into a fort in 1682. Still, they could not prevent

Jean-Baptiste du Casse Jean-Baptiste du Casse (2 August 1646 – 25 June 1715) was a French Navy officer, privateer, slave trader and colonial administrator who served as the first governor of Saint-Domingue from 1691 to 1700. Born on 2 August 1646 in Saubusse, Fran ...

from establishing a French trade post at Komenda in 1687. Du Casse established friendly relations with the powerful local trader John Cabess, but his trading post was destroyed by the

Elmina Elmina ( Fante: ''Edina'') is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region. It is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast.Straight line distances ...

and Eguafo allies of the Dutch about a month after its establishment. In 1689, the Dutch extended their Fort Vredenburgh, but found their influence severely diminished because they had offended Cabess by driving out the French. At the turn of the 18th century, Komenda was the site of several Komenda Wars, which involved the Dutch and the English and their respective local allies. In 1694, the English built a fort (

Fort Komenda Fort Komenda was a British fort on the Gold Coast (region), Gold Coast, currently preserved as a ruin. Because of its testimony to the Atlantic slave trade and European economic and colonial influence in West Africa, the fort was inscribed on th ...

) within the range of Fort Vredenburgh on the right bank of the Komenda River (English Komenda) with the help of John Cabess. The rivalry evidenced by the forts built within each other's reach, was as much a rivalry within the Eguafo state as it was one between the European powers. In fact, at the time of the Komenda Wars,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

were in a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

, with both states being led by

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

Gallery

File:Fort Vredenburg 03.jpg, Fort Vredenburg was a fort built by the Dutch in 1682 in the part of Komenda, now known as Dutch Komenda. This picture shows the remains of the File:Fort Vredenburg 04.jpg, Fort Vredenburg File:Fort Vredenburg 01.jpg, Fort Vredenburg File:Fort Vredenburg 02.jpg, Fort Vredenburg File:Fort Vredenburg 06.jpg, Fort Vredenburg Fort Vredenburg 05

References

Citations

Bibliography

{{Gold Coast Buildings and structures completed in 1683 Castles in Ghana Dutch Gold Coast 1682 establishments in the Dutch Empire Vredenburgh