Willem Essuman Pietersen (c. 1844 – 6 January 1914), also known as Willem Edmund Pietersen, was a Gold Coast

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

educationist Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

. He is also remembered as a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and watch repairer. Pietersen was co-founder of

Mfantsipim School Mfantsipim School is an all-boys boarding secondary school in Cape Coast, Ghana, established by the Methodist Church in 1876 to foster intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth on the then Gold Coast. Its founding name was Wesleyan High Scho ...

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

, Ghana.

Biography

Early years in Elmina

Pietersen was born in

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 ...

to Essuman and Nana Ambaam. His paternal grandfather Nana Kobina Gwira had introduced the salt industry to Elmina. He was educated at the Dutch government school of Elmina, and was employed as a clerk for the Dutch governor of Elmina on 30 April 1864. He was however fired on 24 November of the same year because of unsuitability. Pietersen then became a trader and a personal clerk to Mr. Stoové, before establishing himself as a goldsmith and watchmaker. During the early 1870s, it became apparent that the Dutch would soon cede their possessions on the Gold Coast to the British, which led to protest among the Elminese and Ashanti, who feared an end to their substantial autonomy in a Gold Coast increasingly dominated by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Pietersen, however, was part of the pro-British faction in Elmina led by George Emil Eminsang, who later became the first mayor installed in Elmina by the British. Pietersen was a member of the Gold Coast Volunteers and took part in the Fante-Elmina war of 1868 and in the

Third Anglo-Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Despite initial Ashanti victorie ...

. He left Elmina after the British bombardment of the town in 1873, and moved to

Cape Coast

In Cape Coast, Pietersen founded a flourishing business under the name W.E. Pieterson & Co. For a time, he was a business partner of Hendrik Vroom. He also started his political career in Cape Coast, eventually becoming president of the

Aborigines' Rights Protection Society The Gold Coast Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (ARPS) was an African anti-colonialist organization formed in 1897 in the Gold Coast, as Ghana was then known. Originally established by traditional leaders and the educated elite to protest ...

in 1907. Pietersen already had links to the Wesleyan mission in Cape Coast before 1873, and became an active member of the Wesleyan Church after moving to Cape Coast. Among other things, he was superintendent of Sunday Schools, and a lay member of Synod. Pietersen died on 6 January 1914 of

cardiac failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pre ...

, after having been ill for eight weeks. He was buried the next day at the Old Wesleyan Cemetery.

Personal life

Pietersen married Nancy Akyere and had two sons and two daughters with her. Pietersen was the maternal uncle of Henry van Hien and the maternal grandfather of

Kobina Sekyi William Esuman-Gwira Sekyi, better known as Kobina Sekyi (1 November 1892, Cape Coast – 1956), was a nationalist lawyer, politician and writer in the Gold Coast. Biography Sekyi, born on 1 November 1892 in Cape Coast, was the son of John Glad ...

. Pietersen regarded Kobina Sekyi as his heir, and even accompanied him to the United Kingdom when Sekyi started his law studies there.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietersen, Willem Essuman Dutch Gold Coast people Politicians from Gold Coast (British colony) 1840s births 1914 deaths People from Elmina Politicians from Central Region (Ghana) Watch technicians