Elmina

Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, the town was originally called Anomansah ("perpetual" or "inexhaustible drink") from its position on the peninsula between the Benya lagoon and the sea.{{cite web|last1=Ampene|first1=K.|title=National Commission On Culture|url=http://www.ghanaculture.gov.gh/index1.php?linkid=65&adate=20/08/2011&archiveid=2126&page=1|website=ghanaculture.gov.gh|access-date=19 April 2018|archive-date=19 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419183946/http://www.ghanaculture.gov.gh/index1.php?linkid=65&adate=20%2F08%2F2011&archiveid=2126&page=1|url-status=dead}} It eventually was named after the Elmina Castle, which is also called "São Jorge da Mina". The word "Elmina" simply means "the mine".

{{Main|History of Elmina}}

Based on oral traditions, the town was founded by Kwaa Amankwaa, a hunter who was in search of food. After discovering a stream and settling there, he exchanged the word "M'enya", which means "I have found it" or "I have got it". The exact origins of Elmina, however, are conflicted.{{sfn|Adjaye|2018|pp=6,7}} He and his people founded the village of Anomansa or Anomee near the Benya Lagoon, which later became Edina. It was part of the Eguafo kingdom until the late 16th century.{{sfn|Konadu|2010|p=59}}

{{historical affiliations

|Eguafo (foundation-c. 1570)

|{{flagicon image|Coat of arms of Portugal (1640).svg|size=20px|border=}} Portuguese Gold Coast (c. 1570-1637)

|{{flag decoration|Dutch West India Company}} Dutch Gold Coast (1637-1872)

|{{flag|Gold Coast}} (1872-1957)

|{{flag|Ghana}} (1957-present)

}}

In 1478, during the War of the Castilian Succession, a Castilian armada of 35 caravels and a Portuguese fleet fought a large naval battle near Elmina for the control of the Guinea trade (gold, slaves, ivory and melegueta pepper), the Battle of Guinea. The war ended with a Portuguese naval victory, followed by the official recognition by the Catholic Monarchs of Portuguese sovereignty over most of the West African territories in dispute embodied in the Treaty of Alcáçovas, 1479.{{sfn|Malyn|2004|pp=39,40}}{{sfn|Diffie|Winius|1977|p=152}} This was the first colonial war among European powers. Many more would come.

The town grew around São Jorge da Mina Castle, built by the Portuguese Diogo de Azambuja in 1482. It was Portugal's West African headquarters for trade and exploitation of African wealth. The original Portuguese interest was gold, with 8,000 ounces shipped to Lisbon from 1487 to 1489, 22,500 ounces from 1494 to 1496, and 26,000 ounces by the start of the sixteenth century. Later, the port's trade included slaves. By 1479, the Portuguese were importing slaves from as far away as Benin, who accounted for 10 percent of the trade in Elmina, and were used to clear land for tillage. Ten to twelve thousand came through Elmina from 1500 to 1535 alone.{{rp|23–24}}

With Portuguese support, Edina and some neighboring villages achieved independence from Eguafo (and Fetu, which also claimed the area) by around 1570.{{sfn|Konadu|2010|p=59}} The town was governed by local elders (known as braffoes) and the governor of the Castle.{{sfn|Konadu|2010|p=60}}

File:AMH-7708-NA View of the fort and the roadstead at Elmina.jpg

Elmina is also home to Fort Coenraadsburg on St. Jago Hill, built by the Portuguese in 1555 under the name Forte de Santiago; it was used for commerce. In 1637, it was conquered and renamed by the Dutch, after they captured Elmina's main castle. Today, Elmina's main economic industry is fishing, salt production and tourism. Elmina Castle is very close to Cape Coast Castle, another historic fortress notable for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.{{cite book|last=Hadeler|first=N.|title=Geschichte der holländischen Colonien auf der Goldküste, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Handels.|publisher=University of California|date=1904|language=German|volume=19|lccn=05030403}}

The location of Elmina made it a significant site for re-provisioning ships headed south towards the Cape of Good Hope on their way to India. After years of Portuguese commerce on the Elmina Coast, the Dutch learned of the profitable activity taking place through Barent Eriksz of Medemblik, one of the earliest traders and Guinea navigators. Ericksz learned about trading on the Elmina coast while he was a prisoner on Principe and subsequently became a major resource to the Dutch in terms of providing geographical and trading information.Marees, Pieter. Description and Historical Account of the Gold Kingdom of Guinea. London: The Oxford University Press, 1602. 206–22. Print. The Dutch West India Company captured Elmina in 1637; in subsequent centuries it was mostly used as a hub for the slave trade. The British attacked the city in 1782, but it remained in Dutch hands until 1872, when the Dutch Gold Coast was sold to the British. The king of Ashanti, claiming to be suzerain, objected to the transfer, and initiated the third Anglo-Ashanti war of 1873–1874.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Elmina|volume=9|page=297}}

Beginning in 2003, Elmina, along with foreign investors, began The Elmina Strategy 2015, a massive project to improve many aspects of the town, consisting of water drainage and waste management helping to improve the health of the citizens, repairing the fishing industry and harbour of within Elmina, tourism and economic development, improved health services, and improved educational services.{{Cite web|date=14 October 2004|title=Building on the past to create a better future|url=http://www.elminaheritage.com/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422081906/http://www.elminaheritage.com/|archive-date=22 April 2008|access-date=25 April 2024|website=Elminaheritage.com}}

{{further|Tourism in Ghana}}

{{multiple image

| width = 210px

| height = 200px

| direction = vertical

| caption_align = center

| image1 = St. George Castle, Elmina, Ghana.JPG

| alt1 = Inside view of Elmina Castle

| caption1 = Elmina Castle

| image2 = Overzicht met voorzijde, vanaf Elmina Castle - Elmina - 20374801 - RCE.jpg

| alt2 = Faraway view of Fort Coenraadsburg on a hill

| caption2 = Fort São Jago da Mina

}}

Tourism in the town is regulated by the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM), where the principle centre of tourism is the Elmina Castle. The site, along with Fort Coenraadsburg, attracts around 100,000 tourists annually, half of whom is foreign.{{rp|4}} Due to the lack of sufficient infrastructure, the development of this sector is hindered.{{cite journal|last=Koutra|first=C.|url=https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/12281/|title=Corporate Social Responsibility: An Application in Tourism Development in Ghana|journal=Journal of Global Management Research|date=2009|publisher=Bournemouth University|pages=4, 5, 7|issn=1488-4569|access-date=6 September 2024}}

Elmina is home to the Elmina Fishing Harbour, the third largest fish landing site in Ghana, beaten by the Tema and Sekondi harbours.{{cite journal|last1=Aheto|first1=D.|last2=Asare|first2=N.|last3=Quaynor|first3=B.|last4=Tenkorang|first4=E.|display-authors=3|title=Profitability of Small-Scale Fisheries in Elmina, Ghana|journal=Sustainability|date=2012|pages=2, 3|volume=4|issue=11|doi=10.3390/su4112785|doi-access=free }} In August 2020, a $93 million rehabilitation project began, improving the harbour's infrastructure to help with increasing demand. It was completed in May 2020.{{cite news|last=Arkoh|first=I.|url=https://gna.org.gh/2023/05/president-akufo-addo-commissions-e84-million-elmina-fishing-harbour/|title=President Akufo-Addo commissions €84m Elmina Fishing Harbour|publisher=Ghana News Agency|date=27 May 2023|access-date=6 September 2024}}

Although fishing activities are largely artisanal, the town account for 15% of Ghana's total fish output. About 75% of the population's livelihood is reliant on fishing or related activities.

Most of the population is religious, coming in at around 91.7% with the biggest religion being Christianity (85.3%). Of this, 28.4% are Pentecostal/Charismatic, 20.9% are other Christians, 18.2% are Catholics and 17.8% are Protestant. Christianity is followed by Islam, traditional African religions, and other religions.{{rp|32}}

{{further|Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (Ghana parliament constituency)}}

Although the town itself doesn't have a mayor, the municipal does have a mayor–council form of government. The mayor (executive chief) is appointed by the president of Ghana and approved by the town council, the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal Assembly.{{cite book|url=https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/ghana/10487.pdf|title=A Guide to District Assemblies in Ghana|publisher=Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Ghana|pages=37, 38|date=2010|isbn=978-9988572136|access-date=23 August 2024}} The current municipal chief of Elmina is Hon. Solomon Ebo Appiah.

{{wide image|Ghana Elmina City Panorama.jpg|1000px|{{center|Panoramic view of Elmina Town. In harbour some fishing boats may be seen. The view is from Elmina Castle (St. George's Castle). The castle on St. Jago Hill is Fort São Jago da Mina (Fort Conraadsburg).}}}}

Elmina is located about {{convert|12.2|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Cape Coast. The town is located in the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal of the Western Region, which covers a land area of {{convert|452.5|sqkm|sqmi|abbr=on}}. The municipality borders the Gulf of Guinea to the south, the Cape Coast Metropolitan towards the east, the Twifo/Hemang/Lower Denkyira District to the north and the Mpohor district and the Wassa East District towards the west and northwest.{{rp|1}}

Like most of Ghana, Elmina has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with consistently hot weather year-round. Typically for the far south of the country, there are two rainy seasons, a main one from April to June and a lesser one from September to November and two dry seasons, a typical West African dry season from December to February due to the harmattan wind, and a less typical dry season from mid-July to mid-September with less hot temperatures and abundant fog due to the northward extension of the Benguela Current.{{cite book|last=Trewartha|first=Glenn Thomas|title=The Earth's problem climates|year=1961|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison, Wisconsin|isbn=9780299022709|page=108}}

{{Weather box

|location = Elmina

|single line = Yes

|metric first = Yes

|temperature colour = pastel

|Jan high C = 30.8

|Feb high C = 31.4

|Mar high C = 31.8

|Apr high C = 31.5

|May high C = 30.6

|Jun high C = 28.7

|Jul high C = 27.4

|Aug high C = 26.9

|Sep high C = 27.9

|Oct high C = 29.5

|Nov high C = 30.8

|Dec high C = 30.9

|year high C = 29.9

|Jan low C = 22.7

|Feb low C = 23.5

|Mar low C = 23.8

|Apr low C = 23.8

|May low C = 23.7

|Jun low C = 23.1

|Jul low C = 22.3

|Aug low C = 21.8

|Sep low C = 22.5

|Oct low C = 22.9

|Nov low C = 22.7

|Dec low C = 22.8

|year low C = 23.0

|Jan rain mm = 25

|Feb rain mm = 36

|Mar rain mm = 84

|Apr rain mm = 103

|May rain mm = 203

|Jun rain mm = 325

|Jul rain mm = 102

|Aug rain mm = 42

|Sep rain mm = 55

|Oct rain mm = 116

|Nov rain mm = 84

|Dec rain mm = 30

|rain colour = green

|source 1 = Climate-Data.org

{{cite web

|url = https://en.climate-data.org/africa/ghana/central-region/elmina-21958/#temperature-graph | title = Climate Elmina

|publisher= Climate-Data.org

|year=2019

}}

Retrieved 22 September 2019.

|date=September 2019

}}

Elmina is home to the annual Bakatue Festival, a celebration of the sea and the local fishing culture, held on the first Tuesday of July each year. Bakatue translated means "the opening of the lagoon" or the "draining of the Lagoon". It is celebrated to commemorate the founding of the town, Elmina by the Europeans. It is also celebrated to invoke the deity, Nana Benya's continuous protection of the state and its people.{{Cite web |title=Visit Ghana - Edina Bakatue Festival |url=https://visitghana.com/attractions/edina-bakatue-festival/ |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=Visit Ghana |language=en-US}}

The Edina Bronya Festival is an annual harvest festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Elmina in the Central Region of Ghana. The festival is a novel Christmas during the Portuguese and the Dutch era of the colonial period. It is the origin the word “Bronya” in Ghanaian vocabulary. It is usually celebrated in the first Thursday of January every year.

{{see also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Africa#Ghana}}

The following is a list of sister cities of Elmina, designated by Sister Cities International:

• Gouda, Netherlands (2006){{cite report|last=van Ewijk|first=E.|url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/4316671/66647_301098.pdf|title=Decentralized cooperation between Dutch municipalities and municipalities in migrant countries: Main developments and main theoretical debates illustrated by several case studies|publisher=University of Amsterdam|date=2008|page=24|hdl=11245/1.301098|access-date=5 September 2024}}
• Macon, United States (2001){{cite web|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/200106060404.html|title=Ghana: Investors Tour Elmina|date=7 June 2001|publisher=Accra Daily Mail|via=AllAfrica|access-date=5 September 2024}}

• Solomon Kojo Antwi, footballer{{cite news|last=Allen|first=T.|title=Big dreams by long distance|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/soccer/big-dreams-by-long-distance-567179102.html|publisher=Winnipeg Free Press|access-date=6 September 2024|date=21 January 2020}}
• Jacobus Capitein, writer, first individual of African descent to be ordained as a minister in an established Protestant church{{Cite book|editor-first1=Kwame Anthony|editor-last1=Appiah|editor-link1=Kwame Anthony Appiah|editor-first2=Henry Louis|editor-last2=Gates Jr|editor-link2=Henry Louis Gates Jr.|first=Leyla J.|last=Keough|title=Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience|date=2005|page=738|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-1951-7055-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMZMAgAAQBAJ|access-date=6 September 2024}}
• George Emil Eminsang, merchant, politician{{cite book|author=Isaac S. Ephson|title=Gallery of Gold Coast Celebrities, 1632–1958|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=LG8MAQAAIAAJ}}|year=1971|publisher=Ilen Publications|access-date=6 September 2024}}
• Frederik Willem Fennekol, politician{{cite journal|last=Everts|first=N.|year=1996|title=Cherchez la Femme: Gender-Related Issues in Eighteenth-Century Elmina |journal=Itinerario|volume=20|issue=1|pages=53|doi=10.1017/S0165115300021525 |s2cid=161114872}}
• Adjua Gyapiaba, herbalist, diviner{{cite journal |last=Ten Hove |first=O. |year=1996 |title=Creools-Surinaamse familienamen: De samenstelling van de Creools-Surinaamse bevolking in de negentiende eeuw|journal=OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse Taalkunde, Letterkunde en Geschiedenis.|volume=15|issue=2|pages=168|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_oso001199601_01/_oso001199601_01_0018.php|access-date=6 September 2024}}
• Frans Last, jurist, served as the attorney general (Dutch: procureur-generaal) at the Supreme Court of the Dutch East Indies{{cite web|url=http://www.kampennotarieel.nl/I-555c.htm|title=Acte van erkenning, aktenummer 3468|last=Rambonnet|first=F.|date=1 October 1839|website=kampennotarieel.nl|access-date=6 September 2024}}
• Cynthia Mamle Morrison, politician, minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection{{Cite web |title=Morrison, Cynthia Mamle |url=https://ghanamps.com/mp/morrison-cynthia-mamle/ |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Ghana MPS |language=en-US}}
• Willem Essuman Pietersen, politician{{cite book|last=Jenkins|first=Ray G.|title=Gold Coast Historians and their Pursuit of the Gold Coast Pasts: 1882-1917|publisher=University of Birmingham|page=585|year=1985|location=Birmingham}}
• Henry van Hien, nationalist leader{{sfn|Doortmont|2004|pp=424,448}}
• Hendrik Vroom, merchant{{sfn|Doortmont|2004|p=429}}

• Elmina Castle
• List of former European colonies
• List of cities in Ghana

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Adjaye|first=J.|title=Elmina, 'the Little Europe'|publisher=Sub-Saharan Publishers|date=2018|isbn=9789988550967}}
• {{cite book|last1=Diffie|first1=B.|last2=Winius|first2=G.|title=Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415-1580|date=1977|volume=1|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=0816608504}}
• {{cite book|last=Doortmont|first=Michel|title=The pen-pictures of modern Africans and African celebrities by Charles Francis Hutchison: a collective biography of elite society in the Gold Coast Colony|publisher=Brill|year=2004|location=Leiden|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=basZAAAAYAAJ|isbn=9789004140974}}
• {{cite book |last=Konadu |first=Kwasi |year=2010 |title=The Akan Diaspora in the Americas |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195390643 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390643.001.0001 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390643.001.0001 |access-date=23 April 2025}}
• {{cite book|last=Malyn|first=N.|url=https://www.routledge.com/A-History-of-Portuguese-Overseas-Expansion-1400-1668/Newitt/p/book/9780415239806|title=A History of Portuguese Overseas Expansion, 1400-1668|publisher=Routledge|date=2004|isbn=9780415239806}}

• {{cite book|last=DeCorse|first=Christopher R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uT91AAAAMAAJ|year=2001|title=An archaeology of Elmina. Africans and Europeans on the Gold Coast, 1400–1900|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|isbn=1-56098-971-8}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://archive.today/20130223102124/http://www.aluka.org/action/showCompilationPage?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.COMPILATION.HERITAGE-SITE.ELMINA Summary of Elmina] at Aluka
• {{EB1911|noprescript=1|wstitle=Elmina}}

{{coord|5|05|N|1|21|W|display=title}}

{{geographic location

|Centre = Elmina

|N = Amissano

|S = Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean)

|E = Cape Coast

|W = Daboase

}}

{{GhanaLargestCities|state=collapsed}}

{{Central Region, Ghana}}

{{portal bar|Africa}}

{{subject bar|voy=yes|c=yes|b=yes|s=yes}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Elmina

Category:Former Portuguese colonies

Category:Populated places in the Central Region (Ghana)