Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Fort Prindzenstein: A Monument in the Identity of Keta-Someawo

2015; University of Wisconsin Press; Volume: 18; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/ghs.2015.0000

2333-7168

Philip Atsu Afeadie,

Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

Fort PrindzensteinA Monument in the Identity of Keta-Someawo Philip Atsu Afeadie (bio) Introduction Recent research has illuminated the evolution of the Ewe people as a group from their central place of origin at Ketu in modern Benin Republic, from which they migrated through Notsie in Togoland, to their resettlement in the Gold Coast, and subsequent development of the Ewe economy and society up to contemporary times.1 Regarding the individual and autonomous Ewe societies such as those in southeastern Ghana including Klikor, Some, Aflao, Wheta, Afife, Avenor, Fenyi, Dzodze, Ave and Agave, however, their identity and migration from the parent settlements of Ketu and Notsie are not well known. Also, their resettlement and evolution in Ghana is not well documented, with the exception of the Anlo.2 Indeed, inter-Ewe relations remain obscure and elusive. In this context, research on the establishment and assertion of identity by one of the Ewe societies, the Keta-Someawo, is [End Page 3] instructive for Ewe history. And Fort Prindzenstein embodies that historical knowledge, thus providing a crucial site for exploring the development of Ewe identity. Generally, European fortifications on the West African coastline, such as Fort Prindzenstein, symbolized Europeans’ powerful presence and interaction with African people from the fifteenth to eighteenth century. The forts, which functioned as European towns with their own sovereignty and jurisdiction, were built to control and protect trade against African rivals as well as fellow European competitors. Management of the forts was therefore crucial to Afro-European relations and trade. This paper examines the operation of the Danish fort, Prindzenstein, and the fort’s impact on the local people of Keta, specifically the role of Prindzenstein in developing the identity of the people of Keta. To this end, the paper will explore events leading to the construction of Prindzenstein, the original identity of the local inhabitants prior to the fort’s construction, general Danish administration, the initially effective management of Prindzenstein and spread of Danish influence, and the subsequent inefficient Danish administration, which affected the people of Keta and their identity. This is an interpretive study based on empirical evidence, drawing on the available literature and contemporary European and African accounts. The sources include observations and reports of Danish officials, historical research on Ewe traditions as documented by European missionaries, and other studies of Ewe traditions by African and Africanist scholars, including Danish historian George Norregard. The present study makes an original contribution by articulating the relationship between Prindzenstein and the flowering of Keta-Someawo identity. Toward Construction of Prindzenstein Fort Prindzenstein, built at Keta in 1784, grew out of the Danish military presence on the Lower Guinea Coast. Economically, the fort constituted a feature in the expansion of Danish power and economic influence on the Guinea coast, east of Accra in the 1780s, resulting from the reduction of English and Dutch trade that accompanied the Anglo-Dutch War of 1780. Fort Prindzenstein’s location at Keta, which had developed into a flourishing trading post, reflected the purpose for its construction. Keta’s traders had become very active in the lagoon trade east of the Volta River, supplying salt and dried fish. To the sea, Keta supplied passing European ships with fresh water and provisions such as game, oxen, sheep, crabs, and [End Page 4] oysters, as well as ivory and slaves.3 Indeed, Keta had the largest trading station on the Slave Coast between the Volta and Aflao, and this would interest the Danish establishment, based at Christiansborg Castle in Osu, Accra. Danish Governor Lygaard expressed Danish interest in the area by establishing a trading representative in Keta in the first decade of the eighteenth century.4 This development led to the establishment of a Danish lodge at Keta by the middle of the century, the primary objective being to control the flourishing trade. The people of Anlo-Keta, who cherished free trade and dealings with all visiting Europeans, greatly resented the Danish attempt at controlling trade. Resentment would manifest in the disruption of Danish trade and the destruction of the Danish lodge at Keta. As Paul Isert, chief physician of the Danish establishment on the Guinea coast reported, “if we sent any wares with our...