Portuguese Gold Coast
Portuguese Gold Coast Costa do Ouro | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1482–1642 | |||||||
| Status | Colony of the Portuguese Empire | ||||||
| Capital | São Jorge da Mina | ||||||
| Common languages | Portuguese | ||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||
| Head of state | |||||||
• 1482–1495 (first) | John II of Portugal | ||||||
• 1640–1642 (last) | John IV of Portugal | ||||||
| Captain | |||||||
• 1482–1484 (first) | Diogo de Azambuja | ||||||
• 1642–1642 (last) | Francisco de Sotte | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | 21 January 1482 | ||||||
• Disestablished | 9 January 1642 | ||||||
| |||||||
The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) along the Gulf of Guinea.
From their seat of power at the fortress of São Jorge da Mina (established in 1482 and located in modern Elmina), the Portuguese commanded a vast internal slave trade, creating a slave network that would expand after the end of Portuguese colonialism in the region. The primary export of the colony was gold, which was obtained through barter with the local population. Portuguese presence along the Gold Coast increased seamanship and trade in the Gulf, introduced American crops (such as maize and cassava) into the African agricultural landscape, and made Portuguese an enduring language of trade in the area.
The colony was officially incorporated into Dutch territory in 1642.