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. Elmina was the first European settlement in West Africa and it has a population of 33,576 people, as of 2013. Nowadays, Elmina shows strong influence from Europe i<nowiki/>n its culture and people.

Etymology

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. It eventually was named after the Elmina Castle, which is also called "São Jorge da Mina". The word "Elmina" simply means "the mine".

17th Century to present

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. 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.

In the late 17th century, Quam Desu led a community of Ga and Gen(Mina) to flee from the 1677 Akwamu conquest on Elmina and join the coastal city of Little Popo in Togo. Further attacks on coastal settlements between 1680 and 1681 led to the formation of several coastal settlements to the East. The escapees were eventually joined by Ofori, the presumed king of the displaced Accra kingdom after Okai Koi was killed, when he established Glidji in the Little Popo region sometime between 1683 and 1687. According to a local history written by King Agbanon II, the Ga people migrated from the Accra kingdom under the guidance of members of the nobility including the two princes, Foli Bebe and Foli Hemadzro, after the suicide of their King Okai Koi in 1677, and the eventual Akwamu conquest of Accra. The Ga established a permanent settlement in 1680 at Glidji, which would later become the capital of the Glidji kingdom.

The British adventurer Archibald Dalzel reported in 1793 that Little Popo is “a small, but very warlike kingdom, the remains of the Accras, who were driven out of their own territories on the Gold Coast, by the Aquamboes, in 1680.”

Economy

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 within Elmina, tourism and economic development, improved health services, and improved educational services.

Tourism

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.

Fishing

Elmina is home to the Elmina Fishing Harbour, the third largest fish landing site in Ghana, beaten by the Tema and Sekondi harbours. 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.

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. The current municipal chief of Elmina is Hon. Solomon Ebo Appiah.

Culture

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.

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.

Sister cities

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

  • Gouda, Netherlands (2006)
  • Macon, United States (2001)

Notable people

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  • Solomon Kojo Antwi, footballer
  • Jacobus Capitein, writer, first individual of African descent to be ordained as a minister in an established Protestant church
  • George Emil Eminsang, merchant, politician
  • Frederik Willem Fennekol, politician
  • Adjua Gyapiaba, herbalist, diviner
  • Frans Last, jurist, served as the attorney general (Dutch: procureur-generaal) at the Supreme Court of the Dutch East Indies
  • Cynthia Mamle Morrison, politician, minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection
  • Willem Essuman Pietersen, politician
  • Henry van Hien, nationalist leader
  • Hendrik Vroom, merchant

See also

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

References

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Summary of Elmina at Aluka