Portuguese Gold Coast

The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) on the Gulf of Guinea.

Portuguese Gold Coast

Costa do Ouro
1482–1642
Flag
Coat of arms
StatusColony
of the Portuguese Empire
CapitalSão Jorge da Mina
Common languagesPortuguese
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Head of state 
• King
   1482–1495 (first)
John II of Portugal
• King
   1640–1642 (last)
John IV of Portugal
Captain-major 
• 1482–1484 (first)
Diogo de Azambuja
• 1634–1642 (last)
António da Rocha Magalhães
History 
• Established
21 January 1482
• Disestablished
9 January 1642
Succeeded by
Dutch Gold Coast
Gold Coast

History

The Portuguese established the following settlements on the Gold Coast from 21 January 1482:

  • Fort São Jorge da Mina de Ouro, modern Elmina: 21 January 1482 – 28–9 August 1637; this became the capital
  • Fort Santo António de Axim, modern Axim: 1486 – 1642
  • Fort São Francisco Xavier, modern Osu, district of Accra: 1640–1642
  • Fort São Sebastião, modern Shama: 1526–1637.

On 29 August 1637 the Dutch occupied São Jorge da Mina. On 9 January 1642 the whole colony was ceded to the Dutch, who made it part of their Dutch Gold Coast colony.[1]

Captains-major

The Portuguese governors, going by this modest, military style, were:

  • 1482 – 1485 - Diogo de Azambuja
  • 1485 – 1486 - Álvaro Vaz Pestano
  • 148? – Álvaro Mascarenhas
  • c.1487 – João Fogaça
  • 1495 – 1499 - Lopo Soares de Albergaria
  • 1499? – 1503? - Fernão Lopes Correia
  • 1503? – 1506? - Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
  • 1506? – 1509? - António de Bobadilha
  • c.1510 – Manuel de Góis[2]
  • 1513 – Afonso Caldeira
  • c.1513 – António Fróis[2]
  • 1514 – 1516? - Nuno Vaz de Castelo Branco
  • 1516? – 1519 - Fernão Lopes Correia
  • 1519 – 1522 - Duarte Pacheco Pereira
  • 1522 – 1524 - Afonso de Albuquerque
  • 1524 – 1525 - João de Barros[2]:26
  • 1526 – 1529 - João Vaz de Almada
  • 1529 – 1532 - Estêvão da Gama
  • 1536 – 1537 - Manuel de Albuquerque
  • 1537 – 1540? - ....
  • 1540 – 1543 - António de Miranda de Azevedo
  • 1541 – 1545? - Lopo de Sousa Coutinho
  • 1545 – Diogo Soares de Albergaria (1st time)
  • 1545 – 1548 - António de Brito
  • 1548 – 1550 - Lopo de Sousa Coutinho[2]:30
  • 1550? – Martim de Castro
  • 1550? – 1552? - Diogo Soares de Albergaria (2nd time)
  • 1552? – Filipe Lobo
  • 1552? – 1556? - Rui de Melo
  • 1556 – 155? - Afonso Gonçalves de Botafogo
  • 155? – 1559 - António de Melo
  • 1559 – Manuel da Fonseca
  • 1559 – 1562 - Rui Gomes de Azevedo
  • 1562 – 15.. - Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo
  • c.1562 – João Vaz de Almada Falcão
  • 156? – Francisco de Barros de Paiva
  • 1564 – 15.. - Fernando Cardoso
  • 15.. – 1570 - ....
  • 1570 – 1573 - António de Sá
  • c.1573 – Martim Afonso
  • c.1574 – c.15.. - Mendio da Mota
  • 15.. – c.1579 - ....
  • 1579 – c.1583 - Vasco Fernandes Pimentel
  • 1583 – 1586 - João Rodrigues Pessanha
  • 1586 – 15.. - Bernardinho Ribeiro Pacheco
  • 15.. – 1586 - ...
  • 1586 – 1594 - João Róis Coutinho
  • c.1595 – c.1596 - Duarte Lôbo da Gama
  • 1596 – 1608 - Cristóvão de Melo
  • 1608 – 1610 - Duarte de Lima
  • 1610 – 1613 - João de Castro
  • 1613 – 1616 - Pedro da Silva
  • 1616/17 – 1624 - Manuel da Cunha de Teive
  • 1624 – c.1625 - Francisco de Souto-Maior
  • 162? – 162? - Luís Tomé de Castro
  • 162? – 1629 - João da Serra de Morais
  • 1629 – c.1632 - ....
  • 1632 – 1634 - Pedro de Mascarenhas
  • 1634 – 1634 - Duarte Borges (acting)
  • 1634 – 1642 - André da Rocha Magalhães (acting)
  • 1642 – 1642 - Francisco de Sotte

References
  1. Newitt, Malyn (2010-06-28). The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670: A Documentary History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-49129-7.
  2. Wilks, Ivor. Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (1997). Bakewell, Peter (ed.). Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas. Aldershot: Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 24.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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