03/07/2023
EDINA BOTWEKU IN FOCUS:
IT'S BAKATUE! LET'S ENJOY AND BE GLAD THROUGHOUT 🎊
Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, 12 kilometres (7+1⁄2 miles) west of Cape Coast. Elmina was the first European settlement in West Africa.
SHORT HISTORY.:
Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, Edina (Elmina) was called Anomansa ("perpetual" or "inexhaustable drink") from its position on the peninsula between the Benya lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the historian Wartemberg, Edina was founded by the first Chief, Nana Kwa Amankwa, hence its original name Amankwakrom, who ruled from 1300-1355 AD. Other chiefs that ruled until early 17th century were:
1355-1390 Kwegya Ansah I
1390-1426 Ampɔn Kuma
1426-1450 Ebu I
1450-1475 Amankwaa II
1475-1510 Kwamena Ansah (Don Diego Di Azambuja arrived during his time
1510-1545 Kwegya Ansah II
1545-1572 Kofi Ahen
1572-1605 Esilfie Kondua
The Portuguese first reached what became known as the Gold Coast in 1471. Prince Henry the Navigator first sent ships to explore the African coast in 1418. The Portuguese had several motives for voyaging south. They were attracted by rumors of fertile African lands that were rich in gold and ivory. They also sought a southern route to India so as to circumvent Arab traders and establish direct trade with Asia. In line with the strong religious sentiments of the time, another focus of the Portuguese was Christian proselytism. They also sought to form an alliance with the legendary Prester John, who was believed to be the leader of a great Christian nation somewhere far from Europe.
These motives prompted the Portuguese to develop the Guinea trade. They made gradual progress down the African coast, each voyage reaching a point further along than the last. After fifty years of coastal exploration, the Portuguese finally reached Elmina in 1471, during the reign of King Afonso V. However, because Portuguese royalty had lost interest in African exploration as a result of meager returns, the Guinea trade was put under the oversight of the Portuguese trader, Fernão Gomes. Upon reaching present day Elmina, Gomes discovered a thriving gold trade already established among the natives and visiting Arab and Berber traders. He established his own trading post, and it became known to the Portuguese as
"A Mina" (the Mine) because of the gold that could be found there.
THE PORTUGUESE IN WEST AFRICA
The Portuguese were the first to arrive. By 1471, under the patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator, they had reached the area that was to become known as the Gold Coast because Europeans knew the area as the source of gold that reached Muslim North Africa by way of trade routes across the Sahara.
In 1478 (during the War of the Castilian Succession), a Castilian (Spanish) 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 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. This was the first colonial war among European powers. Many more would follow.
ELMINA CASTLE
The Portuguese finished building a fort in 1482, after obtaining permission from the local king, King Caramansa or, better, Kwamena Ansah, who was described by the Portuguese as "seated on a high bench with a necklace of gold and precious stones, legs and arms covered with gold bracelets, silk dress with rings of ..."
The town grew around São Jorge (St. George) da Mina Castle, built by the Portuguese Don Diego de Azambuja on the site of a town or village called Amankwakrom or Amankwa.
Elmina Castle is historically important as it is the earliest European construction in the Gulf of Guinea, and the oldest castle in sub-Saharan Africa.
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 (1500s).
BAKATUE FESTIVAL
Edina 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 also celebrated to invoke the deity, Nana Benya's continuous protection of the state and its people.
ASAFO COMPANIES OF EDINA
In Edina, Asafo companies emerged in the early 18th century out of the wards of Edina that had existed since at least the 17th century.
The various companies in Edina are:
- Ankobea (also Ankobia) ...
- Akyemfo (also Akim) ...
- Akyem-Nkodwo (also Ɛnkɔdwo) ...
- Wombir (previously Assamfo or Apagyafo)
- Abese (also Abesi)
HAPPY EDINA BAKATUE!!!
