User:GRogers3/Portuguese Gold Coast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) along the Gulf of Guinea.[1] Established in 1482, the colony was officially incorporated into Dutch territory in 1642 following Portugal’s defeat in the Dutch-Portuguese War.[2] From their seat of power at the fortress of São Jorge da Mina (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.[3] The primary export of the colony was gold, which was obtained through barter with the local population.[4] Portuguese presence along the Gold Coast increased seamanship 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.[5]
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