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Research ArticleArticle

The European and Eurafrican Population of the Danish Forts on the Eighteen-Century Gold Coast

HOLGER WEISS
African Economic History, January 2018, 46 (1) 36-68; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/aeh.46.1.36
HOLGER WEISS
Holger Weiss () is professor in general history at Åbo Akademi University, Finland and guest professor in history at Dalarna University, Sweden. His research focuses on Global and Atlantic history, West African environmental history, and Islamic Studies (with a special focus on Islam in Ghana). His latest publications are (Leiden: Brill 2014), (ed.) (Leiden: Brill 2015), (Helsingfors: Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland, 2016), and (ed.) (Leiden: Brill 2017).
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Abstract

This essay focuses on the demographic consequences of entanglement in the Danish possessions on the Gold Coast in West Africa. Two sets of data will be analyzed, one on the European composition of the Danish enclaves and discusses demographic trends and ruptures, the other on the Eurafrican population in the Danish enclaves. The first part of the study focusses on the survival of the European personnel in the Danish possessions on the Gold Coast. Similar to the experience of other European trading nations in West Africa, the Guinea Coast was a “White Man’s Grave” for the Danish personnel as about half of the newly arrived staff members died within the first year on the coast. The second part deals with the employment and careers of the Eurafricans, i.e., the children of Danish fathers and local African or Eurafrican women. While the Danish authorities enlisted some of the Eurafrican boys as military staff members, the fate of the Eurafrican girls was unclear. In contrast to the Europeans, the Eurafrican population seldom succumbed to the coastal climate. Instead, demographic data suggests that their life expectancy was relatively high, at least compared to that of the European personnel.

  • © 2018 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
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African Economic History: 46 (1)
African Economic History
Vol. 46, Issue 1
1 Jan 2018
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The European and Eurafrican Population of the Danish Forts on the Eighteen-Century Gold Coast
HOLGER WEISS
African Economic History Jan 2018, 46 (1) 36-68; DOI: 10.3368/aeh.46.1.36

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The European and Eurafrican Population of the Danish Forts on the Eighteen-Century Gold Coast
HOLGER WEISS
African Economic History Jan 2018, 46 (1) 36-68; DOI: 10.3368/aeh.46.1.36
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Background: The Danes at the Gold Coast
    • The European Population and Fort Community
    • The Eurafrican Population: European Fathers and African Mothers
    • Conclusion
    • Acknowledgment
    • Footnotes
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
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