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Further Additions to Materials for West African History in the Archives of Belgium and Holland by Patricia Carson

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

H. M. Feinberg
H. M. Feinberg*
Affiliation:
Boston University
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Extract

This article is a supplement to a previous article on the same subject published in the African Studies Bulletin. Before I list further citations omitted from Materials for West African History in the Archives of Belgium and Holland, I will discuss, in some detail, the nature of the archival material deposited in the Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague. I will attempt to enhance the brief discussions of Miss Carson while avoiding repetition of statements which seem clear and/or are adequately discussed in her book.

The General State Archives, The Hague, includes two major collections of interest to the West African historian: the Archives of the West India Companies and the Archives of the Netherlands Settlements on the Guinea Coast. Initially, one must realize that most of the seventeenth-century papers of both collections have been lost or destroyed, and that as a consequence there are many gaps among the existing manuscripts. For example, volume 81 (1658-1709) of the Archives of the Netherlands Settlements on the Guinea Coast includes only manuscripts for the following times: December 25, 1658-June 12, 1660; August, 1693; and October 12-December 31, 1709. Also, most of the seventeenth-century material is written in script, whereas the eighteenth-century manuscripts, with some exceptions, are in more conventional hand-writings.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , April 1969 , pp. 81 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1969

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References

1 African Studies Bulletin, X, 3 (12, 1967), 48–53 Google Scholar.

2 As in the previous article, I am concerned only with the Holland part of Miss Carson's book. I worked in the Netherlands for just over one year.

3 First West Indian Company, 1621-1674; Second West Indian Company, 1674-1791.

4 Primarily covering the period 1700-1872. In addition, for the nineteenth century, there are the Archives of the Ministry of Colonies, but I will not discuss these archives here.

5 Ratelband points out that in 1821 many documents of the First West India Company were sold and consigned to the paper mills, and in 1844 a fire in the Department of Marine destroyed many of the remaining documents. Ratelband, K., Vijf Dagregisters van het Kasteel Sao Jorge da Mina (The Hague, 1953), xxv Google Scholar.

6 However, the manuscripts for December, 1709 are in very bad condition and almost illegible.

7 The forts, in 1750, were: St. George, Elmina; Coenraadsburg, Elmina; St. Anthony, Axim; Hollandia, Prince's Town; Dorothea, Akwida; Batensteyn, Butri; Witzen, Takoradi; Orange, Sekondi; St. Sebastian, Shama; Vredenburg, Kommenda; Nassau, Mori; Amsterdam, Kormantin; Leydsaamheid, Apam; Goede Hoop, Beraku; Crevecoeur, Accra.

8 It far surpasses the collection in the Treasury Papers (T/70) of the Public Records Office, London.

9 The Chambers of the Second West India Company were: Amsterdam, Zeeland (Middelburg): Maaze (Rotterdam), North Quarter (Hoorn and Enkhuizen), and Stad en Lande (Groningen).

10 A practically complete set of these “Monster Rollen” is available between 1700 and 1760. Note should be taken of the fact that although such papers as are being cited are available, complete sets for long periods of time may not always exist.

11 Published in de Jonge, J. K. J., De Oorsprong van Nederland's Bezittingen op de Kust van Guinea (The Hague, 1871), p. 57 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

12 The Archives of the Ministry of Colonies continues past the year 1849. The volumes after this date are deposited in Schaarsbergen (near Arnhem). These include the “Journals of St. George d'Elmina,” to 1872.

13 Cited in: Verslagen omtrent s'Rijks Oude Archieven, I, 1921, Bijlage III, p. 111 Google Scholar.

14 Ibid.

15 Listed in: Inventaris der Verzameling Kaarten berustende in Het Algemeen Rijksarchief, 1st Supplement (The Hague, 1914)Google Scholar.

16 This collection is in the process of reorganization. The first number is the new number, the second number, in parentheses, the old.

17 Reizen op en Beschrijving van de Goudkust van Guinea, 2 vols. (The Hague, 1817–1818)Google Scholar.