Closing the Books: Governor Edward Carstensen on Danish Guinea 1842-50

PREFACE

xxiii PREFACE A brief Biographical Note on Edward Carstensen Of all the Danish governors on the Gold Coast, Edward Carstensen became one of the most prominent. This, partly because of his open mind towards the situation in Africa and his reflections on the implementation of the great European scheme for the “civilization of Africa”; as well as his reflections on the possibilities of organizing and developing the Danish establishments there. Of equal importance, however, is the historical role he came to play – through no choice of his own. As fate would have it, he was the instrument by which two centuries of Danish involvement along the eastern coast of the Gold Coast was terminated, thereby making way for the emergence of the colonial system that developed there. Born and brought up in North Africa, in an international and diplomatic environment, Edw. Carstensen had a more realistic view of what he was going to find when he arrived at the Gold Coast, than did most of his countrymen who came to serve there. He arrived at the Danish chief fort, Christiansborg, on 18 May 1842, in the capacity of second assistant to the Danish Establishment. His travelling companion on the four-month-long journey from Copenhagen was the newlyappointed governor, B. J. C. Wilkens, whom he would very soon have to succeed. Edw. Carstensen came to the Gold Coast at a time of transition. The nineteenth century opened a new situation for European establishments on the Gold Coast. The slave trade was becoming illegal and the chief economic base for the European presence and activity on the Coast was apparently removed. The general thrust now was to find another kind of enterprise, and serious attempts were made to justify a continued presence there. For Denmark, in particular, the economic situation was precarious. The country was in great economic difficulties following the wars of the preceding decades, and understandably, after a 200year -long presence in Africa, Denmark was unwilling to give up any of its “territories”. Edw. Carstensen advanced to first assistant immediately upon his xxiv CLOSING THE BOOKS arrival.The previous first assistant, Lucas Dall, who had been appointed assistant to the Danish Establishment in 1834, resigned the same day and went back to Denmark. Then, only three months later, on 26 August 1842, Governor Wilkens died, and Carstensen was named interim governor to the Establishment, at the age of 27. With great energy he threw himself into the managerial affairs of the Establishment, intent on bringing about order. To secure his position, and to prevent a new appointee being sent out from Copenhagen, he applied to the King for a permanent position as governor. Probably in an effort to save money the response was much delayed - until 30 July 1844, when he felt it necessary to go to Copenhagen himself to present his case. His strategy was successful: he was duly appointed. Edw. Carstensen was born on 7 September in 1815 in Tripoli. His father, Johan Arnold Carstensen, had been an instructor at the Naval Academy and later became consular secretary in Algiers. He was then sent to Tripoli, first as charge d`affaires; then consul and consul-general. After this he held the position of consul-general in Morocco and, finally, he was appointed consul-general in Christiania [Oslo], Norway. Edw. Carstensen’s mother, Anna Magdalene Ulrich, also came from a much-travelled family; and her father, too, was in the diplomatic service. She herself was born in Reval [Tallinn], Estonia. Her father later became consul-general in Algiers, where she was to meet Johan Arnold Carstensen. In April 1841, Edw. Carstensen completed his degree in law, and, on 19 October the same year, he applied for the position of second assistant to the Danish Establishment on the Gold Coast. In the application he wrote that being the oldest of his father’s eight children, he hoped to obtain the position in order to ease his father’s burden of bringing up and providing for all the children. He also stated that he had the specific qualifications required for the position. He wrote: The undersigned, having spent his early years on the coast of Africa, if not completely acclimatized is yet more accustomed than most people to the influences of the climate; and also because of an upbringing in North Africa, in addition to later education, especially with regard to competence in languages, he will be able to communicate with the subjects of...