The west African state, led by Nana Akufo-Addo, a human rights lawyer, has long been seen as a beacon of democracy. However, activists and rights groups say civil freedoms are being eroded by authorities reluctant to tackle illegal mining, a practice that began before independence when the former British colony was still named the Gold Coast. The illegal mining is known as “galamsey”, a pidgin contraction of the phrase “gather them and sell”, in reference to the way in which artisans gather alluvial deposits dispersed by large-scale activity of mining corporations.
The earliest Portuguese slave trade was actually along this coast. Picking up (buying!) slaves further along, say about where Lagos is now, then selling them to the Ashanti here on the Gold Coast where they were used to do that gold mining. The gold being used to buy the slaves from the Portuguese. Gold being very much cheaper along this coast than it was in Europe.
This really isn’t anything new. Well, OK, that it’s the Chinese buying the gold – and selling the machines to extract it – is but the basic industry? Nah…..
Human rights lawyers. They just don’t flush, do they?
Picking up (buying!) slaves further along, say about where Lagos is now, then selling them to the Ashanti here on the Gold Coast where they were used to do that gold mining.
By Mr Akufo-Addo’s ancestors probably, him being descended from one of the Gold Coast’s royal families.
I’m missing something here, how are civil freedoms eroded by someone doing “illegal mining”? Srsly – “I can’t work or speak freely or vote because somebody else is mining illegally over there”? Does the full article explain how this makes sense?
‘hundreds of Chinese people have established machinery stores, casinos, clinics, pubs and restaurants’
I gather the problem is all those damned immigrants, Esteban.
– Gold being very much cheaper along this coast than it was in Europe.
I wonder if they had individual grand voyages from Portugal down to Africa, some back and forth local slave trading, and then return home with a good weight in profit gold (probably with slaves for selling on too). Or was it more organised with coastal ships doing local slaving and ocean goers taking the goodies?
Saw Lisbon on a recent travel youtube; my god what an absolute overun rundown shithole it is with empty shops, broken windows and graffiti all over the fabulous old buildings. Hordes of black and brown and eastern Europe, open drug dealing, street robbery, garbage and faeces. Lots of cops but maybe only active in the few nice bits. Perhaps the earthquake wasn’t enough karma.
That’s very sad, PJF. When we visited 20 years ago Lisbon was a lovely city and very safe.
Depends upon where. There always have been areas that are v rough (such a surprise in a port city) and there was at least one drug market – not known as a nice place. But in general the place is fine.
I’ll take cheer in your local knowledge, Tim. Maybe they were just unlucky in the video; I did wonder if the graffiti and mess is an anti tourist thing. Would love to go but don’t suppose I ever will now.
PJF,
I wonder if they had individual grand voyages from Portugal down to Africa, some back and forth local slave trading, and then return home with a good weight in profit gold (probably with slaves for selling on too). Or was it more organised with coastal ships doing local slaving and ocean goers taking the goodies?
As a generalisation there were two types of ships. Fatter ones with junk sails that were very good at sailing across the wind, which is the prevailing wind on the African west coast, and they are much safer in storms because they are easier reef (reduce sail area). They are very bad at going up wind or even down wind.
To go up wind you need a Bermuda, Schooner or similar rig which allows sailing close to the wind, but that means they tend to heel and make for uncomfortable passages and are difficult to reef making them a bit more dangerous if you don’t reef early enough.
So my guess is they will have just used the one type, the junk rig for most of their trips as they didn’t need to cross an ocean.
Incidentally, the end of the legal Transatlantic slave trade led to big improvements in boat designs because they needed to be able to out run the Navy, so ship design became a bit of an arms race.
There’s a discussion of rigging types here: https://asa.com/news/2015/12/09/whats-in-a-rig-the-schooner/
As I say, that’s a generalisation.