History of Portugal since the Battle of AljubarrotaSociety and economy

Founding of São Jorge da Mina (Elmina)

On the Gold Coast of West Africa the Portuguese built the fortress of São Jorge da Mina to guard the royal monopoly of the gold trade; today the oldest surviving European building in sub-Saharan Africa, it later became a hub of the Atlantic slave trade.

Date: January 1482month known
Place: São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle)today: Elmina, Ghana · Africa
Participants: John II of Portugal, Kingdom of Portugal
Threads: History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
Also known as: Elmina Castle; Castelo de São Jorge da Mina; Эльмина; Элмина

Since Gil Eanes passed Cape Bojador in 1434, the Portuguese had advanced step by step along the African coast; in 1471 they reached the Gold Coast and found a thriving gold trade there. The Treaty of Alcáçovas (1479) left Portugal the exclusive right to sail and trade in the Atlantic south of the Canary Islands, and John II decided to protect the trade with a fortress. A fleet under Diogo de Azambuja, carrying prefabricated stonework and supplies for 600 men, sailed in December 1481 and arrived on 19 January 1482. The local ruler, whom the Portuguese called Caramansa, reluctantly allowed the building, and work began at once.

Mina became a major source of gold for the Portuguese crown and later one of the main stations of the slave trade. The Dutch West India Company captured the castle in 1637; in 1872 it passed to Britain, and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ghana.

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Voyage of Bartolomeu Dias around the southern tip of Africabetween July and August 1487 – December 1488 · Africaboth belonged to John II’s African programme; five years later Dias sailed on to the south
Insurrection of Pernambuco: the Dutch expelled from Brazil15 May 1645 – 26 January 1654 · Latin Americathe Dutch West India Company, which took Elmina in 1637, then also held north-eastern Brazil