Fort Batenstein - History and official visitor information
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Fort Batentstein, Butre (1656) - The view of the Atlantic coastline from the bastions of Fort Batenstein is quite sensational. However, it was the promise of gold in the hinterland, and not simply the beauty of this ecological paradise, that prompted the Dutch to construct this small trading fort in 1656.
The sheer steepness of the hill was the fort’s greatest defence against imminent attack, but its constitution was so weak that the building literally shook on the occasions when its guns were fired in welcoming salutes. |
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William Bosman described it as ‘a tiny, ill designed fort’ . However, amidst the verdant vegetation, clean air and the waters of the beach, life at Fort Batenstein must have been, and still is, idyllic.
Visitor Registration for Butre`s Fort Batenstein
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Fort Batenstein was the second trading post established by the Dutch on their Gold Coast between 1595 and 1600, after Fort Nassau was founded in Mouri around the same time.
It was situated near Butre (old spelling: Boutry). In 1649, the trading post was upgraded into a fort. The fort was ceded with the entire Dutch Gold Coast to Britain in 1872. At this fort, the Treaty of Butre was signed on 27 August 1656 between the Dutch and the Ahanta. |
Otumfuo Baidoo Bonsoe ll, King of Ahanta
Badu Bonsu II was the leader of the Ahanta tribe and a Ghanaian king who was executed in 1838 by the Dutch, who, at the time, were in control of the Dutch Gold Coast.
Badu Bonsu II was the leader of the Ahanta tribe and a Ghanaian king who was executed in 1838 by the Dutch, who, at the time, were in control of the Dutch Gold Coast.
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Dear visitor! Please ask, where possible for permission, when taking pictures of people. Enjoy Butre!
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Seach Ghana-Net.com OR Ghanaweb-news.com
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The Fort Batenstein was consolidated between 2010 and 2011 with co-funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The fort is currently preserved as a ruin. Butre has a Town Tourism Development Committee, which offers guided tours to Fort Batenstein and the local area. > See Here Entrance Fees and Opening Times
The fort is currently preserved as a ruin. Butre has a Town Tourism Development Committee, which offers guided tours to Fort Batenstein and the local area. > See Here Entrance Fees and Opening Times
The Treaty of Butre between the Netherlands and Ahanta was signed at Butre (historical spelling: Boutry), Dutch Gold Coast on 27 August 1656. The treaty regulated the jurisdiction of the Netherlands and the Dutch West India Company over the town of Butre and the surrounding country of Upper Ahanta, creating a Dutch protectorate over the area. The treaty lasted until the Dutch departure from the Gold Coast in April 1872.
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The country of Ahanta, in what is now the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana, comprised a regional power in the form of a confederacy of chiefdoms which had come in early contact with the European nations settling on the Gold Coast for the purpose of trade.
In the middle of the seventeenth century the two European competitors in the area were the Dutch West India Company and the Swedish Africa Company. The Dutch had been active in Athana and resident in neighboring Axim since 1642, and the Swedish from Butre, had established a trading post in 1650. The European powers allied themselves with African states and chiefs in order to gain a sustainable dominance in the area.
In their efforts to dislodge the Swedish from Butre, the Dutch struck up different tactical alliances with thechiefdoms of Ahanta and the state of Encasser, a political entity of which little is known.
After the Dutch had driven the Swedish out of Butre, the director general of the Dutch West India Company, with headquarters in St. George d'Elmina in the central Gold Coast, decided that it would be beneficial to negotiate a treaty with the local political leadership in order to establish a peaceful long-term relationship. The Ahanta leaders found it equally beneficial to enter into such an agreement. The 1656 treaty signalled the definitive switch in European jurisdiction in the area until 1872.
The treaty and the terms of the protectorate turned out to be very stable, most likely in part because the Dutch never had the intention to interfere in the affairs of the Ahanta states. That is, except for the town of Butre, where they built a fort (Fort Batenstein). The treaty could be interpreted as a treaty of friendship and cooperation, rather than as a treaty establishing a Dutch protectorate. The Dutch worked in close cooperation with the local chief, who was also second in line in the political leadership of what became known as the Kingdom of Ahanta and had its capital at the nearby seaside town of Busua.
In 1837 the king of Ahanta, Baidoo Bonsoe II (Badu Bonsu II), rebelled against the Dutch government and killed several officers, including acting governor Hendrik Tonneboeijer. The Dutch government used the treaty as the basis for military action and an expeditionary force was sent to Ahanta. In the war that followed King Baidoo Bonsoe II was killed. The Dutch reorganised the Ahanta state, after the rebellion, appointing the chief of Butre as regent, keeping the country under close control with an enlarged military and civilian presence.
When the Dutch transferred their possessions on the Gold Coast to the British on 6 April 1872, the treaty of 1656 was still in effect, having regulated political relations between the Dutch and Ahanta for more than 213 years. The treaty was one of the oldest and one of the longest functioning treaties between an African and a European state.
With the Dutch possessions, the British took over all legal obligations including the existing treaties and contracts. After the transfer the British started to develop their own policies towards the now united Gold Coast possessions. Ahanta resisted the British take-over, with the result that the British Royal Navy bombed Butre in 1873 to achieve a political submission. In 1874 Britain declared the entire Gold Coast – including Ahanta – a Crown Colony, de jure and de facto ending all former diplomatic and legal obligations.
Although its trading prospects never materialized, Fort Batenstein provided useful services. Ships underwent repair works in the still waters of its bay, using timber acquired from the forest of Ahantaland. Cotton, sugar and coffee plantations were also set up on the rich soils behind the fort, along River Butre. The British acquired the fort on 6th April1872 and implemented a few basic structural adjustments.
In the middle of the seventeenth century the two European competitors in the area were the Dutch West India Company and the Swedish Africa Company. The Dutch had been active in Athana and resident in neighboring Axim since 1642, and the Swedish from Butre, had established a trading post in 1650. The European powers allied themselves with African states and chiefs in order to gain a sustainable dominance in the area.
In their efforts to dislodge the Swedish from Butre, the Dutch struck up different tactical alliances with thechiefdoms of Ahanta and the state of Encasser, a political entity of which little is known.
After the Dutch had driven the Swedish out of Butre, the director general of the Dutch West India Company, with headquarters in St. George d'Elmina in the central Gold Coast, decided that it would be beneficial to negotiate a treaty with the local political leadership in order to establish a peaceful long-term relationship. The Ahanta leaders found it equally beneficial to enter into such an agreement. The 1656 treaty signalled the definitive switch in European jurisdiction in the area until 1872.
The treaty and the terms of the protectorate turned out to be very stable, most likely in part because the Dutch never had the intention to interfere in the affairs of the Ahanta states. That is, except for the town of Butre, where they built a fort (Fort Batenstein). The treaty could be interpreted as a treaty of friendship and cooperation, rather than as a treaty establishing a Dutch protectorate. The Dutch worked in close cooperation with the local chief, who was also second in line in the political leadership of what became known as the Kingdom of Ahanta and had its capital at the nearby seaside town of Busua.
In 1837 the king of Ahanta, Baidoo Bonsoe II (Badu Bonsu II), rebelled against the Dutch government and killed several officers, including acting governor Hendrik Tonneboeijer. The Dutch government used the treaty as the basis for military action and an expeditionary force was sent to Ahanta. In the war that followed King Baidoo Bonsoe II was killed. The Dutch reorganised the Ahanta state, after the rebellion, appointing the chief of Butre as regent, keeping the country under close control with an enlarged military and civilian presence.
When the Dutch transferred their possessions on the Gold Coast to the British on 6 April 1872, the treaty of 1656 was still in effect, having regulated political relations between the Dutch and Ahanta for more than 213 years. The treaty was one of the oldest and one of the longest functioning treaties between an African and a European state.
With the Dutch possessions, the British took over all legal obligations including the existing treaties and contracts. After the transfer the British started to develop their own policies towards the now united Gold Coast possessions. Ahanta resisted the British take-over, with the result that the British Royal Navy bombed Butre in 1873 to achieve a political submission. In 1874 Britain declared the entire Gold Coast – including Ahanta – a Crown Colony, de jure and de facto ending all former diplomatic and legal obligations.
Although its trading prospects never materialized, Fort Batenstein provided useful services. Ships underwent repair works in the still waters of its bay, using timber acquired from the forest of Ahantaland. Cotton, sugar and coffee plantations were also set up on the rich soils behind the fort, along River Butre. The British acquired the fort on 6th April1872 and implemented a few basic structural adjustments.
The first trade post, at Butre, was established inb1598, by the Dutch West Indian Company.
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