Archaeological manifestations of cross-cultural encounters along the Dixcove coastline, Western Region, Ghana

ABSTRACT

Using both archaeological and historical data, this paper examines the consequences of the British presence at Dixcove in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries and how their encounter with local Ahanta populations there impacted the body polity of Ahantaland and the local economy. It shows that prior to the advent of the British and their construction of Fort Metal Cross, Dixcove was a small coastal chiefdom with fishing and salt production constituting the mainstays of the local economy. The period subsequent to British arrival then witnessed the rapid development of vibrant commercial relations between the two groups and the evolution of Dixcove from cosmopolitan to urban status.

RÉSUMÉ

Employant les données archéologiques et historiques, cet article examine les conséquences de la présence britannique à Dixcove entre les dix-septième et dix-neuvième siècles, et considère la manière dont leur rencontre avec les populations Ahanta locales impacta sur la politie d'Ahantaland et l'économie locale. L'étude a révélé qu'avant l'arrivée des Britanniques et leur construction de Fort Metal Cross, Dixcove était une petite chefferie côtière où la pêche et la production de sel constituaient les piliers de l'économie locale. La période suivant l'arrivée britannique vit le développement rapide de relations commerciales dynamiques entre les deux groupes, et Dixcove évolua d’un statut cosmopolite à un statut urbain.

KEYWORDS:

• Atlantic contact era
• cross-cultural encounters
• Dixcove
• Ghana

Notes on contributor

Fritz Biveridge is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. His research interests include issues relating to heritage management, culture contact, acculturation patterns and the socio-economic and political implications of the latter on the groups involved. He is currently investigating the consequences of the British presence along the Dixcove coastline and how it impacted Ahantaland and neighbouring polities in the early sixteenth to late nineteenth centuries.

ORCID

Fritz Biveridge http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7754-3394