Ghana: Jan Pranger, the Dutch Director-General of the Gold Coast (1730-4), painted by Frans van der Mijn in 1742.

The Gold Coast of West Africa was captured from the Portuguese by the Dutch West India Company (GWC) in 1637, and was used as a port for trading gold, as well as for its fleets’ long voyages to Asia where the Netherlands controlled majority stakes in the spice trade, and to the Americas where the GWC shipped slaves. The Gold Coast remained in Dutch hands until 1872-4 when the British moved in and made it a Crown Colony. Ghana achieved independence in 1957.

In this oil painting, the director-general wears a bright red jacket with richly embroidered cuffs. Below his tricorn hat he wears a wig, but a long ponytail is visible and there are traces of powder on his shoulder. Pranger points to an ivory staff of office on the table, which is covered with a green cloth bearing the initials GWC—'Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie'—meaning the Dutch West India Company. Behind him a servant waits patiently, holding a ‘pajong’, a ceremonial parasol, under his arm.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History