Hendrik Carloff

Henry Carloff or Henrik Caerloff , and several other variants, such as Carelove (1621/22- or between 1684 and 1691 began his career as a cabin boy, but rose to a soldier, clerk, auditor, payroll administrator, Commander and Director of the Dutch West India Company. He then joined the pseudo Swedish Africa Company and the pseudo Danish Africa Company on the Gold Coast. After a lawsuit in which he witnessed he threw himself on the slave trade. In the years 1676 and 1677 he was the Governor of Tobago.

There is not much known about the youth of the Hendrik Carloff. He was either born in , the Swedish/Polish Pillau or Duchy of Finland as he stated himself, but did not mention a town. In 1637 he was employed by the Dutch West India Company in Dutch Brazil, first as a soldier and then as a writer. Late May 1641 John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen sent an expedition of 21 ships with 2145 soldiers to Luanda. They arrived in August and October in Sao Tomé which was conquered, and the Portuguese reign in Africa was temporarily broken. (In 1642 the Dutch and the local chiefs signed the Treaty of Axim). From 1645-1649 Carloff served at Fort Elmina and Fort Nassau (Ghana) in Accra. In 1648 he managed to pry a commitment from the chief of the Efutu on the purchase of land. With a feigned illness Carloff, who had profound and personal knowledge of the power structure in Axim, went back to Europe in the hope someone might be interested in his plan.

After twelve years with the WIC he offered his service to Louis de Geer who shortly afterwards founded the pseudo Swedish Africa Company in Stade. He was hired for three years as commander and director at a salary of one hundred guilders and an ounce of gold per month to cover the charges. He was embarking on the Elbe and thence sailed to West-Africa. He arrived at the Gold Coast on April 22. Carloff signed a contract for the purchase of land with the chief of Efutu. There was a conflict with the Company of Merchants Trading to Guinea negotiating with Henniqua, a cousin of King of the Fetu about a British trading post. May 28, 1650 was a memorable event. Both Sweden and the British signed a treaty with the chief. The English obtained for only half a year the right to trade.

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