Treaty of Axim

Treaty of Axim (1642)

Agreement between General Jacob Ruijchaver of the Dutch West India Company and the caboceers of Axim
Fort St. Anthony at Axim, Dutch Gold Coast, 1709. Lithograph.
Type	Agreement confirming mutual jurisdictions and regulating mutual obligations
Signed	17 February 1642
Location	Axim (now Ghana)
Effective	17 February 1642
Expiration	6 April 1872 (some parts earlier)
Signatories	director general of the Dutch Gold Coast and the chiefs of Axim
Parties	States General of the Netherlands, Dutch West India Company, government of Axim
Language	Dutch
at

The Treaty of Axim was concluded between the Netherlands and the chiefs of Axim in the western region of the Gold Coast (West Africa) and signed at Fort St. Anthony near Axim on 17 February 1642. The treaty regulated the jurisdiction of the Netherlands and the Dutch West India Company in the town and polity of Axim after the Dutch West India Company had successfully attacked the Portuguese who were the occupants of Fort St. Anthony in the town. Over time, the agreement was in part superseded and replaced by new contracts and agreements. The treaty did remain the basis for Dutch jurisdiction and political relations between Axim and the Dutch until the latter left the Gold Coast in 1872.

The state of Axim, in what is now the Western Region of the Republic of Ghana, constituted a regional power in the form of a city state with two chiefs, each with their own territory and constituency. Axim had been a Portuguese trading post since the late 15th century, fortified with the fort St. Antonio (St. Anthony) since the early 16th century.

After conquering the Portuguese main establishment at Elmina in 1637, the Dutch West India Company quickly broke Portuguese resistance elsewhere along the coast. The fort at Axim was the main remaining stronghold. The Dutch captured the fort in 1642, gave the Portuguese and their allies free passage, and negotiated a treaty with the political leadership of Axim in order to normalise the situation. With the conquest of Axim, the Dutch became the major power in the area.

The agreement with the two paramount chiefs of Axim was concluded on 17 February 1642, immediately after the conquest of the fort. The agreement included several distinctive elements, dealing with very different issues. In the first place, the shift in allegiance from the Portuguese to the Dutch was tackled with a declaration of enmity towards the enemies of the Dutch. In terms of jurisdiction the Dutch demanded control over the foreign affairs of the state, presumably only in relation to other European powers, though it could be read to include all foreign nations.

The Portuguese and their allies in the fort and town were given safe passage and assistance with their departure from Axim. The remainder of the treaty dealt with mutual assistance in time of war, judicial authority, taxes and trade regulations. For the latter on copied the regulations in force at Elmina, which may have been the same as those in force under Portuguese jurisdiction.