Willem Bosman

Willem Bosman ( born January 12, 1672 Utrecht -? ) Occurred very early in the service of the Dutch West India Company. In 1688, at age 16, he came to the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) and later became the chief representative of the company in Elmina, the capital of the Dutch here. Bosman spent 14 years on the Gold Coast and traveled in this time also other parts of the coast of Guinea, Liberia, for example, before he returned to the Netherlands in 1702.

He became famous for a book in which he wrote down his experiences at the Golfdküste: " Nauwkeurige Descripción van de Guinese Goud, Tand -en Slavenkust " published in 1704 in Amsterdam. 1708 was followed by a German edition under the name " Boßmann, Wilhelm: Reyse to Guinea, or detailed description dasiger gold mines / Elephant Teeth and slave - trade / plus those residents morals / religion / regiment / wars / Heyrathen and funerals / also old hieselbst contained animals / so bishero been unbekandt in Europe. " and other issues in english and French.

He describes very detailed his experiences, but also manners and customs of the places visited. The work is considered the standard work on the Guinea coast of his time. Only in 1974 reported Albert van Dantzig doubt on some representations of ( Willem Bosman's "New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea ": How Accurate Is It In: . Albert van Dantzig. Willem Bosman History in Africa Volume 1, 1974. pp. 101-108 ).

• Elmina
• History ( Ghana)
• Netherlander
• Born in 1672
• Died in the 18th century
• Man