Dutch, English and African shipbuilding craftsmanship in precolonial West Africa: An entangled history of construction, maintenance and repair

Abstract

In comparative perspective, this article examines the shipping, construction, maintenance and repair of Dutch and English ships, boats and canoes operating in West Africa during the precolonial period. In addition, I discuss the strategies adopted by Dutch, English, and other ‘nations’ of merchants present in the various coastal regions of the African continent, to cope with the challenges posed by port-to-port navigation and transportation in shallow river estuaries along the western coast of Africa. Among these strategies were the transport of pre-fabricated boats of small dimension to the coast on board of heavier ships and recruitment of personnel specialised in ship repair and shipbuilding, to the acquisition, either temporary or permanent, of African boats and recruitment of African boatmen. In this way, merchants’ success on the coast was dependent on both European and African shipbuilding craftsmanship and navigational skills. Our analysis is based on information gathered from travelogues, journals of voyages and collections of correspondence exchanged between European merchants and their commercial agents based in Africa, and between officials of the private European commercial companies on the African coast.