62 – 63 Otto Friedrich von der Groeben This portrait shows Otto Friedrich, Count von der Groeben, who became renowned as the founder of the fortress of Gross Friedrichsburg, located in today’s Ghana. The half-length portrait depicts him in armour and with Electoral Brandenburg’s Order ‘de la Générosité’. Von der Groeben had entered the service of Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg in 1681, who entrusted him with leading Brandenburg’s expedition to Africa in May 1682.1 The aim was to establish Brandenburg alongside England, the Netherlands, and Spain as an overseas trading power. To this end, trading posts were to be set up in Africa. He set off with two ships towards Africa and the flag of Electoral Brandenburg was hoisted on African soil on 1 January 1683. Soon after, construction of the fortress Gross Friedrichsburg began on the West African coast. Since 1682, the Brandenburgisch- Afrikanische Compagnie was involved in trading with gold, ivory, rubber, but also the slave trade.2 In the expectation of great profits, Brandenburg-Prussia shipped between 10,000 and 30,000 enslaved Africans in the following decades.3 Various elements in the portrait refer to von der Groeben’s work for the elector. He is holding a floor plan of the fortress Gross Friedrichsburg in his right hand and is handing it to an African man. The inscription on the floor plan refers to the confiscation of African territory in the name of the elector on 1 January 1683 and the establishment of the fortress. A treaty signed that January between Brandenburg and the African population stated, among other things, that the fort was to offer them protection to ward off attacks by other trading nations or other African ethnic groups.4 In return, they promised the Electorate of Brandenburg exclusive trading rights. The portrait is understood to depict this transaction as well. Von der Groeben hands over the floor plan of the fortress as a symbol of the alleged protection that Brandenburg assured the Africans upon the establishment of the fortress. In contrast to von der Groeben, the African man in the picture does not show any personal features, so he cannot be recognised as an individual. In the picture, he represents the African population on the territory where Brandenburg founded its trading post. | ALEX ANDRA NINA BAUER
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