European Cash Coasts of Africa: Pepper, Ivory, Gold and Slave Coasts Explained
European Cash Coasts of Africa
Before the Berlin Conference formalized European claims to African land in the late nineteenth century, coastal West Africa was already mapped for commerce. Early French and Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century divided the shoreline into four cash coasts, each tied to a major export: the Pepper Coast, Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, and Slave Coast.
Pepper Coast — Also Called the Grain Coast
The Pepper Coast, sometimes called the Grain Coast or Malaguetta Coast, stretched across what is now Liberia. It earned its name from the valuable Malaguetta pepper once exported in huge quantities to Europe.
Ivory Coast
The French named Côte d’Ivoire, literally Ivory Coast, for the lucrative ivory trade. Portuguese sailors had earlier referred to the region as Costa do Marfim, and French traders sometimes called it côte des dents, or teeth coast, referencing elephant tusks.
Gold Coast
The Gold Coast, present-day Ghana, was famed for its rich gold deposits. British, Portuguese and Dutch merchants all fought to control this profitable hub.
Slave Coast
The Slave Coast included parts of modern-day Nigeria, Togo, Benin and the Bight of Benin. From the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, this region was a center of the transatlantic slave trade, supplying enslaved Africans to European ships bound for the Americas.
The Berlin Conference and Its Lasting Impact
The Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885, also known as the Congo Conference, was not the beginning of European exploitation but marked the formal partition of Africa. European powers — Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and others — expanded claims so rapidly that by 1900 nearly 90 percent of Africa was under colonial rule. These artificial borders ignored existing ethnic and cultural boundaries, leading to divisions and displacement still felt today.
Africa’s New Mineral Coast — From Gold to Conflict Minerals
Today Africa’s coasts and interior supply global markets with new cash crops: conflict minerals such as tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold. These minerals fuel modern technology but can also fund violence.
In 2010, the United States passed the Dodd-Frank Act, requiring companies to trace and disclose the origins of these minerals if they come from conflict zones, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbors. Firms like Apple have committed to auditing smelters and removing non-compliant suppliers to promote responsible sourcing.
