G O L 



The honour of the firft dircovery of tlie Gold Coaft is 

 coutelled between tlie French and Portugucfe ; the Freiich 

 .pretend that they were acquainted with Nigritia and Guinea 

 above lOO v'ars before the Portugucfe began their difco- 

 veries, or about the year 1346 or 1364, but little credit is 

 altaehed to rhefe .tocoUHts of French writers. The Purtu- 

 gu.'fo, it is faid, fitted out a fliip at Lifbun, under the pro- 

 tection of Do;! Henry, for the folc purpole of making dif- 

 coveries along the coail of Africa. At this time Alphoiifo I. 

 reigned in Portugal. The navigators, it is further faid, 

 were driven on an illand in the gulf of Guinea, wiiich they 

 called St. Thomas, and where they made a long ilay, lay- 

 ing the firll foundation of a colony in this ifland. Having 

 repaired their veffel, they returned to Lifbon, and arrived 

 there in 1454 The Portuguefe foon equipped a fleet, and 

 pulhed their difcoveries as far as Benin, and in procefs of 

 lime arrived in tiie road of Acra, ou the Gold Coail, where 

 they procured a quantity of gold. A number of adven- 

 turers from the illand of St. Thomas arrived at Ehuina 

 four years after the departure of the French. Purchas re- 

 lates, that Alphonfo, having little leifure for purfuing difco- 

 veries towards the latter end of his reign, gave an exclufive 

 privilege for five years to Fernando Gomez, a citizen of 

 Lilbon, to fail to the coaft of Africa: and a perfun, de- 

 puted by him, fays Purchas, difcovcred Elniina; and dur- 

 ing this period, were alfo difcovcred the iflands uf St. Tho- 

 mas, St, Matthew, Annobon, and del' Principe. In 1481 

 John II. encouraged the commercial fpirit of his fubjecls, 

 and proji'Cled further difcoveries; and it was probably upon 

 this occalion, notwithttanding the aliertions of French wri- 

 ters, that fort St. George dc la Mina, or Elmina, had its firll 

 rife, John, the iuccefTor of Alphonfo, conferred many privi- 

 leges on this now colony. A few years after, the lame 

 prince eilabhlhed a Guinea compan}", with exclufive privi- 

 leges. In tl.if reign of Henry III. of France, after the ter- 

 mination of the civil wars, the Frvnch began to renew their 

 voyages to the Grain and Gold Coail. From this period 

 the credit of the Portuguefe began to decline, and other 

 Europeans began to open a commerce with the Coall of 

 Guinea. Among others the Dutch engaged in the war- 

 fare, which had been prolecuted between the Portuguefe 

 and other Europeans; and by perieverance they made them- 

 felves mailers of the forts of Elmina ar.d Axini; obtaining, 

 by their courage, that fecurity, which the Portuguefe had 

 loll bv their infolence and cruelty. Tiie tiril Dutchman 

 ■who led the way to Guinea, was one Bernard Erick, in 

 1595. Running along the Gold Coall, he ellablilhed a cor- 

 refj)ondence with the natives, treated them with civility, and 

 alienated their aflettions from the Portugucfe. At length, 

 by their intrigues with the king of Sabo, the Dutch ob- 

 tained permiilion to build a fort, three leagues E. ot Cabo 

 Corfo, or Cape Coaft. This ftirt was linilhed in 1624, and 

 the Dutch power founded in Guinea, at the time when the 

 States were engaged in a war with Philip IV. ot Spain. 

 In the venr 1637 they fueceeded, after much relillance, in 

 taking the foit of St. George d'Elmina, and in the year 

 1642 the fort of Axim alio fell into their hands. The 

 Dutch, having thus far been fuccelsful, proceeded to attack 

 t!ie Englilh fettlenients. In tracing the liril Britilh eila- 

 blhhments on the Coatl of Guinea, we may begni with ob- 

 ferving, that a trade here had been carried on by Ionic pri- 

 vate adventurers, witiiout the aid or protection of the 

 government. In 15S5 and 1588, queen Eli/.abeth granted 

 two patents to certain rich merchants of England; one for 

 an exclufive trade to the coall of Barbary, and another tor 

 that of Guinea. In 1592 a third patent was obtained by 

 «be fame body of merchants. In i6ji the re]>ublic oi F.iig- 

 VoL. XVI. 



G O I. 



land encouraged the African trade; and in 1662 Clnrl.-s XL 

 granted a charter to a body of merchants, under the name 

 of the Royal Company of England tradinjr to Africa, ex- 

 tending their limits from the mouth of the Straits to tli» 

 Cape of Good Hop?. The afl'airs of this company filling 

 into diforder, the king crctfed another corporation, cnll -d 

 the ♦' Royal African Company," which has fubdlled Id 

 this day. This charter bears date, Sept. 27, 1672. Thi» 

 cumpany, w idi a fmall capital, was diligent and fiiccofsful ; 

 Cape Coaft was enlarged and beautified; the forts of Acra, 

 DixI'.ove, Winebaw, Sukkonda, Commcndo, and Anarr.a- 

 boa, were built or repaired, all of them on the C;old Coaft, 

 and feveial within mullcet-fhot of the Dutch fettlemcnU. 

 They bought Frederickfburg of the Danes, and built a new 

 fort ill Whidah. Sec ylfrican CoMi'.wv. 



Gold Cronach, a town of Germany, in the principality 

 of Bayreiith, which had formerly a goldmine; y' miles N. 

 of Bayrenth. 



GOI.DAPP, a town of PrufTian Lithuania; r.S miles 

 E. S E. of Koniglberg — Alfo, a river of Prudia, which 

 runs into the Rominte; 6 miles N. of Goldapp. 



GOLDAST, Melciiior HEiMKXSKELn, in Bwgrap!.>y, a 

 learned writer of the t6th century, was a native of Switzer- 

 land. He ftudied the civil law at Altdorf, but he is better 

 known as a man of letters. His works, tho gh not marked 

 for originality, were highly cftecaied by the learned of the pe. 

 nod in which he flourilhed : the' prini-ipal of thefe are, 

 I. " Monarchia Saiicti Imperii Romani,"' in three volumes 

 folio, publiflied in 1611-14. Tliefe volumes con fi ft of a 

 coUedion of treatifes on the civil and ecclefiaftical jurif- 

 di<flion of the empire. " Alemaniae Scriptores," three vo- 

 lumes folio, 1730. " Commentarius de BohemirE Regno," 

 4to. " InforniAtio de ftatu Bohcmise quoad Jus," 410. 

 " Sybilla Francica," being a quarto collcdiou of pieces rela- 

 tive to the maid of Orleans : " Scriptores Rernm S lenca- 

 rum." " Colleftio Confuetudinum et Legum Imperialium.'' 

 " Politica Imperialia," and a colledion of letters, written 

 tohim by feveral men of learning. This lall work was print- 

 ed at Frankfort in 1688. Mr. Goldaft was of a capricious 

 temper and of changeable habits, which prevented him from 

 rifmg in the world. He died in 1635, having long ftrugglcd 

 with poverty Moreri. Bavlc. 



GOLDBERG, in Gin^^taphy, a town of Silella, in tic 

 principality oi Lignitz, deriving its name from a gold-mine 

 in its vicinity, which was formerly very rich. The earth, call- 

 ed ligillata terra, i': dug near it ; and the inhabitants are em- 

 ployed in the woollen and linen mannfaetuivs ; 12 miles 

 S.W. of Lignitz. N. lat.51 4'. E. long I J ;3'. — Alio, a 

 town of the duchy of Meckkuburg ; ij miles E.of Wif. 

 mar 



GOLDECK, a town of the archbilhopric of Salzburg 1 



28 miles S of .Salzlnircr. 

 o 



GOLDEN, ionutii-ng that has a relation to gold, or con- 

 fills of geld; is valuable like gold, or the like. 



Goi.DKN" Jiull^ Bulla /Inrfa. See Bri.r.. 



Goi.DKV Ciilf was a tlgure of a calf, which the IlVaelitei 

 call in that metal, and let up in the wildernel^ to worlhip, 

 during Molt b's abfence in the m.onnt, and which ;liat legilla- 

 tor, at his return, burnt, ground to powder, and mixed with 

 the water the people were to drink oi, as related ExoJ. 

 xxxii. 



The eommeniatori have been greatlv divided on this aiti- 

 cle : the pulverizing of gold, and rendering it potable, is au 

 operation in chemiltrv of the laft diflienltv ; and it is hard 

 to. conceive how it IhoulJ be done at that tiiui*, before clie- 

 millry was ever hearvl of, and in a wildcrnefs too ! Many, 

 ihrrcfore, fuppafe it done by a miracle ; siid the reft, who 

 3 I allork- 



