Let me begin by referring you to the article in History in Africa (HA), 22, 1995: 455-58, for the background to the story of the shipwreck and find. The materials from the wreck - artifacts and information from the logbook and documents - provided the core for an exhibition launched in the Maritime Museum in Oslo, showing in particular the Danish/Norwegian trade. This exhibit has traveled through Scandinavia and is now back for permanent placement in Arendal, Norway. The diver, Leif Svalesen, has written a book about the Fredensborg and its last journey, a book now translated into English and to be released very soon.
Project activities in the past few years have led to the development of this special team: Leif Svalesen, diver and author; Johan Kloster, Chief Curator at the Maritime Museum in Oslo, Tove Storaveen, Chief Editor Aschohoug Fakta publications; Nari Hareide, Secretary-General Norwegian UNESCO Commission, working particularly on the Associated Schools Project for elementary school children; and myself (Selena Winsnes), consultant.
The last bit of Leif's research required a trip to Ghana which was made by the team in 1995. The purpose was to follow leads from the Fredensborg logbook. Every single place mentioned in the log was visited, among them Akwamu because the story told of a group of enslaved Akwamu on the ship who had planned a revolt. (The plans were discovered and the attempt was stopped.)
Through a series of serendipitous events we met first a local chief (Adomehene Apea Kwasi III) who also happened to be the father-in-law of a local driver provided us by the cement company, Ghacem. This led to an invitation to attend Akwasidae the next day in Akwamufie and an audience with the Paramount Chief. The people there were all fascinated by the story as Leif presented it (with excellent photographs), and a special connection with Akwamu was a fact.
On that trip in 1995 we also visited Old Ningo and the ruins of Fort Fredensborg (from which the ship received its name). It was exceedingly overgrown and pretty much a public toilet. Again the story was told - with pictures and enthusiasm - and the seed was sown of the possibility of preserving the place as a site of historical, cultural interest.
Back in Norway we worked on producing a mini-exhibition to be presented as gifts, one to St. Croix and one to Ghana, as a contribution to a new historical/cultural triangle. By now the Fredensborg project had been incorporated in the UNESCO Slave Route project (and Leif is now a member of the International Committee). Funded by NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Aid and Development) and sponsored by the Norwegian UNESCO Commission, the exhibit was presented to St. Croix in connection with the Emancipation Day celebration in July. It has been hugely successful. Then it was time for the presentation in Ghana.
The Ghana exhibition was in mid-February, 1999. The family of the Adomehene had kept contact with Leif and Johan, so the leaders of the family were invited to the opening of the exhibit in Accra. They responded by inviting all of us to Akwamufie to be guests of the Paramount Chief (Ansa Sasraku VI) at a durbar in our honor. They wrote of wanting to start a museum in Akwamufie, so this was something that needed discussion and expert advice from our museum people.
The opening of the exhibit was nothing short of smashing!!! The Akwamuhene and his court came, other chiefs and their spokesmen came, all in cloth and crowns and with staffs, accompanied by beautiful flute music relating history. Ministers were there to make speeches - 'Tourism' challenged 'Culture' to move seriously on making the ruins of Fort Fredensborg a cultural tourist attraction. The Daily Graphic was all over the place; GBC was filming like mad. It was great. [For newspaper reporting of the event, look under the heading "Exhibition on Slave Ship Opens," Accra, dd. 17 February 1999]
We were invited to a private audience with the Paramount Chief in Akwapim. They were extremely knowledgeable about their history and they started telling us about a Dane who had been there earlier and tried to start a plantation, but that they had never read his 'diary'. So I had no need to make an introduction to my gift of a copy of the Isert volume to the Omanhene Addo Dankwa III. His reaction was stunning. Once he had the book in his hands he started reading and from that moment he was incommunicado for the rest of our hour-long visit! He paid no attention to close-up photographing; he barely 1ooked up when we took our leave. I felt that that alone was worth all the work I had put into the book. And Isert was back where he belonged.
The visit to Akwamufie started with a much longed-for look at the keys of Christiansborg Castle and the sword given the Akwamu by the Danish King Frederick III for their aid in the battle against Asante at Dodowa. Hopefully our museum members have convinced the keepers of the regalia that the metal must be treated to preserve it - and, who knows, we may be permitted to make copies for a museum in Ghana. It was suggested that they start with an Information Center; that they start hunting for artifacts, etc. We presented them with a number of items as starters - books, framed old photographs, some artifacts from the Fredensborg. The Akwamuhene announced that he was setting aside one large room in his palace to house a future Information Center/Museum. Those of you reading this who might be interested in the project can contact Joseph K. Kwabbi. Chairman of the Akwamu Heritage Committee. Needless to say the durbar was hugely successful.
The team visited Old Ningo, as arranged previously, and found that it had been totally cleaned up, and two men have been set to keeping it clean. The ruins were clearly visible, more cannon had come to light. The job now is for archeologists to mark out the dimensions. An information panel should be put up. At lunch with the Danish ambassador and his wife the day before they too had shown great interest in the project. So things are really looking up.
There rest our three prongs: The exhibit at the National Museum, to be placed permanently as the core of a planned new museum at Ussher Fort afterward (citing Dr, Debrah, Chairman of Museums and Monuments Board); the start of an Information Center in Akwamufie; the start of a preservation project at Old Ningo. Akwaaba!!