George Emil Eminsang

George Emil Eminsang (ca 1833 – 1901) was the first Western-educated lawyer on Ghana's Gold Coast and a prominent merchant. In the preface of his book Fanti Customary Laws,^[1] John Mensa Sarbah wrote:

Dear Mr. Eminsang, — Pardon the liberty I take in sending you this open letter, with this my first attempt in the Thorny paths of literature. I dare do so, for not only you are a Native of the soil and one of my father's friends, but also the senior member of the Bar of the Western Province of the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast, having commenced to practice when we, who are now members thereof, were but schoolboys.

— John Mensa Sarbah, Law Courts

Early life

Eminsang was born in Elmina to Joseph Emil Eminsang, a merchant and innkeeper, and an unknown lady from a prominent Dutch/Fanti Euro-African family.^[2] He was educated in the Netherlands and Germany, before returning to teach for several years at the Elmina Castle School, where he had completed his primay education.

Career

He later turned to trading and became a successful Gold Coast merchant. Eminsang was appointed to the Dutch Legislative Council and was the principal lawyer to negotiate the sale of the Dutch Gold Coast possessions to the British Government in 1872. After the sale, he was appointed Civil Commandant in Elmina by the British authorities. The Elminans, who were traditionally aligned with the Ashanti and the Dutch, distrusted the sale and eventually drove Eminsang out of the country. He then settled in Cape Coast where he continued to practise law and pursue his merchant career.

Among his many achievements, Eminsang served as consular agent to the Dutch in Elmina (1878–1879), and to the Congo and the United States in Cape Coast Castle (1890).^[3]

References