 In the middle of the seventeenth century the four European competitors in the area were the Dutch West India Company , Danish Africa Company , Royal Africa Company and the Swedish Africa Company . The Dutch had been active in Athana and resident in neighboring Axim since 1642 , the Swedish from Butre since 1650 , the Danish since 1658 in Fort Carolusborg and the English from Kormantin . The European powers allied themselves with African states and chiefs in order to gain a sustainable dominance in the area . 
