Who Named the "Gold Coast"? Not Columbus

Christopher Columbus never visited or named the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast is the historic name for the coastal region of modern-day Ghana (West Africa). The name was given by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century (starting 1471) due to the abundant alluvial gold they found and traded there.

• Portuguese built Elmina Castle (1482) as a trading fort.
• Later Dutch, British, Danish, Brandenburgers built forts.
• Became center of gold trade, then tragic transatlantic slave trade.
• British formally colonized as Gold Coast Colony (1874); independence as Ghana (1957).

Columbus explored the Americas (Caribbean, Central/South America) for Spain; he had no connection to West Africa.