Country:
Guinée &
Sierra LeoneMatakong is an island just off the coast of Guinea between the capital Conakry and the Sierra Leone border.
Matakong - WikipediaThis is a rare story not from Wikipedia, about the island of Matakong in Guinea, and the corresponding coin:
Numismatik-Cafe • Thema anzeigen - Nathaniel IsaacsNathaniel Isaacs was born into a Jewish family in Canterbury. His father was a merchant in Chatham. His mother was Helena Solomon, daughter of Nathaniel Solomon of Margate, whose brother
Saul Solomon traded on St. Helena. Token collectors, this brother is well known for tokens for the island of
St. Helena.
After the death of his father in 1822, Isaac went to his uncle on St. Helena. From there he went in 1825 as a co-captain under the command of Lieutenant King to the Mary Brig in South Africa. After the cargo was unloaded in Cape Town, they traveled to Port Natal in search of two adventurers who had been missing for 18 months: East Indian dictator Francis Fairwell and physician Henry Francis Finn. However, at the entrance to the harbor, the ship ran aground. Having reached the coast, they found a camp for the missing. Upon their return, they turned to Dingen, the brother of the infamous king Tsulu Shaki. Isaac remained at the court of the king, whose empire had just reached the height of power. He gained the trust of the king and made a career. Together with Fairwell and Finn, he founded the city of Port Natal, which was later renamed Durban.
In 1831, the successor to Shaka Dingane planned to kill all the whites, which is why they left Natal.
He claimed the estate only in 1844, when
he settled on the island of Matacong (on the German map of 1879: “Matakon”), which is located about 60 miles north of Freetown in Sierra Leone. He bought the island for livestock trading for the Freetown market. Matacong Island quickly turned into a duty-free “free port” with a shipyard and shops. First of all, palm oil and peanuts were transported. With his partner Thomas Reader, a former Methodist missionary, he founded Isaacs, Reader & Co. He was also a French consular agent and generously donated to build a Methodist chapel.
The British governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Arthur Kennedy, suspected Isaac of the slave trade. In 1854, an arrest warrant was issued for Isaac. Isaac, however, was warned, and he fled. On a hasty departure, he left numerous slaves in prisons, utensils such as whips, etc. The governor was probably right.
When British troops wanted to capture the island of Matacong, they unexpectedly met with fierce resistance. The local boss settled there in the ensuing vacuum of power, demanding slaves for himself. Isaac fled to England, where he opened stores in Liverpool, and his partner Thomas Rider represented the interests of business in Sierra Leone. Sir Arthur Kennedy, who was recalled from Sierra Leone and transported to New South Wales, was transporting documents with evidence against Isaac to England before continuing on his journey to Australia. His ship, however, was destroyed in Madeira in October 1854, and all papers were lost. Without this evidence, no court was willing to continue prosecuting Isaac.
In 1859, Isaac again visited Sierra Leone. In 1860, their company broke up. On June 26, 1872, Isaac died at Egremont in Liverpool. He was buried in a Jewish cemetery in Canterbury.
Matakong Island is so far the only known island belonging to Guinea, which left a mark on numismatics in this way:
Known token 3 pence 1855.
Mataсong island token:
