Governor Herman Willem Daendels was born on October 21, 1762. The son of an aristocratic family. He grew up in Hattem and attended the University College in Haderwijk. He studied law and graduated at the age of 20.
His career was quiet eventful, this is due to the political developments in the Netherlands around the 1800's. He was the first a solider, and in 1808. Daendels was one of Holland’s most controversial figures. He attempted to install a liberal government in Holland but is 1787 he was forced to flee to France. He became General in the army of the Batavian republic and was in command when the British invaded North Holland in 1799. It was said that in order to get rid of this difficult individual Daendels, King Willem 1 appointed Daendels governor General of guinea in July 1815. He could not take over from his predecessor until March 1816. The African Possessions had suffered a great neglect and Daendels received very little support for Holland. Daendels tried to construct a road from the coast to the Ashanti realm, and tried to re organize the outmoded administration and hoped to acquire some personal capital from various plantation ventures. He did not succeed on any of these ventures, due to illness from the very day he arrived in Ghana. .
