Tassi Coast

The Tassi Coast runs along the Atlantic shore of the Gabon region, where forested headlands, lagoons and river mouths meet the open ocean. Currents and onshore winds brought swells against the sandy beaches, and canoes worked the shallow water inshore. Fishing communities along the coast harvested fish and shellfish from the lagoons, and the river mouths gave access to the forest interior.

From the fifteenth century Portuguese ships used the Gabon coast for water and trade, and by the early nineteenth century the Mpongwe and related coastal peoples were supplying ivory, palm oil and timber to European vessels. Their middlemen controlled the passage between the sea and the rivers, so ships anchoring off this shore depended on local partners.