His paternal grandfather Nana Kobina Gwira had introduced the salt industry to Elmina.

Pietersen then became a trader and a personal clerk to Mr. Stoové, before establishing himself as a goldsmith and watchmaker.

[2] During the early 1870s, it became apparent that the Dutch would soon cede their possessions on the Gold Coast to the British, which led to protest among the Elminese and Ashanti, who feared an end to their substantial autonomy in a Gold Coast increasingly dominated by the United Kingdom.

He left Elmina after the British bombardment of the town in 1873, and moved to Cape Coast.

[4] He also started his political career in Cape Coast, eventually becoming president of the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society in 1907.