A map of the Gold Coast circa 1700

During the colonial period in Ghana, at the time known as the Gold Coast, roughly corresponding to the 15th through 19th centuries, European-style coastal forts and castles were built, mostly by the Portuguese, Dutch and British.[1] These forts linked the trading routes established by the Portuguese and acted as important market places for the gold and slave trades.[1]

Because of their testimony to precolonial and colonial Afro-European commerce, including the Atlantic slave trade, and their profound effect on the history of West Africa, a number of these fortifications and outposts were designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.[1]

Kumasi Fort in the Ashanti Region was originally built by an Asante king in imitation of these colonial forts.[2]

Coastal regions

World Heritage listed forts

Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Cape Coast Castle
Location Ghana
Includes
  1. Fort Good Hope (Fort Goedehoop)
  2. Cape Coast Castle
  3. Fort Patience (Fort Leysaemhyt)
  4. Fort Amsterdam
  5. Fort St. Jago (Fort Conraadsburg)
  6. Fort Batenstein
  7. Fort San Sebastian
  8. Fort Metal Cross
  9. English Fort (Fort Vredenburg)
  10. Fort Saint Antony
  11. Elmina Castle (St. George's Castle / Fort St. Jorge)
CriteriaCultural: (vi)
Reference34
Inscription1979 (3rd Session)

Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions is the collective designation by UNESCO of European-style fortifications and outposts (mostly Portuguese, Dutch and British) along the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) during the colonial period. The term specifically applies to a number of such fortifications designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, including:[1]

Other coastal forts

Other coastal forts included in Ghana's material cultural heritage list of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board:[3]

Not listed as heritage (mostly largely destroyed or otherwise lost):

Regions of Ghana

By region (from East to West):

Other regions

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions". UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Retrieved 9 Oct 2022.
  2. 1 2 Kumasi Fort and Military Museum at www.ghanamuseums.org
  3. ↑ Forts and Castles at Ghana Museums and Monuments Board website
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