EUROPEAN FORTS IN GHANA (GOLD COAST)
Written
by Marco Ramerini
Sao
Jorge da Mina, a fine drawing by Dutch painter Frans Post, 1637.
FORT SÃO JORGE DA MINA (ELMINA)
The first European built fort in Ghana was Fort São Jorge da Mina (Elmina), which was
built by the Portuguese in 1482 near an African village, with which they were in trade,
called by them Aldeia das Duas Partes.
The first stone of this Castle was laid on 21 January 1482 under the supervision of the
Portuguese Captain Diogo de Azambuja that was at the head of an expedition of 600
Portuguese.
This fort was the Headquarters of the Portuguese in the Gold Coast from its foundations to
the Dutch conquest in 1637.
The government of this castle was esteemed to be, at the beginning of XVI century, one of
the most important positions in the Portuguese empire.
During the Portuguese time the garrison of the fortress consisted of a Governor with his
staff of ten peoples, a factor or feitor with a staff of four men, two clerks, an
apothecary, a surgeon, a smith, a cooper, an overseer of provisions, some stonemasons,
some carpenters, two or four priests and about 20-60 soldiers.
In 1486 to Sao Jorge was granted the status of city, and a wall was built around the
African town.
From the first trading contacts the villagers of Aldeia das Duas Partes, developed a kind
of Portuguese Creole which made easier the relationship between the Africans and the
Portuguese, this language continued to be used till XVIII century. In the first years of
1500 also the conversions of Black peoples began.
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Elmina:
Portuguese/Dutch Fort Sao Jorge da Mina today; Ghana.
In 1503 on
the slopes of an hill near the castle was built a small chapel dedicated to Santiago, this
chapel was used till 1596 when the building was dismantled.
Elmina Castle, was very important for trade purpose, the trade goods of Mina trade were
gold, ivory, sugar, wax, pepper, hides, slaves. Since the beginning of the Portuguese
installation at Sao Jorge, they established business relations with the adjoining Africans
states (Akan, Wassaw, Commany, Efutu) to increase the trade. The Portuguese power in the
Gold Coast, never went beyond the coast line, they built in 1503 the fort of Santo Antonio
de Axim, intermittently maintained a trading post at Shama and in 1576 a short lived
fortress at Accra.
In 1596, during the govern of
the captain Cristóvão de Melo (1596-1607) a Dutch expedition, equipped by the Dutch
commercial trading house of Moucheron, attacked for the first time the castle, the attempt
ended in a failure. On 7 September 1606 the Dutch made a second attempt to capture Sao
Jorge; about 600 Dutch soldiers disembarked at Moure and later they marched against Sao
Jorge, the Portuguese Governor Dom Cristovão de Melo with his troops made a successful
ambush and after two hours of fight the Dutch were in retreat; in the meanwhile a small
Dutch detachment had been sent towards Axim, here also, after a fight the Dutch beat a
retreat. The Dutch in December 1606 and January 1607 made repeated assault on São Jorge,
but finally in January 1607 they gave up.
In 1615 a violent earthquake damaged the fortress walls and a bastion collapsed.
The Dutch after got knowledge of this, made three unsuccessful attacks against Elmina.
In 1625 under the command of the Dutch Admiral Jan
Dirickszon Lam a big Dutch squadron of 15 ships, 1.200 Dutch soldiers and 150 African
allies, anchored near Elmina with the aim to subdue the Portuguese fort; the fort was
garrisoned by only 56 men under the Portuguese Governor Dom Francisco Sotomaior, they were
assisted by a number of African allies.
Elmina:
Fort Sao Jorge da Mina, Ghana.
On 25 October 1625 the Dutch opened the battle bombarding the
castle, later the Dutch began to march to Sao Jorge, the African warriors, allies of the
Portuguese ambushed the Dutch, they were took by surprise, confused by the unexpected
assault they beat a retreat leaving on the battle-field about 500 men. Thank to his
African allies this was a great victory for Portugal.
In August 1637 a new Dutch squadron, of 9 ships and 800 men,
anchored near Cabo Corço (Cape Coast), where they were joined by 1.000-1.400 African
allies, on 26 August 1637 the Dutch landed and, divided in three columns marched toward
the fortress.
The first Dutch move in the attack of 1637 was the seizure of the unfortified hill of
Santiago, from there they shelled Sao Jorge castle.
By this strategic move the Portuguese after a few days, were forced to surrendered, the
Dutch conquered Elmina on 29 August 1637, a Dutch garrison of 175 men was left in the
castle.
After more than 150 years a new European power, the Netherlands, ruled on the Gold Coast.
The Dutch after the conquest, fortified the hill of Santiago with an earth-work, later the
fort on the hill, called Fort Conradsburg, was improved and enlarged, it was completed by
1666. In 1645 the Dutch personal at Elmina and Conradsburg was of 83 men, there were also
184 slaves working in the castle.
The fort was in Dutch hands till 1872 when it was sold to the British.
Very little of the early Portuguese castle is now visible, the only portion which has
remained intact is the cistern that dated from 1482.
The lay out of the today’s Castle is the same, more or less, of the Dutch conquest in
1637. Outside the fort is still well preserved the Dutch Reformed church built at the end
of the Dutch rule.
FORT SAN SEBASTIAN (SHAMA)
In the early years of Portuguese trading activity in the Gold Coast the first center which
was frequented by them was the village of Shama, East of Cape of Three Points. Here they
for several years maintained a small lodge. In 1558 a wooden palisade and a tower were
built and a permanent garrison was established. During 1600s the garrison of this station
was formed by only one official and in 1637 the Dutch, when occupied it, found this fort
abandoned, they garrisoned it with a commander, 4 soldiers and 15 slaves (1645).
In 1664 the fort was captured by the English,
but a year later the Dutch regained possession and rebuilt it, near the fort they
maintained a cotton plantation in 1765-1783.
This fort was in theirs hands till 1872 when was ceded to the English.
Fort
St. Sebastian, Shama, Ghana.
FORT SANTO ANTONIO DE AXIM (AXIM)
In August 1503 a small trading-post was built by the Portuguese, West of Cape of Three
Points, it was called Fort Santo Antonio de Axim, in 1515 this fort was rebuilt stronger.
The fort, during the Portuguese rule, was an important trade center. The fort was
garrisoned by only 10-20 Portuguese soldiers, and they, if necessary, were assisted by a
force of 150 Africans allies.
After the Dutch capture of Sao Jorge, Axim remained in Portuguese hands for a few years
more, a first Dutch attack was drove back in 1641, but in February 1642, a new attempt was
successful and the Dutch occupied the fort.
In 1664 the English captured the fort, but the Dutch soon retook it again. It was in Dutch
hands till 1872, when it was sold to the English.
The
fort Santo Antonio of Axim, West of Cape of Three Points, Ghana.
ACCRA
In 1557 the Portuguese built a small fortified lodge in Accra, they in 1576, decided to
enlarge the lodge and to build a strong fort, but in 1577-78 the Africans attacked the
half-constructed fort and destroyed it.
FORT NASSAU, (MOURE)
Between 1595 and 1600 merchants from the Netherlands founded a small unfortified lodge at
Moure for trade in gold.
In 1610 the Portuguese made an attack against the Dutch trading station at Moure, they
burnt the African village adjoining the lodge.
In reaction to this attack, the Dutch, in 1612, built theirs first fort in Gold Coast,
Fort Nassau, this fort originally, was a small earthwork and wooden fort and was built on
a hill overlooking the sea at Moure. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1623-24 and in
1633-34.
In 1615 a new Portuguese raid was successful and the African town was newly burnt.
Moure was the Dutch headquarters till to the conquest of Elmina in 1637.
The Dutch garrison in 1645 was composed by 32 men including the
commander, there were then a surgeon, a preacher, a coppersmith and 156 slaves working in
the castle.
Moure was occupied by the British in 1664 and recaptured by the Dutch in 1665.
In 1782 it was again in British hands, but the Dutch regained it by treaty in 1785.
In the first decades of 1800, it was abandoned.
A few are now the remains of this fort.
Fort
Nassau, from an old Dutch print, XXVII century.
FORT CHRISTIANSBORG, (ACCRA)
In 1652 the Swedes built a lodge in Accra, in 1660 it was took by the Dutch.
In 1661 the Danes occupied the place and built a fort named Fort Christiansborg, this fort
was situated near two others forts: Fort Crévecoeur and Fort James, the former Dutch and
the latter English. The Danish fort was located on a rock cliff near the African town of
Osu and his position was the best of the three.
The fort was in Danish hands for nearly two hundred years except for a short Portuguese
occupation.
On 2 December 1680 a Portuguese ship arrived at the Danish fort, the Danish Governor,
Bolt, sold the fort to the Portuguese commander of the ship, Juliao de Campos Barreto.
The Portuguese renamed it Fort Sao Francisco Xavier and built a chapel in the fort.
The Portuguese abandoned the fort on 29 August 1682, it was then occupied by the Akwamu
tribe until February 1683 when the Danes from nearby Fort Fredriksborg reoccupied it.
In 1685 the Danes, moved theirs headquarters from Fort Fredriksborg to Fort
Christiansborg.
The fort was a square shaped, with four bastions.
In 1693 an African tribe occupied the fort, but in 1694 the Danes retook it.
The Danes made several attempt to established plantations near the fort and they also
established, in 1800s an hill-station and a plantation at Kpomkpo (Frederiksberg),
thirty–two Kilometers inland from Fort Christiansborg.
In 1850 the Danes sold the Castle to the English.
FORT GROSS-FRIEDRICHSBURG (PRINCESTOWN)
Brandenburg was a historic Electorate (Kurfürstentum) which formed the primary nucleus of
the Prussian State.
Under the reign of the Grand Elector Friedrich-Wilhelm von Brandenburg, was created an
African Company, this company for about forty years ruled on several African forts at:
Arguin, Takrama, Takoradi, Akwida (Ft. Dorothea), Whydah and Princestown or Poquefoe
(Gross-Friedrichsburg).
On New Year's Day 1683 a Brandenburg expedition of two ships arrived on the Gold Coast and
started to build a strong fort between Axim and Cape of Three Points, which was named
Gross-Friedrichsburg.
The fort was to be the headquarters of Brandenburg in Africa, it was garrisoned at the
beginning by 91 European men and 130 Africans.
The fort was a square shaped with four bastions. In the first 15 years the Brandenburgers
developed well the trade with the Africans, but from 1700 trade began to decline.
The Company was an ally of the African chief John Couny who was waging a war against the
Dutch and the English.
In 1720 a treaty was concluded between the King of Prussia and the Dutch, and all the
African forts of Brandenburg were sold to the Hollanders, but the African ally of
Prussia/Brandenburg, John Couny, refused to surrender Gross-Friedrichsburg.
In 1725 the Dutch captured Fort Gross-Friedrichsburg and renamed it Fort Hollandia.
The fort was abandoned by the Dutch in 1815.
FORT AMSTERDAM (CORMANTINE)
In 1631 the British had a lodge in Cormantine, in 1645 they built a fort on the summit of
an hill.
In 1665 during a struggle the Dutch occupied it and renamed the fort Amsterdam. In 1782
the Dutch surrendered the fort to the English, but in 1785, by a treaty, was newly in
Dutch hands.
In 1811 the African tribe of Anomabu captured the fort, which was later abandoned.
BOOKS ABOUT GHANA FORTS:
- Bato’ora Ballong
-Wen-Mewuda, J. "Sao Jorge da Mina 1482-1637" 2 voll.
642 pp. Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian-C.N.p.l.C.d.D.P. 1993 Lisboa-Paris
Complete study on Elmina castle during the Portuguese period. - Cardinall, Allan Wolsey "A Bibliography of the Gold Coast"
Martino Publishing & Wayfarer's Bookshop, Mansfield
Centre, 2002, CT - Decorse, Christopher "An Archaeology of Elmina : Africans and
Europeans on the Gold Coast, 1400-1900"
Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001 - Ephson, I. S. "Ancient forts and castles of the Gold Coast (Ghana)"
112 pp. 18 ills. Ilen Publications 1970 Accra, Ghana
Index: The origins;
location of the forts and castles; number of forts and castles; the tenants; unhappy
incident; gallant governors; problems of the forts and castles; no more forts and castles;
cui bono; the surviving settlements. - Feinberg, Harvey M "Africans & Europeans in West Africa:
Elminans & Dutchmen on the Gold Coast During the Eighteenth Century"
189 pp. Diane Publishing Co., 1989
The town of Elmina was the most important trading center on the Gold Coat (GC) of W.
Africa for at least 2 cent. Elminans engaged in commercial transactions which linked the
GC with 3 very different trade networks. Contents: (I) The Akan on the GC; (II) Europeans
on the GC: The Portuguese, 1471-1642; & The Dutch from 1593; (III) Akan Participation
in the Atlantic Trading System; (IV) An Intro. to Elmina; (V) The Elmina Political
Framework; (VI) The Functioning of GovÕt.: Justice & Dispute Settlement; &
Foreign Affairs; & (VII) Elmina-Dutch Relations. Appendices: Elmina Chronology;
Weights, Measures & Def.; Dirs. Gen. & Pres. of the 2nd W. India Co.; Counts of
Indictment & Defense of the Negroes of Mina; & Elmina Leaders. Biblio.
Illustrations.
- Giordano,
Rosario "Religione e politica nel confronto tra missionari cattolici e
brasiliani a Ouidah, 1861-1871"
In: "Africa" LIII, 2, 1998, pp. 239-257 - Iria, Alberto "Da fundaçao e governo do Castelo ou Fortaleza de Sao Jorge
da Mina pelos Portugueses e da sua acçao missionaria apos o descobrimento desta
costa"
In STUDIA N° 1, pp. 26-69, 1958, Lisboa, Portugal. -Kessel, Ineke van "Merchants, Missionaries and Migrants: 300 Years of
Dutch-Ghanaian Relations"
Kit Publishers,
In November 1701, David van Nyendael, an envoy of the
Dutch West India Company (WIe was the first European to visit the royal court in Kumasi,
capital of the emerging Ashanti empire in the hinterland of the Gold Coast. Three hundred
years of Dutch-Ghanaian relations have passed since then. "Merchants, Missionaries
and Migrants" focuses on various aspects of this long-standing and intricate
economic, political and cultural relationship between the Ghanaians and the Dutch. Experts
from Ghana, the Netherlands, Suriname and Indonesia present their research findings in
fascinating histories. They describe a wide range of topics from Dutch-Ghanaian history:
from the trade in gold, ivory and slaves to the cocoa trade; from liaisons between
European men and African women in previous centuries to present-day Ghanaian migration to
the Netherlands; from the involuntary migration of tens of thousands of slaves to the
plantations in Suriname to the largely forgotten history of the African soldiers who
sailed from Elmina to serve in the Dutch army in the East Indies; and from the role of
Dutch geneva in Ghanaian ritual to the tragic story of Jacobus Capitein, the first black
Christian minister to be ordained in the Netherlands. - Lawrence, A. W. "Trade Castles and Forts of West Africa"
390 pp. 48 maps & 158 plates Jonathan Cape 1963 London, U.K.
A detailed description of about 40 Europeans forts and castles from Arguin (Mauritania) to
Whydah or Ouidah (Benin). Many illustrations and maps of the forts. Chronological history
of the forts.
Index: The place of the fortsystem in history; the setting of times; organization and
personnel; life at the forts; relations between fort and town; types of building;
materials and structure; early draughtsmen; Elmina castle: the Portuguese and later Dutch
headquarters; other headquarters: Cape Coast Castle, Christiansborg, Princestown; early
forts: Axim, Mouri, Cormantin, Gambia, Butre, Shama; forts about 1700: Akwida, Commenda,
Dixcove, Apam, Sekondi, Beraku; forts of the late eighteenth century: Anomabu, Beyin,
Keta. - Pezzoli, G. & Brena, D. "Forti e castelli di tratta"
50 pp. Centro Studi Archeologia Africana, 1990, Milano.
A collection of several plates of European castles in Africa. - Van Dantzig, A. "Forts and castles of Ghana"
Sedco, 1980, Accra, Ghana. - Van Dantzig, A. and Priddy, B. "A short history of the forts and castles of
Ghana"
59 pp. map and ills. Liberty Press, 1971, Accra, Ghana.
Index: The Portuguese period, Dutch penetration and the expulsion of the Portuguese,
English Swedish and Danish penetration, growth of the English trade, the Brandenburg
Company, the 18th. century, the 19th century. - Vasconcelos, Frazao de "A Fortaleza de S. Jorge da Mina"
14 pp., [2] pp. Mundo Português, 1934, Lisboa, Portugal. - Vogt, J. "Portuguese rule in the Gold coast 1469 – 1682"
266 pp. 2 maps University of Georgia Press 1979 Athens, Georgia, USA
Complete study on the Gold Coast during the Portuguese period.
