Forts of Ghana

With Côte d'Ivoire in the west, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in the north and Togo in the east, and the great Atlantic Ocean in the south, the country of Ghana boasts a rich history and perhaps one of the key civilisations in west Africa. Interestingly, the Empire of Ghana that existed between 2nd-4th centuries AD to 1300, was spread out between what today is Mali and Mauritania. The Akan people then migrated to the southern coast and when the British colony of Gold Coast achieved independence in 1957 (the first of sub-Saharan nations to achieve independence), in the memory of their ancestors, the nation was renamed as Ghana. 

But like any other imperial colony, Ghana had its own history popped by European colonisation. And the first thing any European colonist does, is fortifications, that too on the coast of that nation to have easy access to seaways and harbours. But particularly the coast of Ghana is rich in gold deposits and even in today's times, according to a statistic data of 2022, Ghana is one of the top 15 nations with largest gold deposits in the world. Hence, the raid began and it were the Portuguese who started with colonising the northern tip of Morocco in early 1400s. Slowly, they started harbouring on the western coastal island settlements such as Arguin (island in Mauritania), Gorée (island in Senegal) and finally on the Gold Coast in 1471 (Elmina Castle or Castelo de São Jorge da Mina). On the even of the 1600s, the Dutch took over from the Portuguese as the latter were expanding its territories on the eastern African coasts of Zanzibar and Mozambique. But the first English trade expedition had already taken place some fifty decades before in 1553 under Thomas Windham and Antonio Anes Pinteado. Finally, the English administration started from 1651, first under the Company of Merchants Trading to Guinea, then to the Company of London Merchants and finally under the East India Company (from 1657). And slowly the establishment of English forts started such as Cape Coast Castle (1664), James Fort (1673), Charles Fort (1674), Fort Metal Cross (1691), James Fort (1673) etc. The British ruled till 1957 and after the unification of territories such as Gold Coast Colony, Ashanti, Northern Territories and British Togoland to form an independent state of Ghana. 

But these weren't the only European colonies in Ghana. There were Danes and the very rare colonies of Prussia and Sweden that settled on the coast of Ghana. The Danish Gold Coast or the Danske Guldkyst was an accumulation of settlements such as Fort Friedensborg (at Ningo), Ft. Christiansborg (at Accra), Ft. Augustaborg (at Tashe), Ft. Prinzenstein (at Keta), Ft. Konigenstein (at Ada), Ft. Carlsborg (at Cape Castle) and Ft. Frederiksborg (at Amanful) between 1658 to 1850, collectively known as Danish Guinea (Dansk Guinea). The Prussian or Brandenburger colonies exist between 1681 to 1724 and were settled at Ft. Dorothea (at Akwidaa), Gross-Friedrichsburg (at Pokesu) and Ft. Louise (at Takrama). And finally, the Swedes settled at Ft. Carolusborg or Carlsborg (at Cape Castle), Ft. Apollonia (at Beyin), Ft. Frederiksborg (at Accra), Ft. Batenstein (at Butri), Ft. Witsen or Taccorari (at Takoradi) and Ft. William or Annomabu (at Annomabu) between 1650 to 1663. These fortifications were taken over first by the Dutch and later, the British. 

Although later, the German powers established their control over certain territories in Africa, the Swedes decided to wrap up their expedition dreams as they couldn't face the stiff competition by the dominating Dutch, Portuguese and British. It's interesting as Africa is the only continent where almost every country in Europe had its colonies at least once during the colonial era (except Austria and Russia). Colonists like Belgium, Sweden and Italy, that didn't had settlements elsewhere, had their decent amount of share on the African land. 

These names are plentiful and even today the country boasts many of these fortifications either intact or in ruins preserved in museums. These forts and castles are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Ghana with some particular names such as Fort Saint Anthony (or Santo Antonio, Axim), Osu Castle (or Christiansborg Castle, Accra), Fort Batenstein (at Butri), Fort Metal Cross (at Dixcove), Fort Amsterdam (at Abandze), Fort St. Jago (or Ft. Coenraadsburg, at Elmina) etc. being more popular than others.