Forts and Castles Gold Coast

Jamestown and Usshertown are the oldest districts of Accra, the capital city of Ghana. According to Emmanuel, our tour guide slash driver during our visit in Accra in 2023, these towns were the origin of the Accranian people, the fishing people called Ga. Once upon a time, Accra was known as A-ga-ra.

These districts in the Greater Accra Region possess a certain charm that I thought comparable with Melaka, Georgetown, and Ipoh in Malaysia and Little India in Singapore. Just like these Southeast Asian cities, Jamestown and Usher Town were once British colonies. And all of them are strategically located along the coast of the cities – for trade. Today, these cities are vibrant and lively. However, Jamestown and Usshertown possess some stories that continue to haunt the history of humankind: 400 years of inhuman conditions brought upon by the European imperial rules onto the entire continent of Africa.

My knowledge about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is mainly based on popular culture, particularly Hollywood films. Visiting the forts at Jamestown and Usshertown and listening to the stories of Ussher Fort from the perspective of the people whose forefathers were either survived, tortured, or killed by the colonizers were tremendous as much as they were also eye-opening.

Jamestown Fort was not open for tourists at the time of our visit, but its imposing structure is terrifying. Emmanuel told us that the infamous lighthouse was used by the Dutch and the British to properly dock their ships that took …

This is a serial site consisting of 3 castles and over 20 forts along the Ghanaian coast. The castles, especially Cape Coast and Elmina, are huge European fortresses built and occupied by various European colonial powers — Portuguese, Dutch, British — between the late 1400s and the early twentieth century. Their constant use means that they are still standing today, whereas most buildings from the era are long gone. The forts were built to protect settlements on the coast, including the castles, and are generally smaller and more strategically located. One of the important and dark chapters in the 500+ year history of the castles was the transatlantic slave trade. In addition to housing colonial governors and military, the castles were used to store slaves in dungeons before they were moved to boats for the middle passage. 

Date of Visit: March 2013 (Cape Coast Castle), January 2025 (Elmina Castle, St, Jago Fort)

Rating:  Four stars. Yes, many of the components are not well maintained and cannot be visited, but the castles are all tourist destinations with good infrastructure that are easy to visit. Moreover, these sites are an important testament to the colonial history of Africa and the transatlantic slave trade, which is not covered well by many other sites. Plus, Elmina Castle is the oldest European building built outside of Europe that remains standing — it dates to the 1480s. The castles are generally near the sea, and so you also get a glimpse of Eest African …

Visited March 2019.

I guess i shouldn't have been so shocked given humanity's track record of inhumanity to others. 

Visiting these sites is interesting from a historical perspective but it is mind numbing from a human perspective. Expect to be appalled. 

The builders and occupants of these forts went to very great lengths to taunt and crush the spirits of the slaves: The hell of the dungeons, packed full with slaves, no light or air, an unbelievable stench, a floor thick with faeces, vomit and blood, while directly above the heavenly chapel and the commander's godly quarters.Very biblical connotations. 

You might think that conversion to christianity might have been the objective here but no: Heaven and god were literally and figuratively out of reach for these broken souls. 

The uncomfortable question arises: If slaves were valuable why treat them so badly? Surely as a slave trader its not good for business if your slaves die in such numbers before you can sell them? Distressingly, the supply of slaves from the surrounding fractious populace was inexhaustible: Africans profiting from the miseries of their own people.

And why build a fort at all and garrison it? Certainly not for fear of the population, but rather to protect themselves from each other. If there is no honour amongst thieves, think what that says about slave traders. The occupants of each castle eyeing the other suspiciously across the bay, on the lookout for any sign of weakness, opportunity …

I visited all 11 castles that are on the list during my week road trip along the coast of Ghana. Driving yourself is straightforward (international drivers license is needed and enforced). Google Maps is your friend by finding the castles. A short summary and some tips if you plan to visit them all too:

If yuo have just a day these 3 are a must see. Cape Coast is "best" as the guided tour has lots of information and there are some small expositions. Elmina can be done without guide I think then but ELmina is nice with local fish market. Do go there with guide so they can show you more and do make the walk up to St Jago too! Worth it.

- Cape Coast Castle, Cape Coast

- Elmina Castle, Elmina

- Fort St. Jago (Fort Conraadsburg), Elmina

From Takoradi you can visit 5 forts on a day without problem. There are 3 to the west of which Axim and Dixcove are very nice restorted. Butri is located on Butri beach which is a beautiful beach to also relax! Put Google Maps to "The Hideout" on the beach. From there you can walk up to the castle.

- Fort Saint Antony, Axim --> i already visited after Nzulenzu stilt vilalge and the 2nd day i did 4 forts and Butre beach.

- Fort Metal Cross, Dixcove

- Fort Batenstein, Butri

2 forts are to the east of Takoradi:

- Fort San Sebastian, Shama

- English Fort (Fort …

I went to the castles at Elmina and Cape Coast, both which to me are integral testimonies of Ghana's colonial history. The tour at Cape Coast castle enabled me to revive the impressive history of this castle and its influence on Ghana as a british enclave. Both castles are well kept and truly deserve a visit. Hopefully UNESCO along with the ghanian authorities are able to see further from the declaration and include the cities, particularly in the case of Elmina, which I think has potential to become a WHS. Serious work has to be done to preserve the cities and to establish efficient touristic infrastructure, which is lacking. It would be a shame if work is not done to the towns, because, just as the castles, I truly believe they bear testimony to european first interactions with Africa.

In Nov 2010 we visited Cape Coast and Elmina castles (just 15 kms apart) and climbed up to, but didn’t enter, Fort St Jago which is also at Elmina. These are the most popular cultural tourist sites in the country and a tourist visit to Ghana without seeing at least one of them is unthinkable.

Both castles are impressive buildings and are wonderfully situated right on a coastline of fine beaches next to fishing harbours and markets which extend right up to the castle walls (my photo is of Cape Coast Castle). Their colourful activity is an interesting part of a visit. The blue of the sea, the gold of the sands, the greens of the palm trees, the white of the castles and the multi-coloured boats will lead you to use up a fair chunk of your digital photo card!

The buildings are of course indelibly associated with the Atlantic slave trade and, for many people that will be the main focus of a visit. The dungeons are certainly impressive in their size and, if you are so inspired, a stimulant for introspection on the events which happened there.

Beyond them however the buildings are really rather attractive and belie that aspect of their history – both were restored in the 1990s. In the centre of Elmina is a Portuguese chapel dating back to 1482. It was later used as an auction hall for slaves but is now a little museum covering a wide range of …

Two of the castles/forts that are designated as WHS are located in Elmina. In fact, those two phenomenal historical buildings still dominate this small fishing town. I started out with a tour at St. George's Castle (Elmina Castle) - the oldest European castle (and according to some sources even the oldest European remains) in Africa below the Sahara. There were about 8 foreigners in my tour group, more than I had met so far in the rest of Ghana: these castles obviously are the closest thing Ghana has to a tourist attraction.

Right after entering the castle, I was amazed at how pretty it is. I somehow had expected a gloomy atmosphere in a half-derelict castle. But this one is freshly whitewashed, very large and holds several buildings within the main compound. The governor slept well in his spacious residence. At the center of the main courtyard, there is a Portuguese church. The ugliness starts underground, with the dungeons where the slaves were being kept until they were put on transport to the Americas.

From St. George's one gets good views of Fort St. Jago, on a hill in Elmina. From that spot, the Dutch raided the former Danish castle in 1637, and were able to keep it for 234 years. It's a steep walk to get up there, one that I did forsake because of the extremely hot sun.

About 15 minutes drive eastwards along the coast lies Cape Coast Castle. This one has been British …

I was posted at Accra in 1946-47 at the American Consulate, and took the occasion to visit as many as I could of the old trading forts built by European companies along the coast of the then British colony of the Gold Coast. This was long before the World Heritage program started, but fortunately, the colonial administration had taken steps to preserve most of the old forts. One served as the Residence of the Governor of Cold Coast Colony, at least one was in use as a prison, some were kept as museums, and many were preserved as temporary residences for travelling colonial officials. No fees were charged for admission, but access was of course controlled. I took photographs of most of the moe notable sites I visited, but have not been back since I left the Gold Coast in December,1947. It is good that the Government of independent Ghana has involved UNESCO in calling attention to these historic buildings, built by companies from various countries and in cases just outside of cannon shot range from a fort of another country.