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 SitebyUNESCO in 1979.[1]
Kumasi Fort in the Ashanti Region was originally built by an Asante king in imitation of these colonial forts.[2]
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location |  Ghana |
| Includes |
|
| Criteria | Cultural: (vi) |
| Reference | 34 |
| Inscription | 1979 (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 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):
Byregion (from East to West):
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| |
|---|---|
| Sovereign states |
|
States with limited |
|
Dependencies and |
|
|
Forts of the former European colonial powers on the Gold Coast
| |
|---|---|
| Brandenburg-Prussian forts |
|
| British forts |
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| Danish forts |
|
| Dutch forts |
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| Portuguese forts |
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| Swedish forts |
|
