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The HISTORY of Cape Coast Castle / English, Pусский & Deutsch

HISTORY

The origins of the castle date back to 1653, when the Swedish Africa Company established the first European structure on the site—a timber fortification named Carolusborg, in honor of King Charles X of Sweden. This early fort was constructed as a trading post primarily for timber and gold, commodities that were highly sought after in European markets. As the importance of the trading outpost grew, the wooden fort was soon rebuilt in stone, marking the beginning of its transformation into a more permanent and formidable structure.

April 1663

By April 1663, the entire Swedish Gold Coast, including Carolusborg, was seized by the Danish and subsequently incorporated into the Danish Gold Coast. The Danes maintained control for a brief period, but in 1664, the fort was captured by the British, who renamed and expanded it significantly. Over time, it came under the administration of the Committee of Merchants, a British trading association that not only managed the castle but also oversaw the broader British colonial operations along the West African coast.


In the late 18th century, the British undertook extensive renovations of the castle, turning it into a crucial hub for their growing commercial and political interests in the region. By 1844, the site had grown in significance and officially became the seat of colonial government for the British Gold Coast, functioning as both a political center and a symbol of imperial power.


Though originally established for the trade in gold and timber, the castle later became heavily involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Over the centuries, it served as a grim holding point where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans were imprisoned in dungeons beneath the castle before being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean under brutal conditions. The structure earned the somber designation of "Castle and Dungeon" due to this harrowing history.


(c) Remo Kurka photography

Efforts to preserve the castle began as early as the 1920s, when the British Public Works Department initiated the first formal restoration work. Following Ghana’s independence in 1957, the site came under the stewardship of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB), which has since overseen its care and historical interpretation.

In the early 1990s, a major restoration project was launched by the Government of Ghana, with significant support from international partners including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Smithsonian Institution, and a number of other non-governmental organizations. These efforts aimed not only to preserve the physical structure but also to enhance its role as an important educational and memorial site, drawing attention to the historical realities of European colonialism and the human suffering inflicted by the slave trade.


Today, the castle stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a powerful reminder of the region’s layered history—spanning commerce, colonization, and resistance. It attracts thousands of visitors annually, serving both as a tourist destination and as a site of historical reflection, particularly for descendants of the African diaspora tracing the painful paths of their ancestors.