About the site
Elmina Castle, located on Ghana’s Atlantic coastline, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and important cultural and historical touchpoint for the region. The building, also known as St. George’s Castle, was first constructed by the Portuguese in 1482 to help secure their trade monopoly in the region. According to the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, it was “the first major European construction in tropical Africa,” and helped establish the town of Elmina as an important transit hub (source). The Portugese, who traded primarily in gold, ivory, and slaves, used the castle until imported gold from the Americas caused the value of African gold to drop, ending their dominance in the region.
Following this collapse of the Portuguese trading infrastructure, the castle was seized by the Dutch in 1637 and was used as a coordination point as they traded gold and slaves from western Africa. During the 1700s, the Dutch reconstructed the castle several times, further cementing its status as a trade and cultural landmark.
In 1872, Elmina Castle was given to the British and subsequently used for a variety of purposes. It was designated as a World Heritage Monument in 1979 alongside other Ghanian forts and castles, and significant restorations undertaken by the Ghanian government began in the 1990s. It is now a museum and tourist destination, and given its historical use as a slave trading location, has been cited as an important site for “roots tourism” undertaken by diaspora Africans.
Capture sites
Capture site 1
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Capture site 2
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