Fort James, Ghana
Fort James | |
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Part of British Gold Coast | |
![]() Fort Crèvecœur (left) and Fort James (right) in 1727. | |
![]() ![]() Fort James | |
Coordinates | 5°32′01″N 0°12′40″W / 5.5337°N 0.2111°W |
Site history | |
Built | 1673 |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | Britain (1673-1957) |
![James Fort from the direction of the sea](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/James_Fort%2C_Accra.jpg/220px-James_Fort%2C_Accra.jpg)
Fort James (alternatively referred to as James Fort) is a fort located in Accra, Ghana. It was built by the Royal African Company of England (RAC) as a trading post for both gold and slaves in 1673,[1] where it joined the Dutch Fort Crêvecœur (1649), and the Danish Fort Christiansborg (1652) along the coast of the then Gold Coast.
Fort James was likely named after James, then Duke of York, later King James II, who was Governor of the RAC at the time it was built and after whom the adjacent town of Jamestown in Accra is also named.[citation needed]
The fort stands next to Jamestown Lighthouse and from the colonial era up to 2008, served as a prison.[2][3] Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was imprisoned from 1950 to 1951 with common criminals in Fort James.[4]
Current situation[]
It is an historic castle and serves as a tourist site.[5] James Fort is in a fairly good condition.[6]
Additional images[]
Notes[]
- ^ Dow, George Francis (2013). Slave Ships and Slaving. Dover Publications. ISBN 1-306-35536-2. OCLC 868969351.
- ^ Briggs, Philip. Ghana (Sixth ed.). Bradt Travel Guides Ltd. p. 147. ISBN 9781841624785.
- ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
- ^ Rooney, David. Kwame Nkrumah: The Political Kingdom in the Third World. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-02479-6.
- ^ "James Fort, Greater Accra, Ghana". gh.geoview.info. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ "Ghana Museums & Monuments Board". www.ghanamuseums.org. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
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- Buildings and structures completed in 1673
- History of Ghana
- Castles in Ghana
- 1673 establishments in the British Empire
- Forts in Ghana
- African Company of Merchants