Fort Komenda was a British fort on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, currently preserved as a ruin. Because of its testimony to the Atlantic slave trade and European economic and colonial influence in West Africa, the fort was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

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in 1979, along with several other castles and forts in Ghana.

History

Fort Komenda was established between 1695 and 1698 at Komenda, in contemporary

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. The fort had a very peculiar architecture, as this four-bastioned structure was built around an earlier four-bastioned English trading post, built in 1633. Fort Komenda was within cannon-shot distance to the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Fort Vredenburgh. It was abandoned in 1816, after the abolition of slave trade. The ruin of the fort was transferred to the Dutch as part of a large trade of forts between Britain and the Netherlands in 1868. When a Dutch navy ship entered the harbour of Komenda, however, the local population resisted the transfer of the fort to the Dutch. Through the use of force, Dutch rule was eventually established. Between December 1869 and January 1870, a military expedition was sent to the local capital of Kwassie-Krom. A deadly battle ensued, but the Dutch managed to emerge as victors. It was a Pyrrhic victory, however, as the ongoing problems with the local population meant that on 6 April 1872, the entire Dutch Gold Coast, was again transferred to the United Kingdom, as per the Gold Coast treaty of 1871.

Gallery

File:Fort Komenda 16.jpg, The ruins of Fort Komenda found in British Komenda in the Central Region File:Fort Komenda 02.jpg File:Fort Komenda 10.jpg File:Fort Komenda 03.jpg File:Fort Komenda 05.jpg

References

Citations

{{Gold Coast Buildings and structures completed in 1633 Buildings and structures completed in 1682 History of Ghana Castles in Ghana Dutch Gold Coast 1633 establishments in the British Empire Komenda African resistance to colonialism

History

Gallery

See also

References

Citations