Fort Nassau, near Moree, Ghana, was the first fort that the Dutch established on what would become the

Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. ...

. Because of its importance during the early European colonial period in West Africa and its testimony to the African gold trade and the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

, 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 ...

World Heritage list A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

in 1979 (along with several other castles and forts in Ghana).

Background

From 1598 onward, Dutch merchants traded on the Gold Coast of Africa. Although the Gold Coast was already settled by Portuguese, there was little effort to evict the Dutch, as the military resources were committed to the war in Europe. This changed after the signing of the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign n ...

between Portugal-Spain and the Dutch Republic in 1609. The Portuguese now had sufficient resources to protect their trade monopoly, and began attacking the (from the Portuguese viewpoint, illegitimate) Dutch factories on the coast. The factory at Mouri was burned to the ground in 1610. Dutch traders then petitioned the States-General of the Dutch Republic to build a fort on the coast. The States-General was receptive of their demands, and sent

Jacob Clantius Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...

, who was to become the first General on the Coast, to the Gold Coast in 1611. In 1612, the

Treaty of Asebu The Treaty of Asebu was concluded in 1612 between the Dutch Republic and the chiefs of Asebu on the Gold Coast (region), Gold Coast of Africa. The treaty was the first among several concluded between the Dutch and the peoples of the Gold Coast, an ...

was signed between the Dutch and the chief of Asebu, which allowed for the establishment of Fort Nassau at Mouri.

History

In 1612, Clantius built a reinforced fort at Mouri, which, due to the unfamiliarity of the Dutch with building in the tropics, was notorious for its unhealthy conditions. In 1624, the Dutch considerably expanded the fort. Fort Nassau served as the capital of the Dutch Gold Coast from its establishment until 1637, when the Dutch captured

Fort Elmina Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or ''Feitoria da Mina''), in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly the ...

from the Portuguese. At the end of 1781 Captain Thomas Shirley in the frigate , together with the

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

''Alligator'', sailed for the

with a convoy consisting of a few merchant-vessels and transports. Britain was at war with the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

and Shirley launched an unsuccessful attack on 17 February on the Dutch outpost at

Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante people, Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal District, Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, Ghana, Centra ...

, being repulsed four days later. ''Leander '' and Shirley then went on to capture four small Dutch forts: Fort Nassau (20 guns), Fort Amsterdam (32 guns) at Kormantine (Courmantyne or Apam,

Fort Lijdzaamheid Fort Patience (Dutch: ''Fort Lijdzaamheid'', or, in 17th-century spelling, ''Fort Leydsaemheyt'') is a Dutch-built fort located in the township of Apam, in the Central Region of Ghana. Originally built in 1697, it served as a defensive fortificati ...

or Fort Patience (22 guns)),

Fort Goede Hoop A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(18 guns) at

Senya Beraku Senya Beraku is a residential area in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region of Ghana. Senya Beraku is the site of Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K ...

(Berricoe, Berku, Fort Barracco), and Fort Crèvecœur (32 guns), at

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. Shirley then garrisoned those facilities with personnel from Cape Coast Castle.

Gallery

File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-34-29-1-001.jpg, Guard Room, Fort Nassau, 1890s File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-34-29-2-001.jpg, Quarters once inhabited by Willem Bosman, Fort Nassau, 1890s File:Fort Nassau (3 of 9).jpg, Remains of Fort Nassau File:Fort Nassau (9 of 9).jpg, Ruins of Fort Nassau File:Fort Nassau 3.jpg, Ruins of Fort Nassau File:Fort Nassau 07.jpg, Ruins of Fort Nassau

References

{{Ghana topics

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

Dutch Gold Coast Castles in Ghana Buildings and structures completed in 1612 1610s establishments in Africa 1612 establishments in the Dutch Empire 17th century in Ghana