Fort Amsterdam, is a former
slave fort A slave fort or slave castle was a fortification designed to provide an area in which enslaved victims could be imprisoned as well as constituting a significant defendable location in the event of an outside attack. A slave fort was a militarised ...
in
Abandze,
Central region,
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 Tog ...
. It was built by the English between 1638 and 1645 as Fort Cormantin or Fort Courmantyne, and was captured by admiral
Michiel de Ruyter of the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ...
in 1665, in retaliation for the capture of several Dutch forts by the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
Admiral Holmes in 1664. It was subsequently made part of 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 161 ...
, and remained part of it until the fort was traded with the British in 1868. The Fort is located at
Abandze, on the north-east of Cape Coast in the
Mfantseman District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
of the
Central Region of
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 Tog ...
. Because of its testimony to European economic and colonial influence in West Africa and its historical importance in 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 ...
, the fort was inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
in 1979 along with other
forts and castles in Ghana.
History
Early in 1782, Captain
Thomas Shirley in the 50-gun ship
''Leander'' and 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'' en ...
''Alligator'' sailed to 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 161 ...
. This was during the
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Vierde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog; 1780–1784) was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the War of American Independence (1775-1783), broke out o ...
in which Britain was at war with
The Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. Shirley captured the small Dutch forts at
Moree (
Fort Nassau – 20 guns), Kormantin (Courmantyne – 32 guns),
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),
Senya Beraku
Senya Beraku is a residential area in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region of 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 Oce ...
(
Fort Goede Hoop – 18 guns), and
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, , ...
(
Fort Crêvecoeur
Ussher Fort is a fort in Accra, Ghana. It was built by the Dutch in 1649 as Fort Crèvecœur, and is a day's march from Elmina and to the east of Accra on a rocky point between two lagoons. It was one of three forts that Europeans built in the regi ...
or
Ussher Fort
Ussher Fort is a fort in Accra, Ghana. It was built by the Dutch in 1649 as Fort Crèvecœur, and is a day's march from Elmina and to the east of Accra on a rocky point between two lagoons. It was one of three forts that Europeans built in the reg ...
– 32 guns).
In 1811, the people of
Anomabo
Anomabu, also spelled Anomabo and formerly as Annamaboe, is a town on the coast of the Mfantsiman Municipal District of the Central Region of South Ghana. Anomabu has a settlement population of 14,389 people.
Anomabu is located 12 km east ...
, who happened to be allies of the British attacked the fort, leaving it in ruins. It was unoccupied from then until its restoration in 1951 by the
Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.
The town of
Abandze has grown around the site of the fort today.
The Original Structure of Fort Amsterdam
It had a rectangular outline with two
square and two round
bastions
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
at the corners. They were linked by
curtain walls. There was a central
courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
. Arranged around it were a one-storeyed building on the
west
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
side, a two-storeyed building along the
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
side and a line of two or three storeyed buildings on the
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
side.
The curtain and bastion on the
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
were solidly built, while the others were constructed with an earth filling between two walls of stone laid in
mortar. The result as cracks and disintegration at the time it was left unoccupied.
The
bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
on the
southeast, which was designed to be hollow, had a grated
ventilation in the roof, and was in addition used as a
slave prison. It is believed to have been the first of its kind in the
Gold Coast. Slaves taken from this fort were said to have been named "Coromantese' or "Cormantins"
Trade
From 1705 to 1716, trade figures at the fort were given as 481 marks of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
and 149
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. There were complaints of little trade at other times as well. This was due to wars and also because the local chief was said to have leased the site to the
British, and not the
Dutch. The
Dutch had no jurisdiction there, and the Cormantin people blocked their trade routes whenever it suited them, until the former had paid huge sums of money.
Image gallery
Fort Amsterdam Front view.jpg, Fort Amsterdam front view
Ghana, Abandze, Fort Amsterdam (Cormantijn), hoofdingang.jpg, Main gate
Ghana, Abandze, Fort Amsterdam (Cormantijn).jpg, Fort Amsterdam
Slave Dungeon in Fort Amsterdam.png, Slave Dungeon in Fort Amsterdam
Sunset at the Fort Amsterdam.jpg, Sunset at the Fort Amsterdam
Komantin Beach From Fort Amsterdam.jpg, Komantin Beach From Fort Amsterdam
Canon in Fort Amsterdam.jpg, Canon in Fort Amsterdam
Open skies in Fort Amsterdam.jpg, Open skies in Fort Amsterdam
References
{{Authority control
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
Dutch Gold Coast
Castles in Ghana
Central Region (Ghana)
Buildings and structures completed in 1645
1645 establishments in Africa
1645 establishments in the British Empire
17th century in Ghana
African slave trade