Fort São Sebastião or Fort San Sebastian (Portuguese: ''Forte São Sebastião de Xama'') located in
Shama, Ghana
Shama or Esima is a fishing community, and it is the capital of Shama district, a district in the Western Region of Ghana. Along with several other castles in Ghana, it was inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 1979 because of its testimony to the history of European trade, colonization, and exploitation in the region.
History
It was built by the Portuguese from 1520 to 1526 as a trading post in and captured by the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
in 1642. The original purpose of the fort was to serve as a deterrent to English sailors interfering in Shama trade. The first black European university professor, Anton Wilhelm Amo, lies interred in the fort's graveyard. The fort was ceded with the entire
Dutch Gold Coast
The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch (et ...
to Britain in 1872.
During the time of the African Slave Trade, kidnapped Africans were imprisoned here while awaiting transport to North America.
3D documentation with terrestrial laser scanning
The
Zamani Project
The Zamani Project is part of the African Cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database. Zamani is a research group at the University of Cape Town, which acquires, models, presents and manages spatial and other data from cultu ...
documented Fort San Sebastian in 2013, with terrestrial
3D laser scanning
Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
. The data generated by the non-profit research group creates a permanent record that can be used for research, education, restoration, and conservation.
A 3D model and a panorama tour, of Fort San Sebastian are available o www.zamaniproject.org An animation of the 3D model is availabl
Gallery
File:Fort St Sebastian - Close up.jpg, Fort St Sebastian - close up
File:Fort St. Sebastian.jpg, View of the fort from a boat
File:Overzicht poort naar voorste gedeelte fort met zicht op poort naar de trappartij - Shama - 20375019 - RCE.jpg, View from the gate to the front part of the fort, in the back the main gate with stairs to Shama
File:Overzicht vanaf fort met toegangspoortje aan de voorzijde - Shama - 20375027 - RCE.jpg, View of Shama from the fort
File:Overzicht bovenop voorste gedeelte fort met zicht op poort naar de trappartij - Shama - 20375015 - RCE.jpg, The front part of the fort
File:Fort St. Sebastian, westflank - 20651710 - RCE.jpg, Fort St Sebastian - Shama, Ghana
File:Fort San Sebastian 26.jpg, Fort St Sebastian - Shama, Ghana
File:Fort San Sebastian 25.jpg, Fort St Sebastian - Shama, Ghana
File:Fort San Sebastian 22.jpg, Fort St Sebastian - Shama, Ghana
File:Fort San Sebastian 12.jpg, Fort St Sebastian - Shama, Ghana