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Elmina Castle
Elmina Castle
wurde im Jahre 1471 von den Portugiesen erbaut und war die Zentrale des Sklavenhandels in der Welt.
Von hier aus wurden Sklaven nach
Amerika und in andere Teile der Welt verschifft. Es ist das älteste europäische Bauwerk in den Tropen.
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| Accra | Cape Coast | Elmina | Kakum National Park | Kumasi | Mole National Park | Volta Lake |
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Waterfalls |
The North |
Forts in the West |
Monkey Sanctuary |
Rivers of the West |
Elminas history started around AD
1300 when it was chosen to be the capital of Kwaa Amankwaa the founder of the
Edina State. It was chosen because of its lagoon being an excellent site for
salt production. The trade route developed in prehistoric times between the salt
mines of Elmina and the goldfields of the Bono Empire ( today Tarkwa and Obuasi)
enabled the Portuguese to buy gold with ease after their arrival on Da Costa de
la Mina de Ouro (The Coast of Gold Mines) in 1471.
In 1482 the Portuguese begun work on the St. George Castle, a rather humble
building at first. Within a few years several Portuguese traders had settled
around the fort and the little village Elmina was elevated to city status.
Elmina stayed the center of Portuguese operations for 150 years. In 1637 the
Dutch bombarded the castle from St Jago Hill and forced the Portuguese to
surrender. The Dutch renovated and expanded the original castle throughout their
occupation. A second fort was built on St. Jago Hill overlooking the St.Georges
Castle and this was used mainly to guard the Castle and as prison. Elmina slowly
became the turning point of international Slave Trade.
Elmina started out as a small fishing and salt producing village and this is basically what it remains today only a little bigger even though it lay at the heart of West African Slave and Gold Trade back in its economic heydays. St. Georges Castle has been renovated and declared a World Historical Monument being oldest European Building In West Africa.