Cape Coast is a city,
fishing port, and the capital of
Cape Coast Metropolitan District and
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 ...
. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a
World Heritage Site
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 ...
, home to the
Cape Coast Castle, with the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is i ...
situated to its south. According to the 2010 census, Cape Coast had a
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
* Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
*Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
population of 169,894 people.
The language of the people of Cape Coast is
Fante.
The older traditional names of the city are Oguaa and Kotokuraba (meaning "River of Crabs" or "Village of Crabs").
The Portuguese navigators
João de Santarém
João de Santarém (15th century) was a Portuguese explorer who discovered São Tomé (in December 21, 1471), Annobón (in January 1472) and Príncipe (January 17, 1472). Together with Pêro Escobar, he also encountered the town of Sassandra in ...
and
Pedro Escobar
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
who sailed past Oguaa in 1471 designated the place ''Cabo Corso'' (meaning "short cape"), from which the name Cape Coast derives.
From the 16th century to the country's independence in 1957, the city changed hands between the British, the Portuguese, the
Swedish, the Danish and the
Dutch. It is home to 32 festivals and celebrations.
History
Cape Coast was founded by the people of Oguaa and the region ruled over by the paramount chief, or
Omanhene In several Akan nations of Ghana, the Omanhene (''Pl. Amanhene)'' is the title of the supreme traditional ruler ('king') in a region or a larger town. The omanhene is the central figure and institution of the nation. Officially, he has no function ...
, is known today as Oguaa Traditional Area.
Cape Coast is one of the most historical cities in
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 ...
. Portuguese colonists built a trading fort in the area. In 1650, the
Swedes
Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
built a lodge that would later become the better known
Cape Coast Castle, which is now a
World Heritage Site
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 ...
. Most of the modern town expanded around it. The Dutch took it over in 1650 and expanded it in 1652. It was then captured by the British in 1664.
Trade was an important motivator in the creation of fortresses and settlements on Cape Coast. Traders from various European countries built these trading lodges, forts and castles along the coast of modern Ghana. Unfortunately, the acquisition of gold, slaves, honey, and the many other goods that composed the African leg of the
Triangular Trade was increasingly detrimental to the inhabitants of Cape Coast.
In 1874, the British dominated all European presence along the coast of modern-day Ghana using Cape Coast as their base of operations,
Gold Coast. With the establishment of formal colonial administration, they relocated to Accra following opposition to the "
window tax" in 1877.
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, , ...
became their state. Cape Coast Castle was also where most of the slaves were held before their journey on the
Middle Passage.
Asafo companies
Oguaa Traditional Area has seven
asafo companies – traditional warrior groups, based on lineal descent, whose historical role was defence of the state (the word deriving from ''sa'', meaning "war", and ''fo'', meaning "people") – with a complex social and political organization based on martial principles, and elaborate traditions of visual art.
The asafo companies feature largely in Cape Coast's annual
Fetu Afahye
The Fetu Afahye is a festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Cape Coast in the Central region of Ghana. The festival is celebrated on the first Saturday in the month of September every year. The Fetu Afahye is celebrated annually by the O ...
festival held on the first Saturday of September, and each have historically established uniform colours:
Esi Sutherland-Addy identifies these as: No. 1. ''Bentsir'' – red; No. 2. ''Anafo'' – blue and white; No. 3. ''Ntsin'' – green; No. 4. ''Nkum'' – yellow; No. 5. ''Amanful'' – wine and black; No. 6. ''Abrofomba'' (''Brofo Nkoa'') – white; No. 7. ''Ankrampa'' – white and black.
20th Century
The city's St Francis Cathedral was dedicated in 1928. The building is the first Catholic Cathedral built in Ghana. In addition, one of the first Catholic schools in Ghana, St. Augustine College, was established in Cape Coast during 1936. The cocoa marketing boom of the 1900s that Ghana experienced, the city experienced a certain period of economic prosperity. After the completion of harbours and railways in other parts of the country such as Sekondi and Kumasi, cocoa cultivation and trade in Ghana diversified and Cape Coast lost some importance.
However, after the establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the University of the city in 1950 and 1962 respectively, Cape Coast became a regional educational hub for this area of Ghana.
Transportation
There are Public Transports from Cape Coast to major cities such as
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, , ...
;
Kumasi,
Mim, Ahafo
Mim is a city in the Asunafo North Municipal District in the Ahafo Region of Ghana. It is a nodal town between Sunyani and Goaso via the N12 Highway. The distance from Mim to Sunyani is 64 km whilst that of Mim to Goaso is 14 km.
Mim ...
;
Sunyani;
Tamale;
Tema;
Ho;
Wa;
Bolgatanga;
Elubo;
Aflao,
Techiman
Techiman is a city and is the capital of Techiman Municipal and Bono East Region of Ghana. Techiman is a leading market town in South Ghana. Techiman is one of the two major cities and settlements of Bono East region. Techiman is home to ...
.
Geography
Topography
The area is dominated by
batholith
A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, s ...
rock and is generally undulating with steep slopes. There are valleys of various streams between the hills, with Kakum being the largest stream.
The minor streams end in wetlands, the largest of which drains into the
Fosu Lagoon at Bakano. In the northern part of the district, however, the landscape is suitable for the cultivation of various crops.
Climate
Cape Coast has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...
(
Köppen: ''As'') with two long wet seasons – a heavier one from March to July and a lighter one from September to November – alongside two short dry seasons in January/February and in August.
Cape Coast is a humid area with mean monthly relative
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
varying between 85% and 99%. The sea breeze has a moderating effect on the local climate.
Attractions
The crab is the city's mascot and a
statue of one stands in the city centre.
Fort William, built in 1820, was an active
lighthouse from 1835 to the 1970s, while Fort Victoria was built in 1702.
The main market of Cape Coast is called
Kotokuraba Market.
Other attractions include a series of
Asafo shrines, Cape Coast Centre for National Culture, the Oguaa
Fetu Afahye
The Fetu Afahye is a festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Cape Coast in the Central region of Ghana. The festival is celebrated on the first Saturday in the month of September every year. The Fetu Afahye is celebrated annually by the O ...
festival (held on the first Saturday of September), and since 1992, the biennial
Panafest theatre festival. The city is located 30 km south of
Kakum National Park, one of the most diverse and best preserved national parks in West Africa.
It is believed that
Michelle Obama,
US First Lady, considers Cape Coast as her ancestral home, and on 11 July 2009, she took the
rest of the first family to tour
Cape Coast Castle as part of
her husband's trip to Cape Coast.
Education
Cape Coast is the seat of the
University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana's leading university in teaching and research. Cape Vars, as it is popularly called, lies on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It also has one of the best Polytechnics, the
Cape Coast Polytechnic (C-POLY). The city also boasts some of Ghana's finest secondary and technical schools:
*
Wesley Girls' High School
*
St. Augustine College
*
Holy Child High School, Ghana
Holy Child School, also known as Angel's Hill, is an all girls boarding second-cycle institution in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. In 2003, the school was ranked among the best 10 schools in Africa, producing the best overall female st ...
*
Mfantsipim School
*
Adisadel College
*
Aggrey Memorial Senior High School
*
Ghana National College
Ghana National College is a senior high school in Cape Coast, Ghana.
Overview
Ghana National College was founded on 20 July 1948, staffed by dismissed teachers from St Augustine's College and Mfantsipim School.''Hon. Lee Ocran, Member of Parl ...
* Edinaman Senior High School
* Cape Coast Technical Institute
* Asuansi Technical Institute
* Academy of Christ the King Senior High School
* Cape Coast International Senior High School
* University Practice Senior High School
* St. Nicholas Seminary Senior High School
* Efutu Senior High Technical School
* Sammo Senior High School
* Commercial Service Institute (CSI)
* Oguaa Senior High Technical School
Notable people
Notable people born in or associated with Cape Coast include:
*
John Atta Mills: 1944-2012 former President of Ghana
*
Frederick Acheampong: (born 1978); member of
Ghana Football Association's Executive Council.
*
Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur:1951– 2018; former vice-president of the Republic of Ghana.
* Samuel Richard Brew Attoh-Ahuma: 1863–1921; clergyman, nationalist, pioneering Pan-Africanist.
* Kofi Bentsi-Enchill: 1895–1948; textiles tycoon, philanthropist.
* Prince James Hutton Brew: 1844–1915; solicitor.
*
Kwesi Brew: 1928–2007; poet and diplomat.
* Joseph Peter Brown: 1843–1932; patriot, statesman.
*
Margaret Busby,
OBE, also titled Nana Akua Ackon I: 1944–; publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster. Enstoolment in 1999.
*
J. E. Casely Hayford: 1866–1930; author, lawyer, politician and educator.
* James Cheetham: 1834–1902; merchant, member of the
Legislative Council of the Gold Coast.
* Ambrose Thompson Cooke: 1930–; millionaire, industrialist, textiles CEO and entrepreneur. Alumni London School of Economics and St Augustine's College Cape Coast
* Sir
James Henley Coussey, KBE: 1895–1958; High Court judge, chairman of the Coussey Commission, president of the West Africa Court of Appeal.
* John Coleman de-Graft Johnson: 1884–1956; secretary of Native Affairs, anthropologist.
* Samuel George Duker: 1905–1994; LRCP Edin, LRCS Edin, LRFPS Glasg; pioneering physician
* King John Aggery Essien: 1809–1899; King of Cape Coast, pioneer Pan-Africanist.
*
Nana Amba Eyiaba I: 1950–; Queen mother of Effutu 16 of the
Effutu Municipal District
Effutu Municipal District is one of the twenty-two districts in Central Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Awutu/Effutu/Senya District in 1988, until the southwest part of the district was split off by a decree of ...
, educator and advocate for political rights of queen mothers
*
Francis Chapman Grant: 1823–1889; founding member of the
Fanti Confederation; cousin of
Ulysses Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
.
* Charles Emmanuel Graves: 1884–1929; musicologist, composer.
* Mark Christian Hayford: 1863–1935; author, founder of Gold Coast Baptist Church and the Christian Army of the Gold Coast
* Robert Hutchison: 1828–1863; statesman, soldier, philanthropist.
* Prophet Jemisimiham Jehu-Appiah: 1892–1948; founder of Musama Disco Christo Church in Africa.
* Thomas Frederic Edward Jones: 1850–1927; petitioned
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
about Lands Bill.
*
John Mensah-Sarbah: 1864–1910; barrister, author, published Fanti Customary Laws.
* Henry Mercer-Ricketts: 1895–1980; pioneering physician.
*
George Edward Moore: 1879–1950; recipient of the Ashanti Medal, executive member of the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society.
* Hon. Ebo Barton Odro, First Deputy Speaker of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic
* Andrew William Parker: 1840–1912; conscientious nationalist, fought in the
Ashanti expedition.
*
Philip Quaque
Philip Quaicoe (1741 – 17 October 1816) was the first African to be ordained as a minister by the Church of England.
Biography
Born in Cape Coast then known as (Gold Coast) and named Kweku, he was said to be the son of Birempong Cudjo, a c ...
: 1741–1816; first ordained African clergy of the Church of England.
* John Sarbah: 1834–1892; educationist, merchant, industrialist.
*
William Esuman Gwira Kobina Sekyi: 1892–1956; lawyer, politician, author.
*
Jacob Wilson Sey
Jacob Kwaw Wilson Sey (10 March 1832 – 22 May 1902), also known as Kwaa Bonyi, was a colonial era Fante artisan, farmer, philanthropist, nationalist and the first recorded indigenous multi-millionaire on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). ...
, alias Kwaa Bonyi: 1832–1902; millionaire, philanthropist, founding member of the
Aborigines' Rights Protection Society.
*
Efua Sutherland
Efua Theodora Sutherland (born 27 June 1924 – 2 January 1996) was a Ghanaian playwright, director, dramatist, children's author, poet, educationalist, researcher, child advocate, and cultural activist. Her works include the plays ''Foriwa'' ...
: 1924–1996; writer, dramatist, educationalist and cultural activist
* James Robert Thompson: 1810–1886; pioneering educationist.
*
Peter Turkson: 1948–; Cardinal-Archbishop of Cape Coast.
*
Herbert Taylor Ussher: 1836–1880; early administrator
*
Henry van Hien
Henry van Hien (1857 or 1858 – 4 July 1928) was a Gold Coast merchant, politician, and nationalist leader.
Biography
Early life and business career
Van Hien was born in Elmina to Carel Hendrik David van Hien (1833–1864), a government of ...
: 1858–1928; President of the Aboriginal Rights Protection Society.
* Hon. William Ward-Brew,
OBE: 1878–1943; lawyer, VP of Aborigines' Rights Protection Society.
*
Herbert Winful
Herbert Graves Winful (born 3 December 1952) is a Ghanaian-American engineering professor, whose numerous honours include in 2020 the Quantum Electronics Award. He is the Joseph E. and Anne P. Rowe Professor of Electrical Engineering, Arthur F. ...
: 1952–; engineering professor.
Media house
* Kastle FM
* Asaase Radio
Foods
The
Fante people
The Mfantsefo or Fante ("Fanti" is an older spelling) are an Akan people. The Fante people are mainly located in the Central and Western coastal regions of Ghana. Over the last half century, due to fishing expeditions, Fante communities are fou ...
of Ghana are notable for their way of cooking. They are known for eating rich cuisine, mostly with more fish, meat, or any form of protein than necessary. It is believed that this is because of the number of rivers and lakes situated in the town. The people are known for their expert fishing and fish preservation abilities. Some of the cuisines are fante fante, etew and pepper sauce or okro stew, fante
kenkey, which can be eaten with
soups,
stews or
shito
Shito or shitor din (lit. 'black pepper') is a hot black pepper sauce ubiquitous in Ghanaian cuisine. The name comes from the Ga language.
Shito sauce consists primarily of fish or vegetable oil, ginger, dried fish, prawns, crustaceans, to ...
.
Sister cities
List of
sister cities of Cape Coast, designated by
Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of " sister citie ...
:
See also
*
Cape Coast Castle
References
Bibliography
* Charles Tetty, "Medical Practitioners of African Descent in Colonial Ghana", ''International Journal of African Historical Studies'', Vol. 18, No. 1 (1985), pp. 139–44, Boston University African Studies Center.
* ''Gallery of Gold Coast Celebrities 1632–1958'', Vol 1 2 & 3; I.S. Ephson, Ghana Publishing Corporation, 1970.
* Kofi Baku, "Kobina Sekyi of Ghana: An Annotated Bibliography of His Writings", ''International Journal of African Historical Studies'', Vol. 24, No. 2 (1991), pp. 369–81, Boston University African Studies Center.
External links
*
Ghana-pedia webpage – Cape Coast
{{Authority control
Populated places in the Central Region (Ghana)
Regional capitals in Ghana
Former Swedish colonies
Former colonies in Africa
Swedish colonisation in Africa
1482 establishments
15th-century establishments in Africa