Slave Castle of Cape Coast
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Slave Castles were the pre-existing castles in cape coast that were used to hold slaves before they were loaded to ships and traded in the Americas and the Caribbean. Many considered Cape Coast “the gate of no return” because it was the last stop before crossing the great Atlantic.
Cape Coast is the capital of Central Ghana. There was an extreme amount of gold dust found on the lands of Ghana. This is what primarily attracted many Europeans. Many of the natives of Cape Coast used this to their advantage. In exchange for gold, mahogany, and many other local items of Cape Coast, the natives received clothing, blankets, spices, sugar, silk, and many other items. The Castles in Cape Coast were centers for these transactions of trade.
During the time when the slaves became a valued commodity in the Caribbean and the Americas, slaves were added to the list of things that were traded at Cape Coast. Due to this, many changed were made to the Cape Coast Castle. One of the many renovations was enormous underground vaults. These vaults would serve as prisons for many slaves waiting for export. These vaults could hold approximately one thousand slaves at one time. Many European nations flocked to Cape Coast in order to get a foothold in the slave trade. Based on this information, business was very competitive in this area. It is for this reason that the castle at Cape Coast changed hands many times during the course of history. Originally built by the Swedes in the 1650’s, the Castle was taken over by the British in 1662, by the Dutch in 1663, recaptured by the British in 1664, and in 1681 was attacked by the natives of the land. Lastly, it was conquered by the French in 1709 and again in 1757.
