Elmina Castle

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Lore & Background

The site saw European rivalry for over a century. In 1640, Dutch commander Aren't Jacobsz van der Graeff built a simple stone nogg and brick lodge. The Swedes captured it in 1653, then Danish forces under Caerloff took it in 1657. The Dutch recaptured it around 1659 or 1660. After the Second Anglo-Dutch War ended in 1667 with the Treaty of Breda, the English gained a foothold. Between 1672 and 1673 they built Fort Charles, named after King Charles II, on the present-day location of Fort William. An early Anomabo chief, perhaps Eno or Eno Besi, inhabited the Dutch lodge and declared it his palace. The English abandoned Fort Charles not long after to concentrate on Fort Carolusburg at Cape Coast, and it was abandoned in 1730 and destroyed.

Reader's Guide

In 1698, the Royal African Company licensed ship captains not in its employment upon payment of a 10% affiliation fee, enabling them to trade in its monopoly areas. This brought a flood of 'Ten Percenters' to British forts, and Anomabo became a popular haunt, exporting vast numbers of slaves until licensing stopped in 1712. In 1717, Dutch director-general Engelgraaf Roberts quoted an English captain: from January 1702 to August 1708, no fewer than 30,141 slaves were taken from Anomabo to Barbados and Jamaica, not including ships to other islands or the South Sea Company. In 1753, after thwarting a French bid, the British African Company of Merchants began construction of Anomabo Castle, designed by military engineer John Apperly, who became its first governor. After Apperly's death in 1756, Irishman Richard Brew took over and completed construction in 1760. The fort became the center of British slave trading along the Gold Coast until the trade was outlawed in 1807. In the nineteenth century, commander Brodie Cruickshank added one storey to the main building and renamed the fort after King William IV (1830–1837). The well-preserved remains of Fort William can still be seen.

Did You Know?

• Fort William was originally known as Fort Anomabo and was renamed in the 1830s after King William IV by its then-commander Brodie Cruickshank.
• Two earlier forts stood on the same site: a Dutch lodge built in 1640 and Fort Charles, built by the English in 1674, which was abandoned in 1730 and destroyed.
• Between January 1702 and August 1708, at least 30,141 enslaved people were shipped from Anomabo to Barbados and Jamaica alone.
• The fort was designed by military engineer John Apperly, who became its first governor, and was completed in 1760 by Irishman Richard Brew.
• Notable residents and prisoners associated with the fort include Venture Smith and William Ansah Sessarakoo.

A Contested Shoreline – European Rivalry at Anomabo

The stretch of coast at Anomabo in Ghana's Central Region became a flashpoint for European colonial ambition over more than a century. In 1640, Dutch commander Aren't Jacobsz van der Graeff oversaw the construction of a modest stone nogg and brick lodge, the first European structure on the site. That foothold proved short-lived: Swedish forces seized the lodge in 1653, and by 1657 Danish troops under a commander named Caerloff had displaced the Swedes. The Dutch reclaimed the position around 1659 or 1660. The Second Anglo-Dutch War's conclusion in 1667, sealed by the Treaty of Breda, handed the English a claim to Anomabo. Between 1672 and 1673 they raised Fort Charles, named for King Charles II, on the very ground that would later host Fort William. Local history adds a human dimension: an early Anomabo chief, possibly Eno or Eno Besi, occupied the old Dutch lodge and declared it his personal palace. The English, however, soon withdrew their resources to Fort Carolusburg at Cape Coast, leaving Fort Charles to be abandoned around 1730 and ultimately destroyed.

The Ten Percenters and the Scale of Enslavement

In 1698 the Royal African Company opened a loophole that transformed Anomabo into one of the busiest slave-export points on the Gold Coast. By charging outside ship captains a mere ten percent affiliation fee, the company licensed independent traders to operate within its monopoly zones. The result was a surge of so-called Ten Percenters whose vessels frequently outnumbered the company's own fleet at British forts. Anomabo became a particular favorite of these licensed privateers, and the flow of enslaved people through its harbor was enormous. The licensing scheme was finally shut down in 1712, but the numbers already recorded speak to the scale. In 1717 the Dutch director-general at Elmina, Engelgraaf Roberts, cited an English captain's own estimate: between January 1702 and August 1708, no fewer than 30,141 enslaved people had been shipped from Anomabo to Barbados and Jamaica alone. Roberts noted that this figure excluded cargoes bound for Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, the South Sea Company, and the New Netherlands, and that Annemaboe alone could supply about one third of such additional volumes.

Raising the Final Fort

The structure that stands at Anomabo today took shape after a French attempt to build a fort on the same site was successfully blocked by the British in 1753. Seizing the moment, the British African Company of Merchants—the successor organization to the long-defunct Royal African Company—commissioned a new castle. Military engineer John Apperly designed the building and assumed its first governorship. His tenure was cut short by death in 1756, and the project passed to an Irishman named Richard Brew, who saw the construction through to completion in 1760. For the next four decades the fort served as the principal hub of British slave trading along the Gold Coast, a role it retained until the trade was outlawed in 1807. In the nineteenth century, commander Brodie Cruickshank made a notable architectural modification, adding a full storey to the main building, and he gave the fort its present name in honor of King William IV, who reigned from 1830 to 1837.

Notable Figures, UNESCO Recognition, and Living Memory

Fort William's walls have sheltered and confined some of the most remarkable individuals of the Atlantic world. Among the notable residents and prisoners associated with the site are Venture Smith and William Ansah Sessarakoo. Beyond these individual stories, the fort's broader historical weight earned it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979, recognized alongside several other castles and forts in Ghana for their role in, and testimony to, the Atlantic slave trade. Today Anomabo draws visitors from around the globe, and the well-preserved remains of Fort William continue to stand as a tangible reminder of the centuries of European rivalry, commerce, and human suffering that shaped this stretch of the Ghanaian coast.