Fort Saint Anthony
Fort Saint Anthony is located at Axim, a coastal town and the capital of Nzema East Municipal in the Western Region of Ghana. It was built by the Portuguese in 1515 and later captured by the Dutch who subsequently made it part of the Dutch Gold Coast.
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Named ‘Forte Santo António’ (Fort Saint Anthony), it was the second Portuguese fort built on the Gold Coast, after St George’s Castle (Elmina Castle).
History
In 1503, the Portuguese had built a trading post in Axim, near the edge of the River Ankobra, but they had to abandon it due to incessant attacks by the local people. They, therefore, constructed a massive triangular fort on a small promontory closer to the River Ankobra in 1515. A three-metre deep rock-cut trench was constructed to enhance its defence on the landward side.
The effective defensive capability of Fort St. Anthony was revealed by its ability to withstand attacks for over four years, even after the fall of Elmina to the Dutch in 1637.
Having no rival in the surrounding gold-rich lands of the Ankobra and Tano River valleys enhanced the economic viability of the fort; gold traders from Adanse and Denkyira frequently visited the fort. The Portuguese trade monopoly was, however, ruined between 1670 and 1720, with the construction of rival forts in the bays east of Axim.
By the 1720s, St Anthony had become a Dutch fort. The fort is reported to have amassed more gold at Axim than anywhere else together. The area was also an important source of timber and cotton for Dutch plantations.
The Dutch expanded the fort considerably before they turned it over, with the rest of their colony, to the British. Some of these expansions were to improve defence and also to make more room to keep slaves before they were loaded onto transport ships.
The fort was known as one of the main regional slave trading posts during the 18th century when they received a steady supply of slaves from Ashanti.
In contrast to many other Dutch possessions on the Gold Coast, Fort Saint Anthony was never abandoned during the 19th century, and remained occupied until 1872 when it was ceded to the British.
In the 1950s, it was rehabilitated for use as government and local council offices.
Fort Saint Anthony was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 along with several other castles and forts in Ghana due to its testimony to European pre-colonial and colonial trade and exploitation.
The fort is now the property of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and is open to the public.