Fort Armsterdam, a once thriving trading post in the Central Region during the era of the slave trade, now stands as a haunting reminder of the country’s rich but forgotten history.
The 17th century Dutch Fort, which is a testament of the transatlantic slave trade, lies in ruins and abandoned by authorities.
Channel One News explored the secrets and stories hidden within the abandoned Fort and what can be done to preserve this ancient artifact.
Driving on the Abandze section of the Accra Cape Coast stretch one can notice the huge Fort overlooking the highway with its imposing structure.
Built by the Dutch in 1631 on the site of a former Portuguese fort, it was strategically located in Cape Coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean to facilitate trade and protect Dutch interests.
During the transatlantic slave trade Fort Amsterdam played a significant role, serving as a holding place for enslaved Africans before they were transported to the Americas.
In addition to its role in human trafficking, the fort was the centre of gold trade where the Dutch exchanged gold with local rulers in return for precious metals.
Today the Fort is a pale shadow of itself left to rot. Much attention has not been given to it, and leadership in the community where the Fort is situated is worried.
Inside the Fort, the walls are made of stones, however, many of the artifacts are deteriorating with each passing day, and one can only question what the Tourism Authority are doing to protect the Fort.
Joseph Akorful, a tour guide of the facility has taken it upon himself to fix some of the challenges. However, many of the challenges are beyond him and need the attention of the higher authorities.
“This Fort was the first to be built in Africa in 1631, purposely for merchants. The Dutch made this place the headquarters in the whole of West Africa for their merchants. They changed the business from merchants to slavery. It contained about 350 slaves, so when the ship gets to Elmina, they had to transport those here on foot to join them at Elmina. That was how they used the fort for slavely for over 200 years,” he said.
The Fort played a key role during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, many of which were harrowing experiences suffered in the hands of slave masters.
Further along the coast is Fort William located at Anomabo. It was built in 1753 by the British and is one of the forts that actively took part in the slave trade.
Inside the Fort are huge dungeons and other quarters for slave masters.
The Fort was purposely built for slavery, with four dungeons notably the male dungeons, female dungeons, concubine dungeon and the children dungeon meant for children of the slaves.
Despite its huge stature, Fort William and Fort Amsterdam suffered from neglect. Authorities are worried that Fort is not being given the needed attention, hence the lack of patronage.
Manager of the facility Theresa Quayson takes us through the Fort and shares with us some of the harrowing ordeals of the slaves.
“This building has been here for 272 years, purposely built for slavery. We have about four dungeons: male, female, concubine and children dungeons. The commonest food they were fed was bread and biscuits. They just tied them on the rope and dropped,” she said.
