Cape Coast Castle (Swedish: Carolusborg) is one of about forty “slave castles”, or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese “feitoria” or trading post, established in 1555. However in 1653 the Swedish Africa Company constructed a timber fort there. It originally was a centre for the trade in timber and gold. It was later used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Other Ghanaian slave castles include Elmina Castle and Fort Christiansborg. They were used to hold slaves before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas, especially the Caribbean. This “gate of no return” was the last stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Cape Coast Castle
Cape Coast Castle
Cannons at Cape Coast Castle
The cannons at Cape Coast Castle
Cannonballs
Cannonballs at the Cape Coast Castle
Castle architecture
The architecture of the castle
Cell door
The cell door
male slave dungeon
Male slave dugeon of the Cape Coast Castle
sratch marks of shackles
Scratch marks of shackles left by slaves in captivity