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About Elmina |
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The town of Elmina is
situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast
of Ghana, lying west of Cape Coast.
The first European settlement
in West Africa, it now has a population of around 20,000 people,
mainly engaged in fishing. Elmina Bay offers experiences
of this long established industry, both for
those who prefer to spectate and those who want to get involved.
The town grew around Elmina Castle 'Castle St. Jorge', built
by the Portuguese Diego d'Azambuja in 1482 to protect the gold-rich
lands discovered
in 1471, and was Portugal's West African headquarters
for trade and exploitation of African wealth. His expedition
found gold and ivory and named the area "Mina de Ouro" -
the gold mine.
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The location of Elmina made it a
significant site for reprovisioning ships headed south towards
the Cape of Good
Hope, on their way
to India. The original Portuguese interest was gold and
ivory but they then began importing cloth, blankets
and linen from Morocco in exchange for gold dust and vast
quantities of copper and brassware. To assist in the porterage
of these goods
the Portuguese began to import slaves from Benin in
the 16th century; this trade of slaves greatly expanded
to include tens of thousands of slaves channelled
through
the
trading
post
of
El
Mina.
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A church was built on the hill opposite
the Castle. In 1637 the Dutch used the church and surrounding
hill as a gun-position to attack the Castle and successfully
took the castle from the Portuguese. The Dutch, wanting to protect
the Castle from similar attacks, built a fortification
in place of the church, a quadrilateral earthwork with
a tower
and gate and single-storey building within a courtyard and this
is now known as 'Fort St Jago'
The town remained in Dutch hands
until 1872, when it was sold to
the English. Elmina
is also home to several Asafo shrines and a lagoon. Today, Elmina's
main industry is the catching, smoking and processing of fish.
The
Elmina Bay Hotel is situated in a peaceful beachfront setting
just 3km from Elmina Town. |
Elmina area attractions
include:
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Elmina Castle
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Fort St. George
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Busy town of Cape Coast with its wonderful 19th century buildings
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Cape Coast Castle visited by Barack and Michelle
Obama
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The Dutch Cemetery, built in the 19th century,
housing mausoleums and graves of former governors
and residents
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Posuban Shrines
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Brenu Beach and Lagoon, home to hundreds of winter
migratory birds
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Kakum National Park, 350sq.km nature park with
tropical rain forest, rare wildlife, featuring a
'Canopy
Walkway'
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Obuasi Mines
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