Fort San Sebastian

The Fort San Sebastian in the village of Shama in present-day Ghana was ever built in 1523 as one of the first European trading forts on the so-called Gold Coast. Since 1979, the fort stands on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Between 1580 and 1640 Portugal was united by a personal union of the ruler of both kingdoms with Spain and therefore an enemy of the then Spanish Netherlands. When Portugal in 1640 regained its independence from Spain, it was automatically in alliance with the anti- Spanish Netherlands. Nevertheless, in 1640 troops of the Dutch West India Companie attacked the Portuguese fort of San Sebastian and conquered it without much trouble, as it was by this time a little more than a ruin. The Portuguese garrison surrendered without a fight. The West India Company at that time had indeed already become aware of the new alliance with the Portuguese, but relied on the fact that they have not received any official message to their headquarters in Elmina about it. 1664 besieged the British in vain the progression (according to other sources, they conquered it in the short term, in the same year but lost it again to the Dutch ). Died here in 1756 Germany's first black professor, Anton Wilhelm Amo.

From the original Portuguese fort little remains. Its present shape was predominantly by the Dutch from 1664th The hill on which stands the castle, is made of soft Lateritgestein that can be easily washed out by the strong rainfall here. As a result, there were frequent damage to the masonry. They tried to counter this with support structures at the outer brickwork. The striking and today the entire construction characterizing wide staircase that leads up to the entrance gate of the fortress, the laminated result of these efforts. In 1872, already abandoned by the Dutch fort was by the so-called Sumatran agreement governing the exchange of some colonial possessions between the UK and the Netherlands, British. In the years 1954-57 it was restored.

Today's state of the fort

Fort and village from the sea

In the background of the main entrance with steps by Shama

Look at Shama from from Fort

Front