Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions

The Portuguese called  Elmina "The Gold Mine" because of the vast amount of gold and ivory found there

Elmina Castle and Fort Saint Jago

This postcard was sent by Javier

Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mine Castle), also known as Castelo da Mina or simply Mina (or Feitoria da Mina) in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast). It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, and the oldest European building in existence south of the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade. The Dutch seized the fort from the Portuguese in 1637, after an unsuccessful attempt to the same extent in 1596, and took over all of the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1642. The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1814. In 1872, the Dutch Gold Coast, including the fort, became a possession of Great Britain.

Fort Coenraadsburg or Conraadsburg, also Fort São Tiago da Mina, is a small Portuguese chapel built in honor of Saint Jago and it is situated opposite the Elmina Castle in the Central region of Ghana, to protect Fort Elmina from attacks. Fort Conraadsburg was built in the 1660s. It was built on the site of a fortified chapel that the Portuguese had built and that the Dutch had burned to the ground in the Battle of Elmina (1637). The Dutch ceded the fort to Britain in 1872, together with the entire Dutch Gold Coast.. Before the fort was built, the Dutch used the hill as a gun-position to bombard the Portuguese in the year 1637. To prevent others from doing the same tactic against the Portuguese, the Dutch constructed a fortified earthwork the following year. - in: wikipedia

The 11 forts and castles (in red what I have)

• Fort Good Hope (Fort Goedehoop)
• Cape Coast Castle
• Fort Patience (Fort Leysaemhyt)
• Fort Amsterdam
• Fort St. Jago (Fort Conraadsburg)
• Fort Batenstein
• Fort San Sebastian
• Fort Metal Cross
• English Fort (Fort Vrendenburg)
• Fort Saint Antony
• Elmina Castle (St. George's Castle/ Fort St. Jorge)