Fort San Sebastian
*Fort San Sebastian was built on this date in 1523. It was a Portuguese fortress that protected the monetary interest and transferred African Slaves during the Middle Passage.
The facility in Shama, Ghana, is the third oldest fortification in Ghana. The Portuguese built it from 1520 to 1526 as a trading post and captured it by the Dutch West India Company in 1642. The fort's original purpose was to deter English sailors from interfering in the Shama trade.
The first black European university professor, Anton Wilhelm Amo, lies interred in the fort's graveyard. The entire Dutch Gold Coast ceded the fort to Britain in 1872. During the African Slave Trade, kidnapped Africans were imprisoned there while awaiting transport to North America.
The Zamani Project documented Fort San Sebastian in 2013 using terrestrial 3D laser scanning. The non-profit research group's data creates a permanent record that can be used for research, education, restoration, and conservation.
