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People, Locations, Episodes

Tue, 12.11.1523

Fort San Sebastian (West Africa), is Built

Fort San Sebastian

*Fort San Sebastian was built on this date in 1523. It was a Portuguese fortress to protect the monetary interest and transfer African Slaves during the Middle Passage.

The facility in Shama, Ghana, is the third oldest fortification in Ghana. It was built by the Portuguese from 1520 to 1526 as a trading post and captured by the Dutch West India Company in 1642. The fort's original purpose was to serve as a deterrent to English sailors interfering in the Shama trade.  

The first black European university professor, Anton Wilhelm Amo, lies interred in the fort's graveyard. The fort was ceded to Britain by the entire Dutch Gold Coast in 1872. During the time of the African Slave Trade, kidnapped Africans were imprisoned there while awaiting transport to North America.

The Zamani Project documented Fort San Sebastian in 2013 with terrestrial 3D laser scanning. The data generated by the non-profit research group creates a permanent record that can be used for research, education, restoration, and conservation.

New Poem Each Day

Poetry Corner

When you lie again in the street of forgetfulness smashed beyond recognition courting the dark avenue, when you wake to the alien walls that do not touch your... TO A WOMAN POET THAT I KNOW by Pinkie Gordon Lane.
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