Another road trip we took was to Elmina, a bussling little city west of Accra. Ghana's coast is dotted with places like this, made industrious during the gold and slave trades. Many have thriving new economies, some have fallen on times harder still. Elmina has both a booming fishing trade and an industry extracting seasalt from the saltwater lagoon behind the town.
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| Double parked along the river |
Given the commodities and the foreign governance, the coast is also scattered with castles and forts, build to protect their European occupants from other nationals, both West African and European.
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| Elmina Castle |
Elmina has both a castle and a fort. The castle was built by the Portuguese, the first Europeans to venture along the coast. The castle is built on the seaward side of a river that meets the sea at an oblique angle. The town is across the river on the landward side.
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| The view from the castle across the river to the town and fort |
The Portuguese enjoyed unrivalled dominion over the gold coast until more removed European nations caught up. The Dutch attacked the castle by dragging guns up onto a hill in the middle of the town and shelling the Portuguese until they surrendered. To prevent a repeat of their strategy, the Dutch then built a fort on the hilltop.
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