Fort Saint Anthony

Fort Saint Anthony became a fortress built by means of the Portuguese in 1515 close to the metropolis of Axim, in what's now Ghana. In 1642, the Dutch captured the fortress and sooner or later made it a part of the Dutch Gold Coast. The Dutch increased the citadel drastically earlier than they became it over, with the relaxation in their colony, to the British in 1872.

The castle is now the belongings of the Ghanaian kingdom and is open to the public. Due to a lack of examine of the Portuguese files of the 16th century, little is thought approximately the early years of Fort Saint Anthony and about the reason for the Portuguese to settle themselves at Axim, although a desire to control the gold trade in the vicinity appears a logical motivation. The first proof of Portuguese involvement close to Axim is a letter from the governor of Elmina to the King of Portugal from 1503, to send production substances to captain Diogo d'Alvarenga, who was in price of the development of the "House of Axem." After this house become destructed by way of nearby peoples, the Portuguese constructed a brand new submit slightly greater to the east, in all likelihood at the web site on which the modern-day Fort Saint Anthony nevertheless stands.