Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region of Ghana. It is located about 38.4 mi (61.8 km) from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately 80 mi (130 km) from Accra. The city is one of the most historically significant settlements in Ghana.
As of the 2010 census, Cape Coast has a population of 108,374 people, which grew to 189,925 by 2021. The city resides in the Cape Coast Metropolitan, which has an area size of 122 km2 (47 sq mi) and is one of 6 metropolises in Ghana. The traditional name of the city is Oguaa, from the Guan Awutu word Gua, meaning "market". Another traditional name is Koto-Kuraba meaning "crab-hamlet", which is a corrupted version of the word Koto-wuraba, meaning "crab rivulets".
Cape Coast is an educational hub in Ghana, home to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the Cape Coast Technical University, along with many other secondary and technical institutions. The institution was established in 1962 as a university college and had special relations with the University of Ghana. The Cape Coast Technical University opened in 1986, operating under the Ghana Education Service to offer intermediary courses. In 1992, following the Polytechnic Law (PNDCL 321), the university was upgraded to the status of a tertiary institution.
The city was once the capital of the Fetu Kingdom, an aboriginal Guan kingdom located 10 miles (16 km) north of Cape Coast. "Fetu" was an old Guan (Etsii) kingdom that had its paramountcy located 10 miles (16 km) north of Cape Coast. At a point in time, a market, known at the time as Ogua, grew and developed into an active commercial centre. Because of this growth, the King of Fetu appointed a chief to represent the settlement. Trade grew between the people of Fetu and the Europeans.
{4K} Tour of the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana: Learning About the Gold Coast Slave Trade
Historical Overview
Cabo Corso ("short cape") was the first European name given to the settlement by the early Portuguese navigators who first discovered it. Once the Europeans arrived, they established the Cape Coast Castle, which eventually fell under the hands of the British who named the castle and its surrounding settlement the headquarters of the Royal African Company. The Royal African Company was an English trading company with its headquarters for West Africa operations being located in Cape Coast. The company was involved in trade such as slaves, gold, ivory, wax, and dyewood.
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Sometime in 1650, a plot of land was bought from the King of Fetu by Hendrik Carloff, acting for Dutch privateers working against the Dutch West India Company. After the attack, the English named Cape Coast the headquarters of the Royal African Company in 1678. The Danes acquired a plot on top of a hill that was located about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) north east of the fort. While the Cape Coast Castle was being built, the Danish built a fort on their land, known as Fort Frederiksborg.
For half a century, the English maintained Frederiksborg as a fortified outpost of the castle and renamed it Fort Royal, but by the middle of the 18th century, the outpost had been abandoned. The Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century and the political unrest in the Gold Coast region as a result of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade by Denmark and Britain were contributing factors in the Asante invasion of the coast in 1806. Cape Coast was threatened a second time by the Asante in 1824 after British troops under Charles MacCarthy were defeated.
Before the building of the Sekondi Harbour in the 1890s, the town was the most important anchorage in the county. Trading during the time was at its peak, but after 1850, the year the British acquired Danish possessions, conditions turned sour. The capital of the Gold Coast was transferred from Cape Coast to Accra in 1877. This, along with many other causes, resulted in irreversible damage to the town's economy.
The city's St. Francis Cathedral was dedicated in 1928. The building is the first Catholic Cathedral built in Ghana. In addition, one of the first Catholic schools in Ghana, St. Augustine's College, was established in Cape Coast in 1936.
After the completion of harbours and railways in other parts of the country, such as Sekondi and Kumasi, cocoa cultivation and trade in Ghana diversified, and Cape Coast lost some importance.
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In 1873, there was a proposal for a line to link the settlements of Cape Coast and Kumasi in order to send troops to fight the Asante. Plans for the construction of an airport for the city were announced by Mahamudu Bawumia at the New Patriotic Party's manifesto launch on August 18, 2024.
The city was historically an early centre for Christian missionaries, most notably the Basel missionaries. Christianity is the most practised religion in the city, followed by Islam and traditional religions. The largest ethnic group that resided in the city are the Fante, who are a subgroup of the Akan.
Geography and Climate
The city's topography is classified as hilly, the hills overlain by sandy silts. The rock type of the city is dominated by the Birimian formation and batholiths, also consisting of granite and pegmatite. There are valleys of various streams between the hills, with Kakum being the largest stream. The minor streams end in wetlands, the largest of which drains into the Fosu Lagoon at Bakano.
Cape Coast is noted for its significant green spaces, but rapid population and infrastructure growth present threats to its vegetation. The city's greenery plays a crucial role in flood management and improving residents' overall well-being.
Cape Coast has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: As), with two rainy seasons peaking in May to June and October. The dry periods (harmattan) occur between November and February. The annual rainfall ranges from 90 to 110 mm (3.5 to 4.3 in) along the coast while in the hinterland is between 110 and 160 mm (4.3 and 6.3 in).
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The origin of the indigenous inhabitants of the settlement is thought to share similarities to those of Edina, as Cape Coast became the principal town of the Fetu Kingdom.
Transportation in the city is regulated by the Transport Department of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, with Dennis K. In certain areas, such as Abura, with a population of 15,000 in 2000 and located close to major establishments, transportation needs are served by local transport (taxis and minibuses). Most residents in Cape Coast do not own personal vehicles, with the exception of the city's middle class, which includes government and educational staff.
Economy and Livelihood
Agriculture in the city is managed by the Department of Agriculture of the metropolitan. Results from a 2005 study found that Cape Coast has close to no irrigated vegetable farming taking place within the city proper except for the premises of Cape Coast University. The city's topography makes farming difficult to achieve. There are limited suitable areas that could be used for farming; those that meet the criteria are prone to floods.
Fishing provides a livelihood to most of the residents of Cape Coast, who live in the southern fishing communities. Trade, sewing, and carving are also sources of income alongside fishing. In recent years, 25.1% of Cape Coast's employed population works in service-related jobs, such as wholesale and retail. The city is home to the Kotokuraba Market, the largest market in the city. The triangular-shaped market was developed in the late 1930s by the colonial government.
Tourist Attractions
Cape Coast has been experiencing an increasing number of tourists due to attractions such as the Cape Coast Castle (World Heritage Site), the Kakum National Park, and the PANAFEST festival. Although access to areas such as compounds that houses shrines, such as the "Tree Shrine", a silk cotton tree near Anaafo market, are prohibited. Cape Coast's tourism sector was looked after by the Central Regional Development Commission (CEDECOM). In order to fund the development of the sector, CEDECOM reached out to UNDP and USAID, which in turn contacted the Debt for Development Coalition (DDC) for a 'debt swap' arrangement. After cooperating with multiple parties, the Natural Resource Conservation and Historic Preservation project was launched.
Both former United States president Barack Obama and vice president Kamala Harris have visited Cape Coast along with the Cape Coast Castle. During Obama's visit to the castle, he made a remark to the castle's history with the history of African Americans:
"And I think, as Americans, and as African Americans, obviously there's a special sense that on the one hand this place was a place of profound sadness; on the other hand, it is here where the journey of much of the African American experience began. And symbolically, to be able to come back with my family, with Michelle and our children, and see the portal through which the diaspora began, but also to be able to come back here in celebration with the people of Ghana of the extraordinary progress that we've made because of the courage of so many, black and white, to abolish slavery and ultimately win civil rights for all people, I think is a source of hope."
The city's infrastructure, however, is underdeveloped, impacting the quality of life for the residents and the overall experience of the tourists. As of 2000, there are no streets in the city that prioritise pedestrian access.
Here is a summary of key distances from Cape Coast to other cities in Ghana:
| City | Distance from Cape Coast (km) |
|---|---|
| Sekondi-Takoradi | 61.8 |
| Accra | 130 |
| Kumasi | 199 |
Cape Coast is home to many NGOs, some of which have limited human resources due to financial pushbacks. These NGOs address and confront social issues in the metropolitan area as a whole.
Healthcare and Sports
Cape Coast has two principal hospitals: the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and the Cape Coast Metro Hospital. The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, popularly known as "Interberton" by the locals, was the first of a series of Regional Hospitals established by the Ministry of Health. Full operations began on 12 August 1998 and the hospital was awarded the Best Regional Hospital in 2003. The Cape Coast Metro Hospital is a 115-bed facility.
The city is home to the Cape Coast Sports Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium which is currently home to the Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs. Construction of the stadium began in 2012 and officially opened on 3 May 2016. The city is also home to the Venomous Vipers, a professional football club. The current Board Chairman of the team is Kweku Ackah-Yensu, who took office in 2022.
Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kakum National Park, known for its canopy walkway.
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