Cape Coast is a city, a fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District in the Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, and home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea situated to its south. It was also the first capital of Ghana. According to the 2021 census, Cape Coast had a settlement population of 189,925 people. The language of the people of Cape Coast is Fante.
The modern Mfantsefo or Fante confederacy is a combination of Akan people and aboriginal Guan people. The Fante people are mainly located in the Central and Western regions of Ghana, occupying the forest and coastal areas. Their land stretches from the eastern part of western region in the west to Gomoa in the east. The Fante can be broadly categorized into two groups - the Borbor/Boka Fante(Akan ancestry) and the Etsii Fante(Guan ancestry). Over the last half century, Fante communities have been established as far as Gambia, Liberia, and even Angola due to fishing expeditions. Major Fante cities in modern Ghana include Oguaa, Edina (Elmina),Sekondi Takoradi, Agona Swedru, Mankessim, Saltpond, Komenda, Tarkwa, Kasoa and Anomabo.
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in Ghana.
John Mensah Sarbah was a prominent lawyer and political leader in the Gold Coast. He is also known as a founder of Mfantsipim School.
Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford,, also known as Ekra-Agyeman, was a prominent Fante Gold Coast journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-African nationalism. His 1911 novel Ethiopia Unbound is one of the earliest novels published in English by an African.
St. Augustine’s College is an all-male boarding academic institution in Cape Coast, Ghana. As the first catholic school established in Ghana, the school started at Amissano, a village near Elmina, in 1930. The Roman Catholic institution was established to serve as a training college and seminary. The school was named after St. Augustine of Hippo. The motto of the college is Omnia Vincit Labor, meaning "Perseverance conquers All". The school has a total of 12 houses.
Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC) is a secondary boarding school for boys. It is located in Legon, Accra, Ghana. It was founded in 1938, under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast. The Basel missionary-theologian, Nicholas Timothy Clerk (1862–1961), who served as the first Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast from 1918 to 1932, used his tenure to advocate for the establishment of the secondary school. The school has ties with its sister schools, Aburi Girls' Senior High School and Krobo Girls Senior High School.
Sir Kobina Arku Korsah was the first Chief Justice of Ghana in 1956.
Ernest Eggay Kwesi Kurankyi-Taylor was a prominent Ghanaian judge and activist.
Kow Nkensen Arkaah was a Ghanaian politician who was Vice-President of Ghana from 1993 to 1997. He was also a chief of Senya Beraku.
Adisadel College, popularly known as "Adisco", is an Anglican boys' boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established by Rt. Rev. Nathaniel T Hamlyn in 1910. Adisadel College is one of the oldest secondary schools in Ghana, and was ranked 10th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based on quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility. Recently, they were ranked among the best senior high schools in Ghana per WAEC standards and is the best senior high schools in Cape Coast according to the YEN in 2024.
The Ghana Secondary Technical School is a science and technology-oriented high school located in Takoradi on the west coast of Ghana. It is the third oldest high school in Ghana - the oldest 'non-missionary' high school. The School was founded on 9 August 1909 in Accra as Accra Technical School and later changed to Government Technical School. It moved to its current site in Takoradi in 1939. In 1953, the name was changed to Government Secondary Technical School, and in 1970, it was given its current name. Former students of the school are known as Giants, and students in the school are called Tescans.
Tsatsu Tsikata is a Ghanaian academic and lawyer. He is also a former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. He is a notable affiliate and legal counsel to the National Democratic Congress and regarded as one of the leading members of the political party.
William Esuman-Gwira Sekyi, better known as Kobina Sekyi, was a nationalist lawyer, politician and writer in the Gold Coast.
Willem Essuman Pietersen, also known as Willem Edmund Pietersen, was a Gold Coast merchant, politician, and educationist. He is also remembered as a goldsmith and watch repairer. Pietersen was co-founder of Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast, Ghana.
General elections were held in Gold Coast in August 1927, the first direct elections in the territory.
