Fort Patience

Last updated
Fort Lijdzaamheid
Part of Dutch Gold Coast
The National Archives UK - CO 1069-34-56-1-001.jpg
Photograph of Fort Patience from the 1890s
Ghana adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fort Lijdzaamheid
Coordinates 5°17′10″N0°43′41″W / 5.286°N 0.7281°W / 5.286; -0.7281
Site history
Built1697 (1697)
Garrison information
OccupantsNetherlands (1697-1868)
Official nameFort Patience (Fort Leydsaemheyt)
Location Apam, Central Region, Ghana
Part of Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions
Criteria Cultural: (vi)
Reference 34-003
Inscription1979 (3rd Session)

Fort Patience (Dutch: Fort Lijdzaamheid, or, in 17th-century spelling, Fort Leydsaemheyt) is a Dutch-built fort located in the township of Apam, in the Central Region of Ghana. Originally built in 1697, it served as a defensive fortification and a trading post. [1] Because of its testimony to European pre-colonial and colonial influence in West Africa, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with several other forts and castles in Ghana. [1]

Contents

History

The fort was first built as a stone trading lodge in 1697 at the request of the King of Acron, with whom the Dutch had a treaty, and which was situated between the kingdoms of Fante and Agona, with whom the British had a treaty. The executives of the Dutch West India Company were quite wary to establish a fort in an area with minimal trade, and only consented on the condition that it would be built at minimal costs. [2] The Acron were not happy with this, and frequently threatened the Dutch with expulsion if they would not extend the fortifications. As a result, it took the Dutch five years to complete the building, which is why they gave it the name Fort Patience. [3]

By 1721 the lodge had been converted into a defensive fortification, which sat on a craggy peninsula just out from the township to the south, offering a commanding view of Apam's harbour to the north, and the Gulf Of Guinea coast to the south, east, and west.

Early in 1782, Captain Thomas Shirley in the 50-gun ship Leander and the sloop-of-war Alligator sailed to the Dutch Gold Coast. Britain was at war with The Netherlands and Shirley captured the small Dutch forts at Moree (Fort Nassau - 20 guns), Kormantin (Courmantyne or Fort Amsterdam - 32 guns), Apam (Fort Lijdzaamheid or Fort Patience - 22 guns), Senya Beraku (Fort Goede Hoop - 18 guns), and Accra (Fort Crêvecoeur - 32 guns). [4]

Physical Structure

The original structure of the fort was a small two-storey stone lodge. The fort was reinforced by the Dutch between 1701 and 1721 into a demi-bastion on the northwest and the southeast. It served as a police station and a post office. [5] Two large service yards were build to the south of the main building and included kitchens and the "Orange Hall" for receptions or "palavers". [6] Several Dutch forts had an "Orange Hall", these extensions were not defended and were built at a time when they had come to a common understanding with the surrounding people. [7]

Call for Rehabilitation

On April 9, 2008, The Apam Youth and Development Association made an appeal to the National Museums and Monuments Board, the Dutch Embassy in Ghana, Gomoa District Assembly and other stakeholders to take urgent steps to save Fort Patience from further deterioration. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Coast Castle</span> Former fortified colonial trading post in Ghana

Cape Coast Castle is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, established in 1555, which they named Cabo Corso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Prinzenstein</span> Danish fort in Keta, Ghana

Fort Prinzenstein is a fort located at Keta, Ghana, which was used in the slave trade. Many such forts were built in Africa, but Prinzenstein is one of the few that lie east of the Volta River. Keta served as an open port until the Tema Harbour commenced its operation to the west in 1962. The fort has been designated a World Heritage Site because of its historical importance and testimony to the Atlantic slave trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osu Castle</span> Colonial fort in Ghana

Osu Castle is a castle located in Osu, Ghana, on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akwidaa</span> Place in Western Region, Ghana

Akwidaa is a small town and fishing village in Ahanta West district, a district in the Western Region of south-west Ghana, and is one of the southernmost places in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Butre</span> 1656 treaty between the Netherlands and Ahanta

The Treaty of Butre between the Netherlands and Ahanta was signed at Butre, Dutch Gold Coast on 27 August 1656. The treaty regulated the jurisdiction of the Netherlands and the Dutch West India Company over the town of Butre and the surrounding country of Upper Ahanta, creating a Dutch protectorate over the area, and permitting the establishment of Fort Batenstein. The treaty lasted until the Dutch departure from the Gold Coast in April 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Axim</span> 1642 treaty between the Netherlands and the chiefs of Axim

The Treaty of Axim was concluded between the Netherlands and the chiefs of Axim in the western region of the Gold Coast and signed at Fort St. Anthony near Axim on 17 February 1642. The treaty regulated the jurisdiction of the Netherlands and the Dutch West India Company in the town and polity of Axim after the Dutch West India Company had successfully attacked the Portuguese who were the occupants of Fort St. Anthony in the town. Over time, the agreement was in part superseded and replaced by new contracts and agreements. The treaty did remain the basis for Dutch jurisdiction and political relations between Axim and the Dutch until the latter left the Gold Coast in 1872.

In 1780, Great Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic, opening the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. As part of its offensive strategy, the British organized an expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa. Captain Thomas Shirley led the expedition, commanding HMS Leander and several transports carrying two small regiments of independently raised troops under the command of Captain Kenneth Mackenzie of the 78th Foot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Nassau, Ghana</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ghana

Fort Nassau, near Moree, Ghana, was the first fort that the Dutch established on what would become the Dutch Gold Coast. Because of its importance during the early European colonial period in West Africa and its testimony to the African gold trade and the Atlantic slave trade, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Saint Anthony</span> Material cultural heritage site in Ghana

Fort Saint Anthony was a fort built by the Portuguese in 1515 near the town of Axim, in what is now Ghana. In 1642, the Dutch captured the fort and subsequently made it part of the Dutch Gold Coast. The Dutch expanded the fort considerably before they turned it over, with the rest of their colony, to the British in 1872. The fort is now the property of the Ghanaian state and is open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ussher Fort</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ussher Fort is a fort in Accra, Ghana. It was built by the Dutch in 1649 as Fort Crèvecœur, and is two days' march from Elmina and to the east of Accra on a rocky point between two lagoons. It was one of three forts that Europeans built in the region during the middle of the 17th century. Fort Crèvecœur was part of the Dutch Gold Coast. The Anglo-Dutch Gold Coast Treaty (1867), which defined areas of influence on the Gold Coast, transferred it to the British in 1868. Because of its significance in the history of European colonial trade and exploitation in Africa, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Amsterdam, Ghana</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Central Region, Ghana

Fort Amsterdam is a former slave fort in Abandze, Central region, Ghana. It was built by the English between 1638 and 1645 as Fort Cormantin or Fort Courmantyne, and was captured by admiral Michiel de Ruyter of the Dutch West India Company in 1665, in retaliation for the capture of several Dutch forts by the English Admiral Holmes in 1664. It was subsequently made part of the Dutch Gold Coast, and remained part of it until the fort was traded with the British in 1868. The Fort is located at Abandze, on the north-east of Cape Coast in the Mfantseman District of the Central Region of Ghana. Because of its testimony to European economic and colonial influence in West Africa and its historical importance in the Atlantic slave trade, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 along with other forts and castles in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Batenstein</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Western Region, Ghana

Fort Batenstein was a fort and trading post established by the Dutch on the Gold Coast in 1656. It was situated near Butre. The fort was ceded with the entire Dutch Gold Coast to Britain in 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Vredenburgh</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Central Region, Ghana

Fort Vredenburgh was a Dutch fort on the Gold Coast, established on the left bank of the Komenda River. The fort exists as preserved ruins. Because of its testimony to European economic and colonial influence in West Africa, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979, along with other nearby forts and castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Goede Hoop, Ghana</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site

Fort de Goede Hoop or Fort Good Hope was a fort on the Dutch Gold Coast, established in 1667 near Senya Beraku.

The Treaty of Asebu was concluded in 1612 between the Dutch Republic and the chiefs of Asebu on the Gold Coast of Africa. The treaty was the first among several concluded between the Dutch and the peoples of the Gold Coast, and marked the beginning of a 260-year period of Dutch presence on the Gold Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Frederiksborg</span>

Fort Frederiksborg, later Fort Royal, was a Danish and later English fort on the Gold Coast in contemporary Ghana. It was built in 1661, with the approval of the King of Fetu, a few hundred yards from Cape Coast Castle, which was at that time in Swedish hands, on Amanfro Hill. Along with several other castles and forts nearby, Fort Frederiksborg was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979 because of its testimony to European economic influence on West Africa and the Atlantic slave trade.

Hero Schomerus was a military and colonial administrator, who made a career in the administration on the Dutch Gold Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort William Lighthouse</span> Building in Ghana

Fort William Lighthouse is located on the Dawson's Hill in the old centre of Cape Coast, in Ghana's Central Region. The lighthouse is often called Cape Coast Castle Light, although it is not part of the Cape Coast Castle complex. It is about 600 metres away from the Castle. Along with the Cape Coast Castle and other castles and forts in Ghana, the lighthouse was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 because of its historical importance.

References

  1. 1 2 "Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions". UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  2. ↑ Van Dantzig 1999, p. 45.
  3. ↑ Van Dantzig 1999, pp. 46–47.
  4. ↑ Crooks, John Joseph (1973), Records Relating to the Gold Coast Settlements from 1750 To 1874 (London: Taylor & Francis), p. 62. ISBN   978-0-7146-1647-6
  5. ↑ "Ghana Museums & Monuments Board". www.ghanamuseums.org. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  6. ↑ Anquandah, James (1999). Castles & forts of Ghana. Atalante: Ghana Museums & Monuments Board. ISBN   978-2-9513901-0-2.
  7. ↑ Van Dantzig, Albert (1980). Forts and Castles of Ghana (Reprinted 1999 ed.). Accra, Ghana: Sedco Publishing Limited, Accra. pp. 45–47. ISBN   9964 72 010 6.
  8. ↑ "Apam youth call for rehabilitation of Fort Patience". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.

Sources

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Fort Apam at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.