Cape Coast

Cape Coast, Oguaa
City of Cape Coast
City

1st Top-Left image; Arch bridge and Harbour view from Elmina Castle in Cape Coast • 2nd Bottom-Left image; City hall of Cape Coast • 1st Top-Right image; Shores of Cape Coast • 2nd Bottom-Right image; Balcony of Cape Coast Castle.

Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly logo
Cape Coast, Oguaa

Location of Cape Coast in Central Region, Ghana.

Coordinates: 05°06′00″N 01°15′00″W / 5.10000°N 1.25000°W / 5.10000; -1.25000
Country  Ghana
Admin. Region Central Region
District Cape Coast Metropolitan
Founded 1482
Elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (2012)
 • Total 169,894[1]
 • Demonym Cape Coaster
Time zone GMT
 • Summer (DST) GMT (UTC)

Cape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is a city and fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of south Ghana. Cape Coast is situated on its south to the Gulf of Guinea. Cape Coast had a settlement population of 169,894 people (2010 census).[1] From the 16th century until Ghanaian independence, the city and fishing port changed hands between the British, the Portuguese, the Swedish, the Danish and the Dutch.

History

Cape Coast was founded by the people of Oguaa. The Portuguese built a trading fort in the area. In 1610 the Swedes built a lodge that would later become the better known Cape Coast Castle now a World Heritage Site. Most of the modern town expanded around it. The Dutch took it over in 1650, and expanded it in 1652. It was then captured by the British in 1664. Trade was an important motivator in the creation of fortresses and settlements on Cape Coast. Traders from various European countries built these trading lodges, forts and castles along the coast of modern Ghana. Unfortunately, the acquisition of gold, slaves, honey, and the many other African goods that consisted the African leg of the Triangular Trade was increasingly detrimental to the inhabitants of Cape Coast.[2] In 1874, the British dominated all European presence along the coast of modern-day Ghana using Cape Coast as their base of operations, Gold Coast. With the establishment of formal colonial administration, they relocated to Accra following opposition to the "window tax" in 1877. Accra became their state. Cape Coast Castle was also where most of the slaves were held before their journey on the Middle Passage.

Geography

Topography

The area is dominated by batholith rock and is generally undulating with steep slopes. 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. In the northern part of the district, however, the landscape is suitable for the cultivation of various crops.[3]

Climate

Temperature

Cape Coast is a humid area with mean monthly relative humidity varying between 85% and 99%. The sea breeze has a moderating effect on the local climate.[3]

Climate data for Cape Coast
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 32
(89)		 31
(87)		 31
(87)		 31
(87)		 30
(86)		 29
(84)		 27
(80)		 27
(80)		 26
(79)		 28
(83)		 31
(87)		 30
(86)		 32
(89)
Average low °C (°F) 24
(75)		 24
(76)		 24
(76)		 25
(77)		 24
(76)		 24
(75)		 23
(73)		 22
(71)		 21
(70)		 23
(73)		 24
(76)		 23
(74)		 23
(73)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 25
(1.0)		 25
(1.0)		 76
(3.0)		 127
(5.0)		 229
(9.0)		 229
(9.0)		 102
(4.0)		 25
(1.0)		 76
(3.0)		 102
(4.0)		 127
(5.0)		 152
(6.0)		 1,300
(51)
Source: Myweather2.com[4]

Attractions

The crab is the city's mascot and a statue of one stands in the city centre. Fort William, built in 1820, was an active lighthouse from 1835 to the 1970s, while Fort Victoria was built in 1702.

Other attractions include a series of Asafo Shrines, Cape Coast Centre for National Culture, the Oguaa Fetu Afahye harvest festival, and since 1992, the biennial Panafest theatre festival. The city is located 30 km south of Kakum National Park, one of the most diverse and best preserved national parks in West Africa. Cape Coast also boast of being the first location where soccer was played in Ghana and Ebusua Dwarfs FC is the darling club of Cape Coasters.

It is believed that Michelle Obama, US First Lady, considers Cape Coast as her ancestral home,[5] and on 11 July 2009, she took the rest of the first family to tour Cape Coast Castle as part of her husband's trip to Cape Coast.

View of Cape Coast fishing fleet from the Cape Coast
Center of the Cape Coast Castle
Main street of the University of Cape Coast

Education

University of Cape Coast Library Complex

Cape Coast is the seat of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana's leading university in teaching and research. Cape Vars, as it is popularly called, lies on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It also has one of the best Polytechnics in Cape Coast Polytechnic (C-POLY).Other institutions of higher education in the city worthy of note are * Mfantsiman Institute of Technology (MIT) and * Institute of Development and Technology Management (IDTM). The city also boasts some of Ghana's finest secondary and technical schools:

Notable people

Sister cities

List of sister cities of Cape Coast, designated by Sister Cities International:

Country City County / District / Region / State Date
Germany Germany Bonn North Rhine-Westphalia 2012
United States United States Buffalo, NY New York
United States United States Hanover Park, Illinois Illinois

References

  1. 1 2 "2010 Population and Housing Census" (PDF). Ghana Statistical Service.
  2. ↑ Rømer, Ludvig Ferdinand; Winsnes, Selena Axelrod (2000). A Reliable Account of the Coast of Guinea (1760). British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-726218-4.
  3. 1 2 "Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly". centralregion.gov.gh.
  4. ↑ "Cape Coast Weather Averages". Myweather2. 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Obamas confront history inside Ghana's slave dungeon". businesstimesafrica.net. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
Bibliography

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Cape Coast.

Coordinates: 5°06′N 1°15′W / 5.100°N 1.250°W / 5.100; -1.250

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.