Rob Sweatman Photography

The Gold Coast.

[Benin, Togo and Ghana. Africa. 2008]

The Gold Coast has a long and troubled history that stretches back for hundreds of years. It was colonized as early as 1482 starting with the Portuguese and changed hands many times; the Dutch, the British, the Swedish and the Germans all occupied forts along the coast at some point. The Coast was used as trading point for rich African goods, particularly gold which the region takes its name from. But the history of the region took a dark turn, when these same castles and forts became major transit hubs for African Slaves heading to the New World. The forts and castles that litter the coast remain as a reminder of this dark period of human history.

We had been traveling in French speaking West Africa, and arriving in Ghana was one of the pleasant surprises, as the language barrier was removed. One of the first African countries to regain independence in 1957, it has been one of Africa’s few good stories, with democratic elections and foreign investment. The country is well off by African standards. We arrived in Ghana from the East, overland from Togo and before that Benin. We spent a few days in Accra, a modern capital city and arranged our plans. We traveled inland to Kumasi, home of the Ashanti Kingdom, a formerly powerful regional Empire. From there we returned to the coast, and visited Busua, Dixcove, Elmina and Cape Coast before returning to Accra.