2022 is almost up and the Royal Gala is just around the corner!
Aside from our Royal Gala on December 30th, one of the main attractions we are hosting is the Cape Coast Experience.
What is Cape Coast?
Cape Coast town is at the center of the seaboard of Ghana about 75 miles (120 km) southwest of the Ghanaian capital of Accra.
An important seat of Asante traders, Cape Coast became a roadstead port and was the British commercial and administrative capital of the Gold Coast until 1877, when Accra became the capital. The town, which is one of the country’s oldest, grew up around Cape Coast Slave Castle, built by the Swedes in 1655 and taken over by the British in 1663.
Cape Coast Castle was one of more than 40 castles built along the Gold Coast of West Africa by European powers to control the slave trade.
US President Barack Obama and his family visited the Cape Coast Slave Castle on his first visit to sub-saharan Africa as president in 2009.
A New York Times genealogist traced the roots of former first lady, Michelle Obama, back through American slavery to Cape Coast. There is no denying how important it was not only for her, but her entire family, to connect to her roots at Cape Coast and experience the cultural impact first hand.
The Gold Coast was a focal point of a far-reaching slave trade organization that went far inland to bring slaves from varying regions and tribes all in the name of commerce. The Cape Coast Castle housed slaves from as far away as Burkina Faso and Niger
Slave records show that the number of people transported from Cape Coast (Fort William) to Barbados and Jamaica in a single stretch from 1701 to 1708 was over 30,000. Cape Coast Castle was central to the British slave trade until 1807.
Cape Coast Today
Today, the castle still stands as a sign of remembrance as an official UNESCO World Heritage Site for it’s impact on the world.
It is also the home of 32 festivals ranging from tribal festivals to larger events. Cape Coast is a culturally rich and historical location. Included is the biennial Panafest, a theatre festival established in the 1980s to contemplate the effects of the slave trade. Based on the ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois, there are academic lectures as well as music and dance performances. Another, older festival, Fetu Afahye is celebrated by the chiefs and held to ward off a plague that claimed many lives once upon a time.
One of the oldest churches in Ghana is also located here at Cape Coast. Headed by Joseph Dunwell, the Methodist Church of Cape Coast was set up by Wesleyan missionaries in 1835.
Please Join Us
Cape Coast Castle is a part of your story waiting to happen. Walk the sands of time, feel the ancestral coastline, and experience the spiritual journey of standing at the “door of no return” for yourself.
Cape Coast Castle is one of Ghana’s most popular destinations. The castle also includes a museum with exhibits on Ghanaian history and culture. As part of our planned excursion, we will also be visiting Kakum National Park.
Together, we will learn about the long-lasting impact of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and understand what the African people went through as they left the shores of Ghana forever.
To join us at Cape Coast (and more) this December, please be sure to follow all of the steps in this medium article
Author: Victor Owunna, Social Media Manager of The Royals
