Elmina Castle

E10169

castle fortress slave trade site

Elmina Castle is a historic coastal fortress in present-day Ghana that became one of the most significant hubs of the transatlantic slave trade.

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	castle → fortress → slave trade site →
alsoKnownAs	Castelo de São Jorge da Mina → St. George’s Castle →
architecturalStyle	European coastal fortification →
builder	Diogo de Azambuja →
capturedBy	Dutch West India Company →
captureYear	1637 →
constructedBy	Portuguese Empire →
constructionStartDate	1482 →
continent	Africa →
controlledBy	Dutch Republic → Kingdom of Great Britain → Portugal →
country	Ghana →
foundedAs	São Jorge da Mina →
governingBody	Ghana Museums and Monuments Board →
hasFeature	chapel → courtyards → dungeons for enslaved people → sea-facing cannons →
heritageDesignation	UNESCO World Heritage Site →
heritageListingYear	1979 →
locatedIn	Central Region, Ghana → Elmina →
locatedOn	Atlantic Ocean → Gulf of Guinea →
material	stone →
near	Benya Lagoon →
openToPublic	true →
originalPurpose	gold trading fort → trading post →
ownedBy	Government of Ghana →
partOf	British Gold Coast → Dutch Gold Coast → Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions →
region	West Africa →
significantFor	European colonial trade in West Africa → transatlantic slave trade →
symbolizes	legacy of the Atlantic slave trade →
tourismType	dark tourism site → heritage tourism site →
transferredTo	United Kingdom →
transferYear	1872 →
UNESCORegion	Africa →
usedFor	detention of enslaved Africans → export of enslaved Africans to the Americas →

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Elmina Castle ("Castelo de São Jorge da Mina") → St. George’s Castle → St. George’s Castle ("São Jorge da Mina Castle") →	alsoKnownAs
Heeren XIX ("West African forts of the Dutch West India Company") →	appliesToJurisdiction
Dutch West India Company →	captured
Elmina Castle ("São Jorge da Mina") →	foundedAs
Gold Coast →	hasFort
Dutch colonial empire →	hasPart
Elmina Castle ("Elmina") →	locatedIn
Dutch Gold Coast ("Fort Elmina") →	mainPort
Dutch Gold Coast →	majorFort
Benya Lagoon →	nearby
Diogo de Azambuja ("negotiated with local African rulers for the construction of São Jorge da Mina") →	notableEvent
Elmina Castle ("Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions") →	partOf
Ghana Museums and Monuments Board ("Elmina Castle Museum") →	supervises