Osu Castle, also known as Fort Christiansborg or simply the Castle, is a castle located in Osu

Osu, Ghana

Located about 3 km east of the CBD, Osu is a district in central Accra, Ghana, known for its busy commercial, restaurant and nightlife activity. It is locally known as the 'West End' of Accra. Bounded to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, Osu's western boundary is the Independence Avenue...

, Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

's Gulf of Guinea

Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....

. The first substantial fort was built by the Danish in the 1660s, though the castle has changed hands between Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, the Akwamu

Akwamu

The Akwamu was a state set up by the Akan people in Ghana which existed in the 17th century and 18th century. Originally immigrating from Bono state, the founders settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu created an expansionist empire in the 16th and 17th century...

, the British, and finally post-Independence Ghana, and was rebuilt numerous times. For most of the castle's history it has been the seat of government in Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 with some interruptions, the latest when the John Kufuor

John Kufuor

John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor was the second president of the 4th Republic of Ghana and Chairperson of the African Union...

 administration moved the seat of government to Golden Jubilee House

Golden Jubilee House

The Golden Jubilee House is a presidential palace in Accra which serves as a residence and office to the President of Ghana. It replaced the seat of government at Osu Castle. The original budget of $30m was a loan from the Indian government. However BBC journalist David Amanor reported the...

 after 6 January 2009, which was quickly reversed by the incoming John Atta Mills administration.

History

The area was first occupied in 1550 by the Portuguese

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

, though in the 17th century Portuguese influence diminished. The area came under control of Sweden

Swedish Empire

The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...

 in the 1650s, led by the Dutch trader Henry Caerlof. In 1652 he was given permission to build a small fortified lodge by the King of Accra, with whom he had previously done business. In 1660 control passed to the Netherlands

Dutch Empire

The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...

 but it was soon lost to Denmark. In 1657 Caerlof had again traveled to Africa, this time representing Denmark. He aimed to conquer the forts he had previously established, which he found easy at Osu. In its early life the castle was primarily used in the gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and ivory trade

Ivory trade

The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....

, but under Danish control it increasingly dealt with slaves

African slave trade

Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...

.

Osu Castle was located close to two other forts. Fort Crèvecoeur was controlled by the Dutch and Fort James by the British. The settlement at Osu was too small to store sufficient goods to compete with the others. Consequently the Danes purchased adjoining land and expanded the building, naming the new fort Fort Christiansborg after King Christian V

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

, then the reigning monarch of Denmark. Denmark would occupy the fort for most of the next 200 years, with some interruptions, and for much of that time it served as the capital of the Danish Gold Coast

Danish Gold Coast

The Danish Gold Coast was a part of the Gold Coast , which is on the West African Gulf of Guinea...

.

In 1679 or 1680, the Fort's Greek assistant commander Bolten incited a mutiny

Mutiny

Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...

 to murder the commander. Shortly after that, a Portuguese ship commanded by Julião de Campos Barreto visited the fort and agreed to purchase it. The fort was named Fort São Francisco Xavier after Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...

, a Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 missionary. The Portuguese built a chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 and raised the bastion

Bastion

A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...

s by three feet. The fort was abandoned on 29 August 1682 after the garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

 mutinied and it became clear that Portuguese traders could not compete with the other Gold Coast powers. Danish forces returned in February 1683 after purchasing the Fort back from the Portuguese. In 1685 Fort Christiansborg became the capital of the Danish Gold Coast, taking over from Fredriksborg.

The Akwamu

Akwamu

The Akwamu was a state set up by the Akan people in Ghana which existed in the 17th century and 18th century. Originally immigrating from Bono state, the founders settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu created an expansionist empire in the 16th and 17th century...

 ethnic group occupied the fort in 1693 after overpowering the occupants (who were reduced by death and disease) while disguised as merchants. Asamani, the Akwamu leader, occupied the fort for a year, trading with merchants from many nations. In 1694 Assameni sold the fort back to the Danish for 50 marks

Mark (weight)

The mark was originally a unit of mass for gold and silver common throughout western Europe, and was equal to 8 troy ounces . Variations throughout the Middle Ages were, however, considerable.Later, the weight called "mark" was generally half-a-pound...

 of gold (400 troy ounces, worth £200,000 to £250,000 in 2008) but retained the keys, which are still in the ethnic group's possession to this day. The early 18th century was not kind to the fort, and in 1722 the English reported it to be in disrepair. Extensions were made later that century, however, and structural improvements were made in 1824. The additional store rooms, garrison quarters, platforms, bastions and houses resulted in the castle being four times the size of the original fort. In the 1770s, the Danes at Osu became involved in a conflict with Dutch-controlled Accra.

In 1850 the British bought all of Denmark's Gold Coast possessions for £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

10,000 (between £850,000 and £1.5m in 2007), including Fort Christiansborg. Denmark had been considering selling these outposts for some time. After the slave trade had been abolished

Abolitionism

Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...

 they were expensive to run and brought little benefit. Britain experienced the same problems, but was keen to prevent illegal slave trading and to prevent France

French colonial empires

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

 or Belgium

Belgian colonial empire

The Belgian colonial empire consisted of three colonies possessed by Belgium between 1901 and 1962: Belgian Congo , Rwanda and Burundi...

 strengthening in the area. An 1862 earthquake destroyed most of the upper floors, which were rebuilt in wood. Later that century the castle became the seat of the colonial government. In 1950 the wooden upper floors were rebuilt according to the original Danish plans. In 1957, when Ghana became independent, with Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 as head of state, the fort became Government House, the residence of the Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

. When Ghana became a republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

 in 1960, it became the residence of Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

.

In 2005 there was debate over whether Osu Castle should be replaced as the seat of government. President John Kufuor

John Kufuor

John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor was the second president of the 4th Republic of Ghana and Chairperson of the African Union...

 argued that his government should not sit at the castle due to its previous association with slavery and also because its facilities were inadequate. National Democratic Congress

National Democratic Congress (Ghana)

The National Democratic Congress is a social democratic political party in Ghana, founded by Jerry John Rawlings, who was Head of State of Ghana from 1981 to 1993 and the President of Ghana from 1993 to 2001. The NDC was formed ahead of elections in 1992 and 1996 returned Jerry John Rawlings to...

 MPs, however, argued that the $50 m that a new presidential palace would cost would be better spent elsewhere.

Features

Osu Castle remains the seat of government in Ghana, employing 2,100 workers. The most important functions are carried out in the castle itself, but other buildings are also used. Many international dignitaries have visited the castle while in the region, including U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

, Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, and Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Schröder

Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...

. Additional rooms were built in order to accommodate Queen Elizabeth II's visit in 1961, one year after Ghana became a republic.

The present castle is made up of various extensions to the original and is thus in an unorthodox shape. It has many facilities for the use of employees, including a clinic, cafe, shopping centre, and post office. It also still accommodates a permanent garrison. The extensive gardens feature a wide variety of plants, both local and imported, and employ 30 people. They are used for the president's outdoor receptions and parties. Osu Castle is not open to the public, and photography of it is restricted. In 2007, the opposition MPs in Ghana stormed out of a parliamentary debate on whether to take out a $50m loan to build a new presidential palace. MPs from President John Kufuor's New Patriotic Party voted unanimously in favour of taking the loan from India. They argued that the president should not be based in Osu Castle, where slaves used to be kept. The opposition National Democratic Congress said the money would be better spent elsewhere. The old flagstaff house used by Ghana's first president as residence is being renovated into a museum, while the grounds on which it stands is being built up as an ultra modern office complex and residence for the president and vice-president of Ghana as well as their staff. The new presidential palace is expected to be completed by August 2008.

Further reading

• Albert van Dantzig and Barbara Priddy, A short history of the forts and castles of Ghana, (Liberty Press: Accra, 1971)
• Ghana Castle website