Fort Apollonia is a historic fortress located along the picturesque shores of the Gulf of Guinea in Beyin Ghana. It’s one of the most representative examples of historical architecture in Ghana.
Constructed by the British in the 18th century, this fortress served as a pivotal hub in the transatlantic slave trade, a testament to the turbulent colonial past of the region. Named after the Greek god Apollo, (not to be confused with Apollo, the seasonal conjunctivitis in Ghana), Fort Apollonia stood as a symbol of power, and a testament of the clash of empires vying for control of the lucrative West African coastline.
Today, as visitors wander through its weathered corridors and crumbling battlements, they are invited to unravel the tales and history woven into its very stones, a journey through time that sheds light on both the triumphs and tragedies of Ghana’s past.
Join us as we delve into some captivating stories about Fort Apollonia, where each brick holds a story waiting to be discovered.
The fascinating history of Fort Apollonia
Tensions have been rising more like the way soup rises in the saucepan as it boils. It was getting to a crescendo. There had been rumors earlier that a German missionary family and a Swiss missionary had been captured in Togo and had quickly been relocated to Kumasi.
The year was 1869. The Ashantis were one of the strongest ethnic groups in terms of military might and their empire had been growing steadily. The slave trade had been abolished due to the humanitarian pleas by abolitionists and also due to the industrial revolution and the Dutch and Danes were losing interest at being in West Africa.
British invasion: war declared on the Ashantis
Not the British. They had not long ago in 1867 secured Gold Coast (now Ghana) as a colony formally and this meant a lot of control over the natural resource trade which would make them get ahead of their competitors. Knowing that their other European counterparts were leaving, they proceeded to buy out some of their protectorates, some of which were major trade routes.
The Ashantis later invaded the new British Protectorate which led to the British declaring war on the Ashantis.
The rising tensions broke out into a full-blown war when General Garnet Wolseley of the British Army sent 2500 British soldiers and several thousands of West Indies and African troops to fight the Ashantis.
They came with a strategic battle plan as well as a medical team. By the 31st January 1874, The Royal Marines and Engineers and other soldiers were in and were fervently working to capture Kumasi as part of the British Protectorate.
Fort Apollonia, a former Dutch owned fort
A previously Dutch-owned fort which was close to the sea at Beyin in the Western Region had become a target of an Ashanti raid. The Ashantis have been able to enlist the help of some Nzemas who were the natives of the land to invade and raid the fort.
Just a year before, the Dutch had handed it over to the British. So, the British proceeded to go and defend their new fort. An attack from the land will most likely be deflected and so the British Marines took to sea and with the aid of a gunboat heavily bombarded the fort which resulted in it falling into ruins and being abandoned.
The British went ahead to win the war and invade Kumasi which had been deserted by its King and inhabitants. They were however very impressed by the size of the palace and the scope of its contents, including rows of books in many languages. Kumasi was eventually burned down.
The British had suffered many casualties, many of which were from malaria, which killed many high-ranking officials. But the firepower of the British proved too much for the Ashanti warlords because of their relatively less advanced artillery. The Ashanti King proceeded to sign a treaty and end the war.
Why the name Apollonia?
The Dutch owned fort which was bombarded to ruins by the British was first built between 1765 and 1771 purposely for the slave trade which was booming at that time. Prior to the fort coming into existence a Portuguese explorer had sighted the area and had named it Apollonia because he sighted it on the day of feast of Saint Apollonia on 9th February.
Between 1665 and 1671 the Swedes had established a trading post at Apollonia. In 1691, the British also erected a trading post there. Goods and slaves were usually brought to the coast where captains of all Nationalities haggled to get great deals.
Over time, the Dutch started to get really ambitious and had plans for colonizing the area. This made the British and the local people uncomfortable. So, the Nzema Chief called Amenihyia gave the English Committee of Merchants the rights to build a fort which became known as Fort Apollonia.
The trading of Fort Apollonia
In 1868, the fort was traded to the Dutch and it was renamed Fort Willem III after King William III of Netherlands. It later turned out that the fort did not stay in Dutch possession for long as they sold it back to the British in 1871. Which shortly afterwards was destroyed into ruins by the British in an attempt to ward off the Ashanti invasion of the fort.
The war had ended. The British, victorious and the Ashantis, the losers. The Ashanti King then agreed to pay tributes to the British Monarch. Not long after, the British began the political administration of Gold Coast which ended in 1957 after a long struggle to gain Independence. In 1960, the Kwame Nkrumah-led Government of Ghana decided to renovate the ruins of Fort Apollonia due to its historical significance and value. The side that was renovated was used as a guest house.
The Apollonia Fort today
© Esthee2010/Wikimedia – CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
A few years later, the Government of Ghana granted permission for some history and cultural researchers from Italy to inhabit the guest house of Apollonia. They stayed for 25 years. In the year 2010, the Government of Ghana undertook another renovation and afterwards named it Fort Apollonia Museum of Nzema Culture and History.
The Fort today has been stocked with memorabilia from times before, as well as cultural and traditional artifacts that tell its history as well as that of the Nzema people.
Today, the fort still stands where it has always been – in Beyin in the Western Region of Ghana which is about 90 Kilometers West of Takoradi. There it stands tall and strong like an old sage who gets wiser by the day, easily distinguished from other nearby buildings by its distinct architecture and reminiscent of its interesting, bloody and horror-filled past.
Nearby attractions are the Nzulezu Stilt Village and Sea Turtle Conservation; and the beautiful Beyin Beach Resort. Apollonia Fort is open for visitors and tourists from the hours of 9:00am to 4:30pm.
