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| James Fort (English) |
Following the coast we now reach Accra. This settlement still retains the
character it has derived from the three-fold occupation it so long underwent of
English, Dutch, and Dane. It comprises James Town, or English Accra;
Crevecoeur, or Dutch Accra; and Christiansborg, or Danish Accra. Each town has a
king, of whom Cudjoe rules in the old British territory, Taccie in the Dutch, and
Dawoonah in the Danish. Taccie, however, has the advantage of the Fetish man, or
priest, living under his control, and so is able to assume a superiority
over the others.
The country of Accra is flat and dry. North and north-west of Accra is Akuapim;
this is a mountainous region. Its capital, Akropong, is 1600 feet above the level
of the sea. Here the Basle Mission has its head-quarters, and at this hospitable
station the European suffering from the climate of the Gold Coast may recover in
its balmy shades and cool breezes the energy he has lost in the plains below. Its
population consists of industrious farmers, cultivating coffee and palm oil. Gold
dust is also produced. Its children are taught in their schools both the English
language and their own.
Ashanti and the Gold Coast: And what We Know of it: a Sketch by John Charles
Dalrymple Hay (1874), pp. 17-18
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| Elmina Castle (Dutch/English/Portuguese) |
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