7 Most Popular Colonial Forts And Castles In Africa

Africa has played host to various civilizations, colonial powers, and invaders from both east and west. This led to many establishments including forts and castles.  Listed underneath 7 most popular colonial Forts and Castles in Africa.

7 Most Popular Colonial Forts And Castles In Africa

Elmina Castle

The Elmina Castle, also called Feitoria da Mina, is one of the many forts, fortresses, and castles that were inherent Africa by the Portuguese. It was erected in 1482 in the coastal town of Elmina, Ghana, and became one of the principal European structures south of the Sahara Desert. Established as a trade settlement, the Castle eventually came to be utilized in the Atlantic slave trade, serving as a warehouse for slaves the majority of whom were offered to the Americas. In 1979, it was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List.

Citadel of Qaitbay

The Citadel of Qaitbay is a noteworthy fortress in Alexandria, Egypt, that dates back to the rule of the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay (1468-1496). It was worked as a part of the city’s defensive system on the site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria which was at the time in ruins. However it eventually lost its defensive importance, the Citadel continued to be utilized as a defensive fortress until the late nineteenth century. In the 1950s, it was transformed into a Maritime Museum.

Cairo Citadel

Also known as the Saladin Citadel, the Cairo Citadel is a medieval fortress that was worked by Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria (from 1174 to 1193) to protect the city of Cairo from Crusaders. But it also filled in as a royal residence all the way to the nineteenth century. The original Saladin’s Citadel went through various alterations and modifications throughout the following centuries but the vast majority of the structures within the complex date from the medieval period.

Castle of Good Hope

The Castle of Good Hope is one of the most established surviving colonial structures in Cape Town as well as all South Africa. The star fort, worked by the Dutch somewhere in the range of 1666 and 1679, was erected to replace an earlier clay-and-wood fort. When completed, it was located on the coastline of Cape Town but because of land reclamation, it is currently an inland fort. Since 1936 a historical monument, the Castle of Good Hope used to act as a recharging point for boats to and from the Netherlands and Indonesia but was later also momentarily utilized as a prison.

Fasil Ghebbi Castle

The Fasil Ghebbi Castle in the Gondar Region, Ethiopia, is an extraordinary mix of several architectural styles including Arab, Nubian, and Gothic. Its construction started during the standard of Ethiopian Emperor Fasilides or Fasil (1632-1667) who chose Fasil Ghebbi as his new capital.

Fort Jesus

Fort Jesus was worked somewhere in the range of 1593 and 1596 by the Portuguese on the Mombasa Island, Kenya, to secure the port of Mombasa. The fort with a shape of a man when seen from above-changed hands multiple times between the 1630s and 1870s but it remained beautifully protected. In 2011, it was recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the best protected and amazing examples of the sixteenth century Portuguese military architecture.

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Cape Coast Castle

The Cape Coast Castle was one of the alleged slave castles on the coast of Ghana. It originally filled in as a trading post but it later came to be utilized to hold slaves who were sold across the Atlantic. Worked by the Swedes during the 17th century, the Cape Coast Castle changed hands multiple times before it was captured by the British during the Seven Years’ War (1754-1763). The Castle was later also utilized as the seat of colonial administration and then a school. In 1979, it was recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.