Fort St. Sebastian is located in a popular place called Shama in the Sekondi-Takoradi vicinity. This fort was initially constructed by the Portuguese in the year 1520 and was completed by 1526. However, the location of the Fort St. Sebastian came to notice when it appeared on a map. The map was used for referring the Di Castaldi's Venetian map of 1564. The purpose of constructing the fort was to obstruct the ways of the English ships from interfering in their trade in the Shama area of Ghana.
With reference to a Portuguese chart of 1630, the Fort St. Sebastian used to have a bastion. The 2 single-storeyed buildings inside the fort had pitched roofs. One corner of the fort has a 2-storeyed tower. The Dutch captured the fort under the leadership of De Ruyter when it was in complete ruins. The Dutch retained the name of the fort and carried out renovation work. The renovation of the fort took 2 years and was done in 1640-42. Tourists visiting the fort can still see the original structural form.
The strategic spot of the fort was used for trading in slaves and gold. Adom, Twifo, Wassa and other areas exported the gold and slaves to this fort.
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