Fort William, Ghana

Fort William is a fort in Anomabu, Central region, Ghana. It was built in 1753 by the British after they thwarted a French attempt to establish a fort at the same place. Two earlier forts had been established at the same site, one in 1640 by the Dutch, another in 1674 by the English.

Earlier forts
In 1640, the Dutch built the first simple fort in the fom of an earthworks lodge under the direction of Commander, Arent Jacobsz van der Graeff. In 1653, the Swedes captured the lodge. In 1657, Danish forces took the lodge under Caerloff. In 1659 or 1660, the Dutch recaptured it. When the second Dutch-Anglo war ended in 1667 with the (Treaty of Breda), the British gained a foothold in Anomabo. In 1672 or 1673, the British began building Fort Charles naming it after King Charles II of England on the present-day location of Fort William. An early Anomabo chief, perhaps Eno or Eno Besi, inhabited the Dutch lodge at this time and declared it his palace. The fort was abandoned by the British not long after, in order to concentrate efforts and costs on Fort Carolusburg at Cape Coast.

"Ten Percenters" base
In 1698, the Royal African Company "licensed" ship captains not in its employment upon the payment of a 10% "affiliation fee" to enable them to trade in its areas of monopoly. There followed a flood of "Ten Percenters" trading at British forts, often outnumbering the company's own ships. Anomabu became a popular haunt of "ten percenters" (until their licensing was stopped in 1712), exporting vast numbers of slaves.

In 1717, the Dutch director-general at Elmina, Engelgraaf Roberts, quoting an English captain on Anomabu slave trade exports, stated: "From January 1702 to August 1708 they took to Barbados and Jamaica a total of not less than 30,14 slaves and in this figure are not included transactions made for other ships sailing to such Islands as Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, for the South Sea Company, the New Netherlands and others which would increase the above number considerably, and of which Annemaboe alone could provide about one third."

Fort William
In 1753, after thwarting a French bid to establish a fort at Anomabu the British began construction on Fort William (a later renaming of what was long referred to simply as "Annamaboe fort") designed by military engineer John Apperly, who became its first governor.

After Apperly's death in 1756, Irishman Richard Brew took over the Governorship of the fort and completed its construction in 1760.

The Anomabu fort became the center of British slave trading along the Gold Coast until the slave trade was outlawed in 1807.

Anomabu is a popular tourist destination. The remains of Fort William can still be seen.

Notable residents

 * William Ansah Sessarakoo