Fort James

Accra, Ghana, Ghana

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Fort James, also known as James Fort, is a historic fort located in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana, built by the Royal African Company of England in 1673 as a trading post for both gold and slaves.

The fort was named after James, Duke of York (later King James II), and gave its name to the adjacent Jamestown neighborhood that developed around it. Along with the Dutch Fort Crêvecœur (built 1649) and the Danish Fort Christiansborg (built 1652), Fort James formed part of the European coastal trading network along the Gold Coast.

During British colonization, the fort transitioned into an administrative hub and later became a prison, serving continuously from the colonial era until 2008. Notably, Ghana's first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, a key leader in the independence struggle, was imprisoned there from 1950 to 1951 alongside common criminals. 

Fort James stands next to the iconic Jamestown Lighthouse on the shores of Accra and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 as part of the serial property "Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions" due to its importance during the European colonial period and transatlantic slave trade.