Forts and Castles, Coasts and Hinterlands: The evolving history of a Ghanaian World Heritage Site
By:
Dr Natalie Swanepoel
Date:
Thu, 03/03/2016 - 20:00
Venue:
The Auditorium, Roedean School, 35 Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown, Johannesburg
Branch:
Northern
Charge: Members free Non-members: R30
One of the most striking features of the coastal landscape in Ghana is the string of European-built fortifications– more than 80 erected between 1482 and 1786 – along the relatively short stretch of Ghana’s coast. Colloquially referred to as “forts” and “castles”, these structures were collectively declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition not only of the role they played in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade but also because of their wider significance in the African-European encounter over five centuries. This talk will contextualise these sites within the broader framework of the history of trade, slavery, colonialism and post-colonialism in Ghana and West Africa with a particular emphasis on their role along the coastal frontier of Ghana, African-European interactions on the coast, and relationships with societies in the hinterland.
Dr Natalie Swanepoel is a senior lecturer in the Department of Anthropology & Archaeology at the University of South Africa. She completed her BA Hons. degree in Archaeology at the University of Cape Town in 1996 and obtained her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Syracuse University in the United States in 2004. Her doctoral fieldwork focused on the impact of slave-raiding on northern Ghanaian communities in the nineteenth century. She is currently working on a project examining the political economies of mission stations in South Africa, through an archaeological study of the Botshabelo Mission Station in Mpumalanga. Her research interests include the historical archaeology of southern and West Africa, ethnohistory, archaeology and popular culture, and the role of heritage in contemporary society.
One of the most striking features of the coastal landscape in Ghana is the string of European-built fortifications– more than 80 erected between 1482 and 1786 – along the relatively short stretch of Ghana’s coast. Colloquially referred to as “forts” and “castles”, these structures were collectively declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition not only of the role they played in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade but also because of their wider significance in the African-European encounter over five centuries. This talk will contextualise these sites within the broader framework of the history of trade, slavery, colonialism and post-colonialism in Ghana and West Africa with a particular emphasis on their role along the coastal frontier of Ghana, African-European interactions on the coast, and relationships with societies in the hinterland.
Dr Natalie Swanepoel is a senior lecturer in the Department of Anthropology & Archaeology at the University of South Africa. She completed her BA Hons. degree in Archaeology at the University of Cape Town in 1996 and obtained her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Syracuse University in the United States in 2004. Her doctoral fieldwork focused on the impact of slave-raiding on northern Ghanaian communities in the nineteenth century. She is currently working on a project examining the political economies of mission stations in South Africa, through an archaeological study of the Botshabelo Mission Station in Mpumalanga. Her research interests include the historical archaeology of southern and West Africa, ethnohistory, archaeology and popular culture, and the role of heritage in contemporary society.