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Cape Coast

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A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg , Manchester and Duluth ; these access the sea via rivers or canals . Because of their roles as ports of entry for immigrants as well as soldiers in wartime, many port cities have experienced dramatic multi-ethnic and multicultural changes throughout their histories.

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55-597: Cape Coast is a city, a fishing port , and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District in the Central Region of Ghana . It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, and home to the Cape Coast Castle , with the Gulf of Guinea situated to its south. It was also the first capital of Ghana. According to the 2021 census, Cape Coast had a settlement population of 189,925 people. The language of

110-502: A tropical savanna climate ( Köppen : Aw / As ) with two long wet seasons – a heavier one from March to July and a lighter one from September to November – alongside two short dry seasons in January / February and in August . Cape Coast is a humid area with mean monthly relative humidity varying between 85% and 99%. The sea breeze has a moderating effect on the local climate. The crab

165-456: A centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A smart port uses technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to be more efficient at handling goods. Smart ports usually deploy cloud-based software as part of the process of greater automation to help generate the operating flow that helps the port work smoothly. At present, most of

220-641: A complex social and political organization based on martial principles and elaborate traditions of visual art. The Asafo companies feature largely in Cape Coast's annual Fetu Afahye festival held on the first Saturday of September , and each have historically established uniform colours: Esi Sutherland-Addy identifies these as: No. 1. Bentsir— red; No. 2. Anafo— blue and white; No. 3. Ntsin – green; No. 4. Nkum – yellow; No. 5. Amanful – wine and black; No. 6. Abrofomba ( Brofo Nkoa ) – white; No. 7. Ankrampa – white and black. The city's St. Francis Cathedral

275-876: A fishing port to be uneconomical. A marina is a port for recreational boating. A warm-water port (also known as an ice-free port) is one where the water does not freeze in winter. This is mainly used in the context of countries with mostly cold winters where parts of the coastline freezes over every winter. Because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest . Such settlements as Narvik in Norway, Dalian in China, Murmansk , Novorossiysk , Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vostochny Port in Russia, Odesa in Ukraine, Kushiro in Japan and Valdez at

330-711: A port or nearby. Modern ports will have specialised cargo -handling equipment, such as gantry cranes , reach stackers and forklift trucks . Ports usually have specialised functions: some tend to cater mainly for passenger ferries and cruise ships ; some specialise in container traffic or general cargo; and some ports play an important military role for their nation's navy. Some third world countries and small islands such as Ascension and St Helena still have limited port facilities, so that ships must anchor off while their cargo and passengers are taken ashore by barge or launch (respectively). In modern times, ports survive or decline, depending on current economic trends. In

385-424: A ship on its sailing itinerary. At these ports, cargo ships may take on supplies or fuel, as well as unloading and loading cargo while cruise liners have passengers get on or off ship. A fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a recreational facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the only port that depends on an ocean product, and depletion of fish may cause

440-506: A ship to sail from the ocean inland to the port to load or unload its cargo. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Toronto , Duluth-Superior , and Chicago . The term inland port is also used for dry ports . A seaport is a port located on the shore of a sea or ocean. It

495-518: A single Dutch ship per year, whereas Osaka was the largest domestic port and the main trade hub for rice. Post-classical Swahili kingdoms are known to have had trade port islands and trade routes with the Islamic world and Asia. They were described by Greek historians as "metropolises". Famous African trade ports such as Mombasa , Zanzibar , Mogadishu and Kilwa were known to Chinese sailors such as Zheng He and medieval Islamic historians such as

550-495: A small semi-automated container port (with links to the Port of Felixstowe , the UK's largest container port) thrived for some years, but has been hit hard by competition from the emergent London Gateway port and logistics hub. In mainland Europe, it is normal for ports to be publicly owned, so that, for instance, the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are owned partly by the state and partly by

605-641: A third of the world's shipping containers , half of the world's annual supply of crude oil , and is the world's busiest transshipment port . Europe's busiest container port and biggest port by cargo tonnage by far is the Port of Rotterdam , in the Netherlands. It is followed by the Belgian Port of Antwerp or the German Port of Hamburg , depending on which metric is used. In turn, the Spanish Port of Valencia

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660-454: Is believed that this is because of the number of rivers and lakes situated in the town. The people are known for their expert fishing and fish preservation abilities. Some of the cuisines are fante fante, stew and pepper sauce or okro stew, fante kenkey , which can be eaten with soups , stews or shito . List of sister cities of Cape Coast, designated by Sister Cities International : Fishing port Ports are extremely important to

715-452: Is dominated by batholith rock and is generally undulating with steep slopes. There are valleys of various streams between the hills, with Kakum being the largest stream. The minor streams end in wetlands, the largest of which drains into the Fosu Lagoon at Bakano. In the northern part of the district, however, the landscape is suitable for the cultivation of various crops. Cape Coast has

770-418: Is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding . Internationally, global ports are beginning to identify ways to improve coastal management practices and integrate climate change adaptation practices into their construction. Wherever ancient civilisations engaged in maritime trade, they tended to develop sea ports. One of the world's oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on

825-404: Is further categorized as commercial and non-commercial: Cargo ports are quite different from cruise ports, because each handles very different cargo, which has to be loaded and unloaded by a variety of mechanical means. Bulk cargo ports may handle one particular type of cargo or numerous cargoes, such as grains, liquid fuels, liquid chemicals, wood, automobiles, etc. Such ports are known as

880-688: Is often lower because of both direct and indirect pollution from the shipping, and other challenges caused by the port's community, such as trash washing into the ocean. Sewage from ships, and leaks of oil and chemicals from shipping vessels can contaminate local water, and cause other effects like nutrient pollution in the water. Ports and their infrastructure are very vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise, because many of them are in low-lying areas designed for status quo water levels. Variable weather, coastal erosion, and sea level rise all put pressure on existing infrastructure, resulting in subsidence , coastal flooding and other direct pressures on

935-642: Is the busiest port in the Mediterranean basin, while the Portuguese Port of Sines is the busiest atlantic port. The Port of Trieste , Italy , is the main port of the northern Adriatic and starting point of the Transalpine Pipeline . The largest ports include the Port of South Louisiana , a vast sprawling port centered in the New Orleans area, Houston , Port of New York/New Jersey , Los Angeles in

990-503: Is the city's mascot and a statue of one stands in the city centre. Fort William , built in 1820, was an active lighthouse from 1835 to the 1970s, while Fort Victoria was built in 1702. The main market of Cape Coast is called Kotokuraba Market . Other attractions include a series of Asafo shrines, Cape Coast Centre for National Culture, the Oguaa Fetu Afahye festival (held on the first Saturday of September), and since 1992,

1045-508: Is the largest port in the world in both cargo tonnage and activity. It regained its position as the world's busiest port by cargo tonnage and the world's busiest container port in 2009 and 2010, respectively. It is followed by the ports of Singapore , Hong Kong and Kaohsiung , Taiwan , all of which are in East and Southeast Asia . The port of Singapore is the world's second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also transships

1100-401: Is the port where cruise ship passengers board (or embark ) to start their cruise and disembark the cruise ship at the end of their cruise. It is also where the cruise ship's supplies are loaded for the cruise, which includes everything from fresh water and fuel to fruits, vegetables, champagne, and any other supplies needed for the cruise. "Cruise home ports" are very busy places during the day

1155-532: Is the seat of the University of Cape Coast (UCC). It also has , the Cape Coast Technical University . The city also has some secondary and technical schools: Notable people born in or associated with Cape Coast include: The Fante people of Ghana are notable for their way of cooking. They are known for eating rich cuisine, mostly with more fish, meat, or any form of protein than necessary. It

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1210-464: Is when a native species with no natural predator is all of a sudden prey of an invasive specie. Indirect interaction can be diseases or other health conditions brought by invasive species. Ports are also a source of increased air pollution as a result of ships and land transportation at the port. Transportation corridors around ports have higher exhaust emissions and this can have related health effects on local communities. Water quality around ports

1265-559: The 1870s , Cape Coast's climate and sanitation issues persisted, leading to consideration of alternatives such as Ada, Elmina, and Accra. Despite Elmina's drawbacks, Accra's advantages, including its commercial significance and relatively healthy surroundings, outweighed its shortcomings. Ultimately, in 1875, the decision was made to move the Gold Coast Colony's headquarters to Accra. With the establishment of formal colonial administration, they relocated to Accra following opposition to

1320-961: The Central Region . The Assembly is bounded to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, west by the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem , East by the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District , and to the north by the Twifu Heman Lower Denkyira District . It also has two Parliamentary constituencies, which are Cape Coast North (Ghana parliament constituency) and Cape Coast South (Ghana parliament constituency) . The Assembly has 45 Electoral Areas, with 30 being in Cape Coast South (Ghana parliament constituency) and 15 being in Cape Coast North (Ghana parliament constituency) . The area

1375-695: The Chinese ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan . As of 2020, the busiest passenger port in Europe is the Port of Helsinki in Finland . Nevertheless, countless smaller ports do exist that may only serve their local tourism or fishing industries. Ports can have a wide environmental impact on local ecologies and waterways, most importantly water quality, which can be caused by dredging, spills and other pollution . Ports are heavily affected by changing environmental factors caused by climate change as most port infrastructure

1430-633: The London Gateway . Ideally, a port will grant easy navigation to ships, and will give shelter from wind and waves. Ports are often on estuaries, where the water may be shallow and may need regular dredging . Deep water ports such as Milford Haven are less common, but can handle larger ships with a greater draft, such as super tankers , Post-Panamax vessels and large container ships . Other businesses such as regional distribution centres , warehouses and freight-forwarders, canneries and other processing facilities find it advantageous to be located within

1485-638: The Port of Buenos Aires in Argentina. 1870s The 1870s (pronounced "eighteen-seventies") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1870, and ended on December 31, 1879. The trends of the previous decade continued into this one, as new empires , imperialism and militarism rose in Europe and Asia . The United States was recovering from the American Civil War , though

1540-543: The Reconstruction era introduced its own legacies of bitterness and racial segregation in the country. Germany unified as a nation in 1871 and became the German Empire . Changing social conditions led workforces to cooperate in the form of labor unions in order to demand better pay and working conditions, with strikes occurring worldwide in the later part of the decade and continuing until World War I . The decade

1595-557: The Red Sea . Along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Other ancient ports include Guangzhou during Qin dynasty China and Canopus , the principal Egyptian port for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria . In ancient Greece, Athens' port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet which played a crucial role in the Battle of Salamis against

1650-455: The " window tax " in 1877. Accra became their state. Cape Coast Castle was also where most of the slaves were held before their journey on the Middle Passage . Oguaa Traditional Area has seven Asafo companies—traditional warrior groups based on lineal descent, whose historical role was defence of the state (the word deriving from sa , meaning "war", and fo , meaning "people")—with

1705-468: The "bulk" or "break bulk ports". Ports that handle containerized cargo are known as container ports . Most cargo ports handle all sorts of cargo, but some ports are very specific as to what cargo they handle. Additionally, individual cargo ports may be divided into different operating terminals which handle the different types of cargoes, and may be operated by different companies, also known as terminal operators, or stevedores . A cruise home port

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1760-801: The Berber Islamic voyager Abu Abdullah ibn Battuta . Many of these ancient sites no longer exist or function as modern ports. Even in more recent times, ports sometimes fall out of use. Rye, East Sussex , was an important English port in the Middle Ages, but the coastline changed and it is now 2 miles (3.2 km) from the sea, while the ports of Ravenspurn and Dunwich have been lost to coastal erosion . Whereas early ports tended to be just simple harbours, modern ports tend to be multimodal distribution hubs , with transport links using sea, river, canal, road, rail and air routes. Successful ports are located to optimize access to an active hinterland , such as

1815-489: The British dominated all European presence along the coast of modern-day Ghana, using Cape Coast as their base of operations, Gold Coast . In the 19th century, concerns over Cape Coast's climate prompted discussions about relocating the headquarters to Accra, seen as a healthier alternative. Colonel Henry Ord's report in 1865 highlighted Accra's appeal, but an earthquake in 1862 damaged key government buildings, thwarting plans. By

1870-451: The Guan-the undisputed aborigines of Ghana.   Legend even has it that one of the early kings of Fetu was a veracious eater of crabs which flourished in the marshy low lying areas around the hills of the present Cape Coast. The settlement was accordingly named KOTOKURABA, viz “Crab rivulet” The early beginning of the town was, certainly, related to the existence of crabs in the area, and

1925-415: The Netherlands. Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. The terms "port" and "seaport" are used for different types of facilities handling ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a navigable lake, river ( fluvial port), or canal with access to a sea or ocean, which therefore allows

1980-644: The Persians in 480 BCE. In ancient India from 3700 BCE, Lothal was a prominent city of the Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhal region of the modern state of Gujarāt . Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. In Japan, during the Edo period , the island of Dejima was the only port open for trade with Europe and received only

2035-1090: The U.S., Manzanillo in Mexico and Vancouver in Canada. Panama also has the Panama Canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and is a key conduit for international trade. The largest port in Oceania is the Port of Melbourne . According to ECLAC 's "Maritime and Logistics Profile of Latin America and the Caribbean", the largest ports in South America are the Port of Santos in Brazil, Cartagena in Colombia, Callao in Peru, Guayaquil in Ecuador, and

2090-482: The UK, both the ports of Liverpool and Southampton were once significant in the transatlantic passenger liner business. Once airliner traffic decimated that trade, both ports diversified to container cargo and cruise ships. Up until the 1950s the Port of London was a major international port on the River Thames , but changes in shipping and the use of containers and larger ships have led to its decline. Thamesport ,

2145-473: The area of highland behind the newly-built castle; Nkum, the sloping ground on the west bank of the stream below Bentsil; then lntsin, the rising ground on the east side of the Stream. Later, a number of ambitious and influential families broke away, and founded a chain of fishing villages on the east coast. They include Legu, Dwemba-Mumford and Winneba, (Simpa) family groups. Cape Coast is traditionally been led by

2200-482: The biennial Panafest theatre festival. The city is located 30 km south of Kakum National Park , one of the most diverse and best preserved national parks in West Africa. It is believed that Michelle Obama , US First Lady , considers Cape Coast as her ancestral home, and on 11 July 2009, she took the rest of the first family to tour Cape Coast Castle as part of her husband's trip to Cape Coast . Cape Coast

2255-521: The cities themselves. Even though modern ships tend to have bow-thrusters and stern-thrusters, many port authorities still require vessels to use pilots and tugboats for manoeuvering large ships in tight quarters. For instance, ships approaching the Belgian port of Antwerp , an inland port on the River Scheldt , are obliged to use Dutch pilots when navigating on that part of the estuary that belongs to

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2310-604: The city changed hands between the British, the Portuguese , the Swedish , the Danish and the Dutch . It is home to 32 festivals and celebrations. The dominant traditions of the indigenous inhabitants of Oguaa assert that they originated from Fetu, north of Cape Coast.  The site has been identified as that of the present-day Efutu. The Efutu State like its sister State of Eguafo, was founded by

2365-413: The cruise ship is in port, because off-going passengers debark their baggage and on-coming passengers board the ship in addition to all the supplies being loaded. Cruise home ports tend to have large passenger terminals to handle the large number of passengers passing through the port. The busiest cruise home port in the world is the Port of Miami , Florida . A port of call is an intermediate stop for

2420-526: The effigy of the crab became the Traditional Eblem(See; “State Emblem of the Gold Coast” — D.A. Sutherland, 1952 p.67). With time, another collection of reed huts sprang up nearer to the beach which developed into active commercial centre where salt and other commodities were exchanged. This new settlement became known as GWA or IGWA(Oguaa). There was rapid increase in population following the influx of

2475-491: The establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the university of the city in 1950 and 1962 respectively, Cape Coast became a regional educational hub for this area of Ghana. There are Public Transports from Cape Coast to major cities such as Accra ; Kumasi , Mim, Ahafo ; Sunyani ; Tamale ; Tema ; Ho ; Wa ; Bolgatanga ; Elubo ; Aflao , Techiman . Cape Coast is the only Metropolitan Assembly in

2530-449: The global economy; 70% of global merchandise trade by value passes through a port. For this reason, ports are also often densely populated settlements that provide the labor for processing and handling goods and related services for the ports. Today by far the greatest growth in port development is in Asia, the continent with some of the world's largest and busiest ports , such as Singapore and

2585-581: The paramount chief, or Omanhene , of what is known today as Oguaa Traditional Area .Cape Coast is one of the historical cities in Ghana . Portuguese colonists built a trading fort in the area. In 1650, the Swedes built a lodge that would later become better known as Cape Coast Castle , which is now a World Heritage Site . Most of the modern town expanded around it. The Dutch took over it in 1650 and expanded it in 1652. The British then took control of it in 1664. Trade

2640-497: The people from Efutu. When WJ. Mueller was a chaplain in the Danish fort, Fredrickdborg, 1661 — 1669, the king of Fetu was called Aduafo, a powerful ruler who was feared and honoured by his people. In 1693, the Fetu kingdom was defeated by the allied forces of Assin and Asebu. The Efutuhene Nana Essifie Kuma transferred his capital from Efutu to Oguaa(Graham, Ibid). On arrival, the new migrants settled in three distinctive areas, viz. Bentsil,

2695-413: The people of Cape Coast is Fante . The older traditional names of the city are Oguaa and Kotokuraba (meaning "River of Crabs" or "Village of Crabs"). The Portuguese navigators João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar who sailed past Oguaa in 1471 designated the place Cabo Corso (meaning "short cape"), from which the name Cape Coast derives. From the 16th century to the country's independence in 1957,

2750-615: The port. There are several initiatives to decrease negative environmental impacts of ports. The World Port Sustainability Program points to all of the Sustainable Development Goals as potential ways of addressing port sustainability. These include SIMPYC , the World Ports Climate Initiative , the African Green Port Initiative , EcoPorts and Green Marine . The port of Shanghai

2805-525: The terminus of the Alaska Pipeline owe their very existence to being ice-free ports. The Baltic Sea and similar areas have ports available year-round beginning in the 20th century thanks to icebreakers , but earlier access problems prompted Russia to expand its territory to the Black Sea . A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as

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2860-414: The water column, and can stir up pollutants captured in the sediments. Invasive species are often spread by the bilge water and species attached to the hulls of ships. It is estimated that there are over 7000 invasive species transported in bilge water around the world on a daily basis Invasive species can have direct or indirect interactions with native sea life. Direct interaction such as predation,

2915-766: The world's ports have somewhat embedded technology, if not for full leadership. However, thanks to global government initiatives and exponential growth in maritime trade, the number of intelligent ports has gradually increased. A report by business intelligence provider Visiongain assessed that Smart Ports Market spending would reach $ 1.5 bn in 2019. Ports and their operation are often a cause of environmental issues, such as sediment contamination and spills from ships and are susceptible to larger environmental issues, such as human caused climate change and its effects. Every year 100 million cubic metres of marine sediment are dredged to improve waterways around ports. Dredging, in its practice, disturbs local ecosystems, brings sediments into

2970-524: Was an important motivator in the creation of fortresses and settlements on Cape Coast. Traders from various European countries built these trading lodges, forts and castles along the coast of modern Ghana. Unfortunately, the acquisition of gold, slaves, honey, and the many other goods that composed the African leg of the Triangular Trade was increasingly detrimental to the inhabitants of Cape Coast. In 1874,

3025-589: Was dedicated in 1928. The building is the first Catholic Cathedral built in Ghana. In addition, one of the first Catholic schools in Ghana, St. Augustine College, was established in Cape Coast during 1936. The cocoa marketing boom of the 1900s that Ghana experienced, the city experienced a certain period of economic prosperity. After the completion of harbours and railways in other parts of the country such as Sekondi and Kumasi, cocoa cultivation and trade in Ghana diversified and Cape Coast lost some importance. However, after

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