ABSTRACT
Like many other urban areas in tropical West Africa, particularly parts of the Guinea coast and West Sudan, there was a relatively large settlement of people in Cape Coast before the beginning of the period of effective colonial administration. It may be described as a sporadic urban area, having developed in a predominantly farming and fishing community and served for a long time as one of the chief points of contact between the Africans in the country and the European merchants and officials. The Portuguese first settled there at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The Cape Coast Castle was built later by the Swedes. It changed hands rapidly; it was first held by the Dutch and then by the English, who held it from 1664. Until 1876 Cape Coast was the capital of the British settle ments, but in 1877 the seat of government was removed to Accra, which is now the capital.
