| Princes Town | |
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Princes Town
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ghana |
| Region | Western Region |
| District | Ahanta West District |
Princes Town is located 5 km east of Fort St. Antonio on Manfro Hill in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region of Ghana. It lies between Axim to the west and Takoradi to the east. The original name of this West African town was "Kpokezoe". On 1 January 1681, a Brandenburger expedition of two ships commanded by Otto Friedrich von der Groeben, arrived in the Gold Coast, and began to build a strong fort between Axim and the Cape of Three Points. The fort was completed in 1683 and was renamed Fort Gross-Friedrichsburg in honor of Prince Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg. Because the Fort was named after a Prince, it has been referred to as: Ft. Friedrichsburg/Princes Town. The fort was to be the headquarters of the Brandenburgers in Africa.
In 1708, an Ahantan slave trader, Chief John Kanu (pronounced "Canoe") learned that the Germans were going to sell the Fort to the Dutch. In protest, he waged a war that managed to stave off fleets of battleships for almost 20 years. The Fort was eventually captured in 1725 by the Dutch and renamed Ft. Friedrichsburg to Ft. Hollandia.
Because John Kanu was successful in retaining control of the Fort, slaves looked upon him as a hero. "Junkanoo" (pronounced "John Canoe") festivals such as Mardi Gras are held annually in the coastal outlines of North Carolina, in Jamaica and the Bahamas. In 1872, the Dutch ceded the Fort to Britain and in 1957, the fort became part of the newly independent country of Ghana.
The fort is built of stone transported by sea between 1681 and 1683 from Prussia and is the only known German fort ever built in Ghana. It is estimated that some 300,000 Africans were transported through this fort. The remains of John Kanu are a mystery. Some have said he was sold into slavery after having lost the battle of the fort while others have said his remains are in the Tafo Cemetery in Kumasi.
The population of Princes Town is 5,200. Princes Town's gazetted Chief is Nana Ndama Kundumoah IV.