The area was first occupied in 1550 by the
Portuguese, though in the 17th century Portuguese influence diminished. The area came under the control of
Sweden in the late 1640s, led by the German trader
Heinrich Carloff. In 1652, he was given permission to build a small fortified lodge by the King of Accra, with whom he had previously done business. In 1660, control passed to the
Netherlands but it was soon lost to
Denmark-Norway. In 1657, Carloff had again traveled to
Africa, this time representing Denmark-Norway. He aimed to conquer the forts he had previously established, which he found easy at Osu. In its early life, the castle was primarily used in the
gold and
ivory trade, but under Dano-Norwegian control it increasingly dealt with
slaves. In 1679 or 1680, the fort's
Greek assistant commander incited a
mutiny to murder the commander. Shortly after that, a Portuguese ship commanded by Julião de Campos Barreto visited the fort and agreed to purchase it. The fort was named Fort
São Francisco Xavier after the
Catholic missionary
Francis Xavier. The Portuguese built a
chapel and raised the
bastions by three feet. The fort was abandoned on 29 August 1682 after the
garrison mutinied and it became clear that
Portuguese traders could not compete with the other Gold Coast powers. Danish forces returned in February 1683 after purchasing the fort back from the Portuguese. In 1685, Fort Christiansborg became the capital of the Gold Coast of Denmark-Norway, taking over from
Fort Frederiksborg. The
Akwamu ethnic group occupied the fort in 1693 after overpowering the occupants (who were reduced by death and disease) while disguised as merchants. Assameni, the Akwamu leader, occupied the fort for a year, trading with merchants from many nations. In 1694, Assameni sold the fort back to Denmark-Norway for 50
marks of gold (400 troy ounces, worth £200,000 to £250,000 in 2008) but retained the keys, which are still in the ethnic group's possession to this day. In the 1770s, the Danes at Osu became involved in a conflict with Dutch-controlled Accra. In 1850, the British bought all of Denmark's
Gold Coast possessions for
£10,000 (between £850,000 and £1.5m in 2007), including Fort Christiansborg. Denmark had been considering selling these outposts for some time. After the slave trade had been
abolished they were expensive to run and brought little benefit.
Britain experienced the same problems, but was keen to prevent illegal slave trading and
France or
Belgium strengthening in the area. An earthquake in 1862 destroyed most of the upper floors, which were rebuilt in wood. Later that century, the castle became the seat of the colonial government. It was abandoned by the British colonial powers from 1890 to 1901. Within this period, it was used as a constabulary mess and later a
psychiatric asylum. It became the seat of government again in 1902. In 1950, the wooden upper floors were rebuilt according to the original Danish plans. In 2005, there was debate over whether Osu Castle should be replaced as the seat of government. President
John Kufuor argued that his government should not sit at the castle due to its previous association with slavery and also because its facilities were inadequate.
National Democratic Congress MPs, however, argued that the $50 m that a new presidential palace would cost would be better spent elsewhere. ==Features==