Cape Coast City Map Poster

About Cape Coast

Cape Coast was founded in 1653 by the Danish West India Company as a place of refuge for the Akan exiles from Asante, who were brought there by their leader Kwadwo Fubara. The name "Cabo Corso" (short cape) was given to it because of its location relative to Elmina Castle and Cape Three Points. It is also possible that it was named after the Portuguese explorer João de Santarém or his patron saint St. Cosmas, whose feast day falls on May 21st; this date is celebrated annually as Cape Coast's Day and features a large market at which goods are sold in traditional fashion with haggling expected between buyers and sellers over prices. The city lies on an estuary formed by two rivers: Accra River (the main river), which flows into Ghana's Gulf of Guinea; and Oti River, which empties into Atlantic Ocean through Axim-Keta Lagoon near Axim town about away from Cape Coast City centre but within its municipal boundaries .