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Elmina is a town on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, lying west of Cape Coast. The first European settlement in West Africa, it now has a population of around 20,000 people.
The town grew around São Jorge da Mina Castle, built by the Portuguese in 1482, and was Portugal's West African headquarters until the Dutch West India Company captured it in 1637; in subsequent centuries it was mostly used for the slave trade. The city remained in Dutch hands until 1872, when it was sold to the English.
Elmina is also home to Fort St Jago, built by the Dutch in 1666, several Asafo shrines and a lagoon. Today, Elmina's main industry is fishing.
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