This is a brief introduction to the history of Elmina, its castle, the people, and their traditions. It outlines the town�s 500-year relations with Europeans, highlighting the transformations that have developed out of these interactions. Written by one of the top historians of Ghana and a leading scholar of the African diaspora, the book is based on original archival information and orally-derived sources. It is also richly informed by the writer�s own personal knowledge as a Nyampa Safohen and citizen of Elmina. Despite the tremendous changes engendered by the European contact, Elmina�s historical development demonstrates an amazing degree of cultural continuity and resilience in its political institutions, social organization, economic systems and worldview.