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Town & Municipality Capital in Volta Region, Ghana From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District.[2]
Keta
Ketta, Quittah | |
|---|---|
Town & Municipality Capital | |
Fort Prinsensten on the beach of Keta in 1985 | |
  Keta Location of Keta in Volta | |
| Coordinates: 5°55′N 0°59′E | |
| Country |  Ghana |
| Region |  Volta Region |
| District | Keta Municipal District |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 23,207[1] |
| • Density | 1,829/sq mi (706/km2) |
| Ranked 61st in Ghana | |
| Time zone | GMT |
| • Summer (DST) | GMT |
| Area code | +233 (3626) |
Keta is the sixty-first most populous settlement in Ghana in terms of population, with a population of 23,207.[1] Parts of the town were devastated by sea erosion between the 1960s and 1980s. Keta is mentioned in Maya Angelou's All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes.[3]
Keta was settled by the Anlo Ewe, a sub-group of the Ewe people who, in the 17th century, migrated to the area from Ketu, in Benin via Adja Tado and Notsie in Togo.[4]
Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they felt they could establish a base here without interference from rival European nations. Their first initiative was to place a factory at Keta to sell alcohol.[5]
In 1792, a war was instigated by the Danes between Anloga and Keta. With the aid of cannon from the fort and ships anchored at sea nearby, Keta was razed to the ground. Majority of the original people then migrated across the lagoon to Klikor to establish the Somey State with Agbozume as its capital. Keta was then repopulated with people from other areas of the surrounding communities.
Faced with the threat of war between Peki and an alliance of the Ashanti and the Akwamu, the North German Missionary Society (also known as the Bremen Missionaries) moved the focus of their activities from Peki to Keta. Their missionaries, Dauble and Plessing, landed at nearby Dzelukofe on September 2, 1853.[6]
Historically Keta was also known as Quittah or Agudzeawo (Easterners in old Ewe) and was assigned B27 as a postal mark.[7]
From 1874 Hausa Constabulary were based at Keta, and soon there grew to be a community of Hausa traders in the town.[5]
The author, and then colonial Civil Servant, Dr. R. Austin Freeman served as a medical officer (Assistant Surgeon) here in 1887 during which an epidemic of black water fever killed forty per cent of the European population.[8]
Etymology: Ewe language- Ke:ta - Head of the sand
In 1784, Fort Prinzenstein, like most slave trade forts, was built by the sea's edge. However the sea had retreated by about 600 ft by 1907. Since then Keta has been subject to sustained erosion. The Bremen Factory and Coconut plantation, which were close to the high water mark in 1907, had been swept away by the sea by 1924. The erosion has now advanced as far as Queen Street and started to wear away the Fort.[5]
Close to Keta is the famous town of Woe, known for the notable lighthouse called Cape St. Paul Lighthouse[9] on the beach that is believed to guide ships away from a mythical massive underwater mountain. This lighthouse is also thought to be the oldest in Ghana.[10]
Keta Lagoon is the largest lagoon in Ghana with a water area of 300 km2. This is located in a larger wetlands protected area of 1200 km2. It is a stopping point for a large number of migratory birds and provides a breeding ground for sea turtles.[11] The Keta Lagoon is known for its immense quantity of salt.[12]
Keta Sometutuza Festival[13]hogbetsotso za
Etymology
Keta: (Ewe language ). Head/top of the sand. These words were uttered by Torgbui Wenya,the founder of Anlo State when he sighted the sand dunes at the sea shore. Wenya had separated from his kinsmen in nearby Wheta Atiteti to establish his own settlement at Anloga. Historically, the people of Keta were also known as Agudzeawo - meaning Easterners because they are east of Anloga.
Oil has been found at the Keta Basin. However, experts are against the exploitation because it will be on land which lead to the destruction of land and lives, as well as some sources of livelihood.[14]
The city can boast of notably finest schools in the Volta Region.
Keta community has a few tourist attractions which one can enjoy whiles in the town.
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