Keta Ketta, Quittah | |
|---|---|
Town &Municipality Capital | |
 Fort Prinsensten on the beach of Keta in 1985 | |
  Keta Location of Keta inVolta | |
| Coordinates:5°55′N0°59′E / 5.917°N 0.983°E /5.917; 0.983 | |
| 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 a coastal town and the capital of theKeta Municipal District in the Volta Region of Ghana.[2]
Keta has a population of 23,207.[1]
Keta was settled by theAnlo Ewe, a sub-group of theEwe people who, in the 17th century, migrated to the area fromKetu, inBenin via Adja Tado and Notsie in Togo.[3]
Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of theDanish, because they felt they could establish a base here without interference from rivalEuropean nations. Their first initiative was to place a factory at Keta to sell alcohol.[4]
Faced with the threat of war betweenPeki and an alliance of theAshanti and theAkwamu, theNorth German Missionary Society (also known as theBremen Missionaries) moved the focus of their activities from Peki to Keta. Their missionaries, Dauble and Plessing, landed at nearbyDzelukofe on September 2, 1853.[5]
Historically Keta was also known asQuittah or Agudzeawo (Easterners in old Ewe) and was assigned B27 as a postal mark.[6]
From 1874Hausa Constabulary were based at Keta, and soon there grew to be a community of Hausa traders in the town.[4]
The author, and then colonial Civil Servant,R. Austin Freeman served as a medical officer (Assistant Surgeon) here in 1887 during which an epidemic ofblack water fever killed forty per cent of the European population.[7]
In 1917, the firstOrange Lodge in Ghana was founded. It was named "Pride of Keta, LOL 891". It was founded by R. E. Sharlley, a Ghanaianpostal worker who learned about Orangeism during theFirst World War and contacted the Grand Orange Lodge in England for affiliation. Sharlley’s initiative led to the formation of the lodge under the authority of the Orange Order, marking the beginning of organised Orangeism in Ghana.[8][9]
The lodge played a key role in the early spread of the Orange Order across Ghana, contributing to the formation of additional lodges and ultimately the establishment of a national governing body, theGrand Lodge of Ghana, in 1918. Ghana’s Orange lodges, including Pride of Keta, traditionally drew membership from educatedChristian communities and maintained the Order’sfraternal practices while adapting to local cultural contexts.[10][11]
In 1784,Fort Prinzenstein, like mostslave trade forts, was built by the sea's edge. 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 advanced as far as Queen Street and started to wear away the Fort.[4]
Close to Keta is the town ofWoe, known for theCape St. Paul Lighthouse[12] 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.[13]
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 forsea turtles.[14]The Keta Lagoon is known for its immense quantity of salt.[15]
Petroleum has been found at the Keta Basin. Experts are against the exploitation because it will lead to the destruction of land and lives, as well as some sources of livelihood.[16]
woe keta.
(15) Felix Kuadugah- contributor. History of Agbozume and Keta.
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