 Between 1612 and 1872, the Dutch operated from some 10 fortresses along the Gold Coast (now Ghana), from which slaves were shipped across the Atlantic.Dutch involvement on the Slave Coast increased with the establishment of a trading post in Offra in 1660.Willem Bosman writes in his "Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust" (1703) that Allada was also called Grand Ardra, being the larger cousin of Little Ardra, also known as Offra.