Heading back to my roots!
Home, Sweet Home
My family
My little sister, my parents and I sit by a cannon near the top of the castle. You can see the Gulf of Guinea behind us.Close
Going Home
During December of 2008, I went to Ghana, the country where I was born, to visit my family. During my stay in Ghana I visited the Cape Coast and the Elmina Castles.
When I first
walked into the Cape Coast Castle, it looked so gigantic!
Climbing the stairsMy family and I climb the steps to get to the first level of the castle.
Close Then, a guide walked toward our tour group and described how the Cape Coast Castle was built by the British.
As the guide walked across the main courtyard in the castle, he explained how the castle was built of lime powder and nothing else.
Across the courtyard was an open tunnel that sloped downwards. We were entering the
slave dungeons.
Slavery
Punishment cellThis is the punishment cell for those who were considered misbehaving.
I have a great interest in slavery, or when one human being becomes the property of another, without any choice. It has occurred throughout history, as far back as 1760 BC, in many different cultures.
African slavery started through trade in 1411 when the Portuguese captured 12 Africans in Mauritania.
Slavery became another form of currency when the Europeans traded tobacco, guns, and gunpowder for slaves. They also traded for fur, gold, and spices.
CloseLife in the Dungeons
Rooms for Europeans
Housing for the Europeans
Governor’s quartersThis view of the Governor’s living quarters shows the slave dungeons below.
The rooms for the Europeans: the soldiers, the priest, the governor, his deputy, and the church, were all well ventilated and in good shape.
CloseAs we approached the female and male dungeons from a distance we could smell a foul odor. Can you imagine? This is after hundreds of years of the castle not being used for slaves!
The main reason for the foul smell was because the slaves had to go the bathroom in open tunnels that led down to the sea from the dungeons.
Though the slaves had containersThe Home for Slaves
A slave dungeon.
Hundreds of slaves were kept in these dungeons for months until they were sent onto the ships to be sold….if they survived.
The ventilation for the female dungeons was connected to the magazine, which is a storage room for ammunition and other supplies.
Sadly, that meant that when there was a gas leak, the women had to smell it in addition to all the other nasty odors.
Close to sleep in, they were so weak that they were unable to move. That meant they had to go to the bathroom right where they were. We could see bloodstains on the floor and markings too.
Slaves that refused to be treated badly and fought for freedom were left in a condemned cell. They were not given food, water, access to light, or fresh air. Their burial place was the sea.
