Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Cape Coast in
the Central Region of Ghana and see two historic castles, Elmina and Cape Coast
Castles, there.
The oldest castle, Elmina Castle, was built in the mid 1400s
by the Portuguese. This fortification, which served as a trading post, is
considered to be the first European building in sub-Saharan Africa. The
Portuguese were so successful in trading goods, such as gold and timber (two of
Ghana’s core exports to this day), that other European countries were enticed
to also build trading posts along the “Gold Coast” of Ghana as well.
The other castle we visited, Cape Coast Castle, was
originally built in 1653 by the Swedish to trade gold and timber (two of
Ghana’s core exports to this day). About a decade later, the English conquered
the fortification.
Both of these castles were later used as hubs for slave
trading during the 17th and 18th centuries. Although
different European countries controlled each, the dungeons, in which the
Africans were held, are very similar. The dungeons are underground stone
holding cells where up to 1,000 men and women were held. There were separate
cells for men and women, but identical in structure. The rooms had one, maybe
two, very small windows at the top that served as the only light and fresh air.
I was in a group of about 30 people going on a tour of the castle and I felt
claustrophobic and hot – I can’t even imagine 1,000 people in there. They must
have been shoulder to shoulder!
The Africans were kept in these dungeons for up to 2 weeks
with one to two meals a day (just to keep them alive). They were never
permitted to leave the dungeon, so they were forced to go to the bathroom on
the floor where they sat and slept. The waste built up so much that it turned to
about 2 feet of hard “stone” on the floor of the dungeons.
When the ships arrived to collect the Africans and take them
to the Americas to be sold as slaves, they would be filed out individually and
evaluated to determine if they were healthy enough for the journey. The weak or
sick ones were placed in a separate cell and not permitted to board the ship.
They were left there to die.
Seeing these castles was extremely eye opening and
emotional. There were many flower arrangements and other sentiments left in the
cells, as descendants of these Africans come back to remember their ancestors.
I am glad they keep these castles open and available for people to see so that
we can remember the past and those that suffered.
