Take a close look at the coast of Ghana, and you will find myriad ancient castles and forts. Marking the beginning of the slaves’ perilous journey during the era of the slave trade, these fortresses were the last memory slaves had of their homeland before being shipped off across the Atlantic, never to return again.
Between 1482 and 1786, clusters of castles and forts were erected along the 500 kilometer-long coastline of Ghana between Keta in the East and Beyin in the west. Placed strategically as links in the trade routes established by the Portuguese in the 15th century, who were the first settlers on the Gold Coast, the forts thereafter were seized, attacked, exchanged, sold and abandoned during almost four centuries of struggle between European powers for domination over the Gold Coast.
As early as the 1500s, the settlers’ interest turned to the slave trade in light of the growing demand for human labor in the New World (the Americas and the Caribbean). From holding gold, ivory and other wares, the castles gradually imprisoned slaves, who were reduced to yet another commodity. The majestic fortresses along Ghana’s breathtaking coast housed dark dungeons, overflowing with misery and despair, right up until the slave trade was gradually abolished by each of the colonial powers in the first half of the 1800s.
But by this point, the irreversible and immeasurable damage was done, and from West Africa alone it is estimated that six million slaves had been shipped to other countries. About 10-15% perished at sea during the so-called Middle Passage, never reaching their final destination.
The castles were the ultimate stop in many ways. They provided the last experience that men and women had in their homeland before their final departure. For those who didn’t make it to the new world, the castles were the last place they ever saw on land. The last shreds of hope would wither away with every day of captivity in the castle.
On the seaboard side of the coastal slave castles, was ‘the door of no return’, a portal through which the slaves were lowered into boats, and then loaded like cargo onto big slaving ships further out at sea, never to set foot in their homeland again and with a final goodbye to the freedom they once knew.
One of the most famous castles in Ghana’s dark episode of slavery is the St. George’s Castle (Elmina Castle).
Situated in the town of Elmina (the mines) about 13 kilometers from the Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle is the oldest European structure in Ghana; the castle’s construction began in 1482 following the arrival of the Portuguese on the Gold Coast in 1471, and served to protect the Portuguese settlement area, named São Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mines).
Over the decades, various parts of the Castle were rebuilt, with trade remaining its main focus. However, by the 17th century most of this trade was in people. In 1637, the Dutch seized control of the Gold Coast and continued to use the Elmina Castle as a place to ‘store’ slaves until their departure. The Dutch made some substantial changes to the Castle, such as setting up a marketplace where slaves could be auctioned.
The conditions were similar to that of the neighboring Cape Coast Castle. In the dungeons light could only enter through the doorways or a few small holes at either end of the ceiling. Any revolt was harshly disciplined. Men were sent to the condemned cell with no lighting and were starved to death, while women were beaten and chained to cannon balls in the courtyard.
Mindful of possible attacks, the Dutch built a bastion, Fort Coenraadsburg (also known as St. Jago), on the hill opposite Elmina Castle, which overlooked its big brother’s house of horrors.
Under the rule of the Dutch West Indies Company, around 30,000 slaves a year passed through Elmina’s door of no return, right up until 1814 when the Dutch slave trade was abolished, seven years after the British. Ceded to the British in 1872, Elmina Castle was hardly in use until Ghana’s independence. Thereafter it became a training center for Ghanaian police recruits and surprisingly a school (Ghana Secondary Technical School – GSTS) for some time.
The School was relocated to Elmina Castle to make way for the Royal Air Force (RAF) with the outbreak of World War II. Whiles the school was school’s actual campus in Takoradi was serving as camp base for World War II, the castle was woefully unsuitable for a school and a few alterations were required before it could house a school.
The days of the slave trade may be long gone, but the interior of the castle is still a haunting reminder of the past. Not knowing what awaited them on the slave ships, those who made it to Elmina Castle were held captives in the castle’s dungeons and subjected to all kinds of indignities, torture and humiliation. The dark, airless dungeons in the basements were oppressive and received sunlight from only two tiny windows.
Slave traders would cram more than 1,000 slaves, with no water or sanitation, into a space that could barely fit around 200 people. These dungeons were uncomfortably cramped, filthy, and outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever were common. Food was scarce and disease was rampant. Prisoners sometimes had to spend up to three months in such unsanitary conditions before they were shipped to the New World. At the seaboard side of the castle is the infamous ‘Door of No Return’, which was a portal where slaves boarded ships that would take them on the treacherous journey across the Atlantic known as the Middle Passage.
Revolts by slaves at Elmina were met with strong oppression. Some captives were either murdered outright, while others were placed in solitary confinement in an airtight, dark holding facility in the courtyard where they were starved to death. Thousands of slaves, both men and women, were chained outside and forced to stand in the blazing sun. They could be made to lift heavy cannonballs as punishment and women were often raped by the guards.
Elmina Castle, like other West African slave sites, also housed luxury suites for Europeans in the upper levels of the castle. Upstairs, the officers’ quarters were light and spacious with parquet floors and gorgeous sea views. It is difficult to imagine how they could live such a life of comfort while thousands languished beneath their feet.
Despite its atrocities, the castle also once served as a missionary sanctuary and housed a church.
Today, Elmina Castle is preserved as a Ghanaian national monument and it was designated as a World Heritage Monument under UNESCO in 1972. It is an extremely popular destination for African American tourists seeking to connect with their heritage and a powerful reminder of the history of the slave trade. However, unfortunately the castle has begun to fall into disrepair due to lack of maintenance.
“The road leading to the fort has partly been washed by sea waves and outboard motor mechanics are also using part of the road as fitting shops,” reports MyJoyOnline.
The 30 or so surviving castles and forts found along Ghana’s coast bear witness to the largest forced migration in history and also to the atrocities humanity is capable of committing. Elmina Castle now pays respect to the millions of people who suffered at the hands of slavery.
A plaque next to the condemned dungeon door which reads: “ In Everlasting Memory of the anguish of our ancestors. May those who died rest in peace. May those who return find their roots. May humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity. We, the living, vow to uphold this.
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