Today we toured two slave castles: the slave castle at El Mina and at Cape Coast. The slave castles are where slaves were held before being traded in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. They were held for three months or longer in dungeons separated by gender. A tunnel connected the dungeons to what was called “the door of no return,” where the slaves exited the castle and were put on the ship.
A memorial inside the dungeon at El Mina
An interior view from the Cape Coast slave castle
These tours were very heavy on the heart. I couldn’t help but feel cheated by the American education system for never having thoroughly learned about this part of history, especially when it is so intimately tied to American history. I had no idea that slaves were held for months prior to stepping on a boat in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It deeply saddens me that this part of history is so marginalized. I believe that for many of us, the first time we truly learned the extent about the trans-Atlantic slave trade was on this trip. There is no awareness about this slice of history despite the fact that it spanned hundreds of years and so severely impacted and displaced millions of innocent people. It was surreal to see scratch marks on dungeon walls and to approach the Door of No Return. It was deplorable to learn about the dehumanizing conditions that the slaves were subjected to in captivity. Then, in both castles, the colonizing country had a church literally above the dungeons. They went to church feet above the ground from where the slaves were held in captivity. It blows my mind that it took so long to question the morality of this practice.
The above image, taken outside of the Cape Coast slave castle, is very illustrative of how women carry items on the heads and babies on their backs. It makes practical sense, because then the woman is free to use her hands. I have seen women carrying bowls of melons, tires, amplifiers--I even saw one woman carrying four mattresses on her head. It is very impressive. Even when not carrying items on their heads, the women have incredible posture.
