Cape Coast in the central region of Ghana is a popular destination for tourists. Old European castles, the last stop of the African side of the slave trade, have been turned into museams. Slavery existed in Western Africa before the Europeans, but the conditions for the slaves rapidly deteriorated after the Europeans arrival. Chiefs sold and delivered their slaves the Castles like those in Cape Coast and Elmina. The dungeons were creepy. On entry, the guide turned off the light. I swear, you could feel ghosts bumping into you. Three dungeons just like the one to left were in the Cape Coast Castle. 200 or more men were crammed in. Sleep, defecation, urination, eating, was all done in this cramped space. The slaves remained here for months, awaiting the ships to arrive. Death rates were high. See the small cave in the wall near the ceiling? It was a lookout point for the spy. If slaves incited trouble, the lookout would inform the wardens. Instigators were either tortured or all were deposited in a smaller dungeon where they were left to starve/dehydrate to death. When the ships arrived slaves exited through the doors of no return. To prevent runaways, a small panel was opened for the slaves who had to crawl through it one at a time.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 11:30:00 +0000
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