Slave Castles at Elmina and Cape Coast

Elmina Slave Castle (ruled principally by the dutch)

Reflection on Slave Castles at Cape Coast and Elmina.

The slave castles showed me a side of my culture that is often laid aside, swept into a corner. Sure, we celebrate those African Americans who had a great impact on the culture of the Americas. We are told of some stories of the hardships faced by the African- Americans. But we do not personalize this history. We hold it at armslength. It is more comfortable there-safer. I think this is one of our greatest weaknesses, that we find it so easy to critique others failures yet so difficult to apply them to ourselves. Obviously I do not think that slavery will be repeated but discrimination is ever present. The principle fault of the slave traders was that they did not see the Africans as people. The ignorance shown by the Europeans is hard to believe. That they did not recognize the abilities and nobility of this race, inexcusable. Something as flippant and insignificant as skin colour was enough to stop them from realizing their similarities. Still does. There is no small form of discrimination. There is no form which can be forgiven. 

Cape Coast Castle (ruled principally by the English)

View of battlements at Cape Coast

            Walking through the slave castles and seeing the disgusting practices that were carried out here really brought it home. The only history I learned in school was the short description of the African slaves in the Americas. It was so much bigger then that. Here I learned about the cultures in Africa before the slave trade. The cultures that were abruptly halted as a result of the slave trade. In a culture where family group and ancestry was even more important then in Western society, being separated from your relatives and ancestors is a nightmare.  This was compounded by livestock-like living conditions, and cruel treatment. One room was set aside for those who were sentenced to death because they broke a law. They put twenty slaves in this small room. They would wait until the last person was dead before removing the bodies. In the ships they were stacked head to toe with other slaves. Chained to the ground. Because they were cramped so closely in the slave castle, and they were deathly tired, they were forced relieve themselves on the ground where they slept. The males and females were separated until they were put on the slave ships. Families were separated even within the same castle. Slaves were branded on the forehead for which country they belonged.  These are only some of the atrocities that were done here. 

It was an eye-opening experience and not one I will soon forget.