Take a close look at the coast of Ghana and you will find a myriad of ancient castles and fortresses. These buildings marked the beginning of a 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 Ocean, never to return again.
Between 1482 and 1786, clusters of castles and forts were erected along the 500 kilometer-long coastline of Ghana. Inbetween, Keta in the East, and Beyin to the west. Back in that time period, Ghana was called the Gold Coast, due to its vast quantities of gold. These strongholds served as fortified trading posts, offering protection from other foreign settlers and threats from the African population. These new fortifications were placed strategically as links in the trade routes established by the Portuguese in the 15th century. The Portuguese Empire was the first settler 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 Islands). At first the castles started by holding gold, ivory and other wares. The within the castles slaves were gradually imprisoned, 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 point 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. Anywhere from 10-15% of the shipped slaves perished at sea, during the so-called Middle Passage, never reaching their final destination