Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles

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Elmina and Cape Coast are two coastal cities that served as ports in colonial times, and their 15th-century castles still stand. Their histories are hideous.

Elmina castle was built in 1482 by the Portugese and served as a trading post for ivory, gold, and later slaves. It was captured by the Dutch in 1637 then purchased by the English in 1872. During 300 years of slave trading, more captives passed through this castle than any other trading post in Africa.

As slaves became the focus of commerce, the castles storerooms were converted to dungeons and held up to 1200 slaves at a time. A damp stone room about 4m x 8m held 200 men in near darkness for up to six weeks. A few small holes near the ceiling provided the only light and ventilation; the rooms were stifling in the tropical climate. Slaves were fed just enough to keep them alive for sale and were forced to live in the dungeons with their own excrement. In one dungeon, a line painted on the wall marked the level of human excrement that had been cleared out of the chamber by the British after the abolition of slavery. The line was about at my knees.

At Elmina, the women’s dungeons emptied out into a courtyard the was overlooked by the governor’s quarters. It featured a special staircase that ascended directly to his apartment. It is said that he would order all of the women out into this courtyard, look down from his balcony, and select one. If the chosen woman refused to ascend the staircase she was beaten and shackled to a ball and chain to be left in the burning sun in the courtyard.

The regular rape of captive women over the years created a population of mixed children. A woman who became pregnant during her time at the castle was kept in town until she gave birth. The children were supported by their fathers. The first schools in West Africa were built here, specifically to educate the illegitimate children of slave traders. Their mothers, of course, were thrown back into the dungeons after the child was born and sold into servitude in the New World.

Captives who caused problems (attacked guards, etc.) were held in a “punishment cell” with even less light, less ventilation, more crowding, and no food or water. Those who died were left chained to the others. At Elmina this chamber was marked with a skull and crossbones above the door. At Cape coast the floor and walls of the punishment cell were deformed by gouges dug by the fingers and shackles of desperate, dying people, indelible evidence of the atrocities committed here.

After up to six weeks in the castle, captives who survived were herded down special tunnels to the “door of no return” where they were loaded into the infamous holds of slave ships. The dreaded door was made especially low and narrow to force captives to exit one at a time, minimizing their chances of escape.

Today these castles draw a lot of tourists and are dedicated to the memory of all those who passed through. Above ground they are picturesque and house art galleries featuring impressive work from modern Ghanaian painters. After a horrifying historical tour, a glimpse at the blossoming sophistication of modern African art gave a sense of healing, optimism, and cultural pride.

A plaque at the entrance of Elmina Castle reflects this sentiment:

“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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