The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began around the mid - fifteen century when Portuguese interest in Africa moved away from the fabled deposits of gold to a much more readily available commodity --slaves. By the seventeenth century the trade was in full swing, reaching a peak towards the end of eighteenth century . Slaves were imprisoned here in appalling dungeons prior to departure. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction along with nearby Elmina Castle and the Maison des Esclaves (slave house) at Gorée Island, Senegal. hich was especially fruitful, since every stage of the journey could be profitable for merchants -- the infamous triangular trade.Over the course of more than three and a half centuries, the forcible transportation in bondage of at least twelve million men, women, and children from their African homelands to the Americas changed forever the face and character of the modern world. The slave trade was brutal and horrific, and the enslavement of Africans was cruel, exploitative, and dehumanizing. Together, they represent one of the longest and most sustained assaults on the very life, integrity, and dignity of human beings in history.
In the Americas, besides the considerable riches their free labor created for others, the importation and subsequent enslavement of the Africans would be the major factor in the resettlement of the continents following the disastrous decline in their indigenous population. Between 1492 and 1776, an estimated 6.5 million people migrated to and settled in the Western Hemisphere. More than five out of six were Africans. Although victimized and exploited, they created a new, largely African, Creole society and their forced migration resulted in the emergence of the so-called Black Atlantic.
The transatlantic slave trade laid the foundation for modern capitalism, generating immense wealth for business enterprises in America and Europe. The trade contributed to the industrialization of northwestern Europe and created a single Atlantic world that included western Europe, western Africa, the Caribbean islands, and the mainlands of North and South America.
On the other hand, the overwhelming impact on Africa of its involvement in the creation of this modern world was negative. The continent experienced the loss of a significant part of its able-bodied population, which played a part in the social and political weakening of its societies that left them open, in the nineteenth century, to colonial domination and exploitation.
In the Americas, besides the considerable riches their free labor created for others, the importation and subsequent enslavement of the Africans would be the major factor in the resettlement of the continents following the disastrous decline in their indigenous population. Between 1492 and 1776, an estimated 6.5 million people migrated to and settled in the Western Hemisphere. More than five out of six were Africans. Although victimized and exploited, they created a new, largely African, Creole society and their forced migration resulted in the emergence of the so-called Black Atlantic.
The transatlantic slave trade laid the foundation for modern capitalism, generating immense wealth for business enterprises in America and Europe. The trade contributed to the industrialization of northwestern Europe and created a single Atlantic world that included western Europe, western Africa, the Caribbean islands, and the mainlands of North and South America.
On the other hand, the overwhelming impact on Africa of its involvement in the creation of this modern world was negative. The continent experienced the loss of a significant part of its able-bodied population, which played a part in the social and political weakening of its societies that left them open, in the nineteenth century, to colonial domination and exploitation.
The Door of No Return
This was the door leading to the slave ships. When a slave walked through this door he was leaving his African homeland forever. The door of no return. Slaves were kept here for an average of two months under the most inhumane conditions. Those who survived captivity here left the castle through this door to be taken to the slave ships, never to return to Africa."The door of no return" is literally a small door that led through the outer walls of the Castle where slaves were lowered into boats (exactly like the pirogues you see today), and then onto the big slaving ships waiting further out at sea. Slave ships would go from castle to castle collecting slaves until they were full enough to set sail across the Atlantic. Once a slave passed through the "door" they would never return to Africa again.At the seaboard side of the castle was the 'Door of No Return', the portal through which slaves boarded the ships that would take them on the treacherous journey across the Atlantic known as the Middle Passage. By the 18th century, 30,000 slaves on their way to North and South America passed through Elmina's Door of No Return each year.The castle was sold to the British in the 1872, together with all other Dutch castles on the Gold Coast. As slavery was outlawed in Britain in 1807, it would not have been used to transfer slaves while owned by the British.
While used by the British it was used to imprison the King of the Kumasi based Ashanti in 1896-97 before he and his followers were exiled to Freetown, Sierra Leone and in 1900 on Maha in the Seychelles, retuning in 1924, in 1926 gained a ceremonial role and in 1936 regaining the role as leader of the Ashanti People. While they were held at Elmina the King was held in one of the large rooms on the roof of the castle, on the seaward side and his main supporters in the second one on the landward side.The castle has had many uses since including at one point being the training center for the police.
Today, Elmina's economy is sustained by tourism and fishing. Elmina Castle is preserved as a Ghanaian national museum and monument and is designated as a World Heritage Monument under UNESCO. It offers daily historical tours and is an extremely popular destination for African American tourists seeking to connect with their heritage.
While used by the British it was used to imprison the King of the Kumasi based Ashanti in 1896-97 before he and his followers were exiled to Freetown, Sierra Leone and in 1900 on Maha in the Seychelles, retuning in 1924, in 1926 gained a ceremonial role and in 1936 regaining the role as leader of the Ashanti People. While they were held at Elmina the King was held in one of the large rooms on the roof of the castle, on the seaward side and his main supporters in the second one on the landward side.The castle has had many uses since including at one point being the training center for the police.
Today, Elmina's economy is sustained by tourism and fishing. Elmina Castle is preserved as a Ghanaian national museum and monument and is designated as a World Heritage Monument under UNESCO. It offers daily historical tours and is an extremely popular destination for African American tourists seeking to connect with their heritage.