Born and raised in Ghana, I had no way I could escape the history of the country. We were taught Ghanaian history right from Elementary School which we call it Primary School. From Primary school to University, one must know the concept of Ghanaian history, and Cape Coast Castle which is based in the Central Region of Ghana was the most interesting of it all due to Slavery. Before our Independence in 1957, Ghana was initially called the Gold Coast due to the mineral resource we had. These mineral resources attracted European countries to our country. The first country to set foot on our home soil were the Portuguese around the 15th century. As they settled in, they demanded human labor which later turned into slavery. They used the castle to keep slaves and as well trade them to the Americas and Caribbean. Majority of West African slaves were shipped to other countries as well but didn’t make it at sea during the middle passage. When a slave was being shipped, and they end up being sick, they are thrown into the sea to perish. The castle was the final stop in several ways. Most slaves who were being shipped like cargo experienced the castle as the last place they stepped foot on the grounds of Gold Coast. While the Portuguese continued to use the Castle as a trade lodge, the Swedish people took over by constructing a permanent wooden fortress for trade in timber and Gold. The Danes took over ten years later by practicing the same act as their predecessors. As the British took over the Danes, they registered the castle as their headquarters colonial governor. About 1,500 slaves were packed in the castle dank. These danks were badly ventilated, less room to lay down, people sleeping in their mates’ waste which caused a lot of illness. Majority of women were raped by these colonial masters which were very terrifying. As Gold Coast fought for their Independence under the British Colony, they became the first African country to regain their Independence since slavery was eventually stopped because of the British ban on the slave trade. As for now, The Cape Coast Castle is now a tourist attraction where people go to see a lot. It has attracted well-known people to visit such as Ex. President Obama and his family.
My culture is very similar to yours; in Colombia, we also call the Elementary School a Primary School and history was a big subject in my studies while growing up back home. As people say that history repeats itself, I find it very similar to how my country was invaded by the Spanish looking for natural resources, mainly gold. They also brought a lot of slaves from Africa to what we know as South America today.
From your post, I was shocked to learn about how they would deal with sick people; it is entirely inhumane to treat a person as property. All of these countries that took possession of what it wasn’t theirs created a war and disaster for the gold and timber that belong to Ghana. Places like the Cape Coast Castle should remain intact, because as we learned in class that history also shapes our cultural beliefs.
I love your post!! Being apart of the Jamaican maroons I grew up hearing stories of how my ancestors came to be in Jamaica. No matter how many times I hear the stories I am still shocked by the level of cruelty my ancestors endured. But I am happy to know that the stories are still being told particularly in Africa because so many times it seems like its only a story for those of the diaspora. I found it interesting that Ghana was the first African country to win its independence, I never knew that. Its great to know that from everything the country has endured that you all were able to rebuild.
This is awesome!! And that picture is beautiful!! I hope to visit African one day. I think people do not realize how rich Ghana is with resources. Most of Africa’s resources get extracted out. However, I didn’t know that about slavery, but that is very interesting. It is interesting that so many people can be living under bad conditions in such a beautiful place.