Our afternoon destination was Elmina Castle. On Tracy’s recommendation, Catherine, Mark, Cynthia, and I requested that Robert be our guide. He wrote the book on the African slave trade.
Our tour began in the courtyard, beneath the governor’s balcony. We proceeded to the dungeons where male and female slaves-to-be were held. We passed through the point of no return to the narrow doorway that led to moored slave ships. Conditions were appalling (little light, little air, little food) with a purpose: weak prisoners are less likely to rise up against their captors. It is estimated that two-thirds of the enslaved failed to reach their destination alive. Those who died in the castle were thrown into the sea with stones tied to their waists. To this day, human bones occasionally wash ashore.
Later, we ascended to the governor’s residence. The contrast couldn’t be more striking. Well-placed windows allowed both light and pleasant breezes to flow through the residence, making even this scorching day bearable. I wondered if there was ever a steeper spatial gradient of the human condition: two flights of stairs separated a colonial palace from slavery.
The lucrative nature of the slave trade made the more than 100 castles and forts along the African coast sites of armed conflict. Roof defences were advantageous, and the Portuguese and Dutch traded ownership of Elmina over several hundred years. Both countries also erected chapels on site. (The Dutch Reformed chapel bears an inscription of Psalm 132.) I wondered if there was ever a steeper gradient of hypocrisy: one flight of stairs separated acts of worship from acts of enslavement and torture.
Today, we were fortunate to return from the point of no return. But many of the three million Africans who passed through Elmina did not. Now, the castle is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Dutch have contributed funds for its preservation, and contemporary chiefs pledged “never again.”
There are so many things to ponder after today: collective responsibility, reparations, the evils of colonialism, and the role of Christianity to name a few. Indeed, a visit to Elmina provides yet another opportunity to reflect on the fact that the effects of slavery are not behind us. And, sadly, we humans continue to perpetrate other evils upon each other.
All those are important, but I left Elmina today with an overwhealming sense of the worldwide scale and unimaginable atrocity of the slave trade. All of which makes me wonder if we, even now, are making similarly horrendous errors in judgment with associated moral failings. If so, what would they be? And, would I have the courage to speak against them?
—Matt
