Along a map of West Africa along the Atlantic coast, it’s easy to find Senegal, the westernmost country in Africa. If you stand by the harbour of Dakar, the capital of this country, you can see the island of Goree, 3 kilometers away. This famous island stands alone in the Atlantic Ocean. There are not many beautiful scenery and splendid art places on the island, only stone buildings left over from the colonial period, well-preserved slave forts, forts and unique houses. Living next to each other silently shows the suffering history of the African people being invaded, enslaved and oppressed by Western colonialists.
The ruins on this small island are of unique value, and it is the darkest and most barbaric portrayal in human history, showing the evil of human nature. But at the same time, it reflects the splendid civilization at the end of the 18th century, and the architectural style of the island reflects the contradiction between civilization and barbarism. In order to better remember this history and protect the historical relics on the island, the United Nations declared Goree Island as a cultural heritage of all mankind in 1978.
Part01
Slave trade, cruel and dark history
Goree Island is formed by the solidification of black basalt lava flow, like a black pearl inlaid in the blue Atlantic Ocean. The Senegal region where it is located is a well-known “beauty nest” in Africa. African women in Senegal are recognized as “good-looking”, with three-dimensional features and tall stature, which often make people shine. Today there are many Senegalese girls working as models, singers and actors in France. But at the time, this beauty brought suffering. As one of the earliest colonies developed by Europeans in West Africa, Goree Island has been colonized by many countries. Originally occupied by Portugal as an anchorage for ships, and later robbed by Spain, the Netherlands also ruled the island and left Gore (meaning good anchorage) as the name of the island, which was also used here for hundreds of years. It is a battleground between Britain and France.
Goree Island is the westernmost island in Africa. The three springs on the island are the best freshwater supply points for voyage ships, so it has become the foothold for European colonists to land on the African continent. The area of Goree Island is less than 0.3 square kilometers, but it is an important transit point for the colonists. The slave trade they lead is like a sharp dagger, tearing apart the African continent. According to records, from 1444 when the first Portuguese landed on Goree Island to 1848, this period of dark colonial rule cost Africa more than 100 million young and middle-aged people, and the black people transported from the slave fort on Goree Island There were about 20 million slaves, and 5 million died on the island.
Goree Island is the westernmost island in Africa. The three springs on the island are the best freshwater supply points for voyage ships, so it has become the foothold for European colonists to land on the African continent. The area of Goree Island is less than 0.3 square kilometers, but it is an important transit point for the colonists. The slave trade they lead is like a sharp dagger, tearing apart the African continent. According to records, from 1444 when the first Portuguese landed on Goree Island to 1848, this period of dark colonial rule cost Africa more than 100 million young and middle-aged people, and the black people transported from the slave fort on Goree Island There were about 20 million slaves, and 5 million died on the island.
Goree Island was the staging point for the 400-year-old slave trade. Slaves were forced to come to Goree Island, where they were pinched by both sides of the transaction like livestock, and they were also sent to auctions for auction, completely losing their basic human dignity. After picking the deal, they were put on a boat naked. After the male slaves were escorted onto the ship, they would be locked in small cages. These cages filled the small interior space of the cabin, and the dark and narrow cabin exuded a stench and disgusting smell. The harsh living environment caused many black slaves to break down emotionally. Coupled with the fact that they could only get very little food every day, countless blacks starved to death along the way.
During the long transportation process, if the slaves were unfortunately infected with diseases or injuries, they would not receive greetings, care and medical treatment, and could only die on the transport ship, and then be thrown into the sea by the crew as fish food. On the ship that transported black slaves, young female slaves were concentrated on the deck, and they were abused by the crew in every way. Greedy transporters even forced female slaves to have children with male slaves in order to get more “goods”. After these children are born and grow up, they will continue the tragedy of their parents and be sold to various estates in the Americas as lifelong slaves for slave owners to drive. The black slaves who landed were no better. They face endless heavy farm work and work every day, there is almost no rest time, and there is no guarantee of food and clothing. Even data shows that farmers will replace a new batch of black slaves in about seven years, because most black slaves are unbearable. He was heavily burdened and lost his life in about seven years.
Part02
The Door of No Return on the Slave Fort, the Witness of the Triangular Trade
Now on the island, people can still see a well-preserved slave fort. This solid building of wood and stone structure, built hundreds of years ago, consists of upper and lower floors. The floor-floored, sunny and well-conditioned room upstairs was the residence of the slave traders at that time; the downstairs was a slave cell of about five or six square meters. The whole cell had no windows, was dark, damp and dirty. It’s hell. A slave cell, once imprisoned the body and soul of countless black slaves. The cells were divided into men’s, women’s and children’s rooms, and there were only a few small holes in the wall for slave traders to monitor the movements of slaves.
01
These narrow and dark cells can hold 500 to 600 people at a time, and one cell can hold 15 to 20 slaves at the same time. They were shackled and tied with a large 14-pound iron ball to prevent escape. Between the prison cells, there is a long, narrow and gloomy passage. The stone gate in the middle of the passage faces the rough Atlantic Ocean. It is from here that thousands of black slaves were escorted onto ships and shipped to America. material. This voyage was a death voyage, and the slaves were stuffed into the overloaded cabin, like books lined up on a bookshelf, and could only occupy a small space. In order to prevent them from escaping, the slave traders locked each of them together, even if they jumped into the sea, they could only become food for sharks. Dirty air, infectious diseases and lack of fresh water have killed many people on the way. This stone gate is the starting point for the black slaves to move towards the “New World”, and it is also a distance that will never go back, so people have given this gate a sad name – the gate of no return.
There are two “special” rooms in Slave Fort on Goree Island, one is called the “fat room” and the other is called the “punishment room”. In the slave trade market, the price of male slaves is determined by weight, female slaves are based on beauty and chastity, and children are determined by their teeth to determine their age and then set prices. The appearance of the fattening room was naturally because the slave traders wanted to “sell a good price” for their slaves. They force-feed underweight slaves, like some unscrupulous traders who sell geese and ducks, to rapidly gain weight for maximum profit. The Punishment Room is for disobedient slaves with a sense of resistance. The punishment method is as follows: the slaves are kept in groups of four or five in a small punishment room that can only be half-squatted, and food and water are not provided. In a dark space where no normal adult could stand, the slaves suffered inhuman torture and had to be obedient in the end. In today’s Slave Fort, the place where the slave traders once lived has been turned into a museum. In the museum, the shackles used to bind the hands and feet of slaves, iron balls specially made to prevent slaves from escaping, and weapons left by European colonists can still be found.
The cannons of the past are displayed here, which are the tools and evidence of the crimes of the Western colonists, as well as more books and collections from the slave trade period.
Residents of the island often spontaneously tell this dark history for tourists, and many black people also list this place as a must-see. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that the international community gradually abolished the slave trade due to economic and political factors, the continuous abolition movement launched by religious groups in North America and the United Kingdom, the signature petitions and public gatherings of a large number of people, and the perseverance of black slave uprisings. Let this evil trade remain forever in the past.
Part03
Civilization and barbarism intertwined, emerging West African art center
Goree Island has been colonized by many countries, but before Senegal’s independence, the island was under French rule for most of the time. This makes the island full of bright and romantic French architecture. The rich and rich colors, baroque-style pointed arches, and wrought iron street lamps exude a strong European atmosphere. These buildings are two stories high like slave castles. Facing the same Atlantic Ocean, the colonists and innocent slaves living on the upper and lower floors are in completely different situations. In the second half of the 18th century, gradually more public buildings were built on the island: hospitals, schools, theatres, monasteries…
Goree Island has transformed from a settled transit point to a small society. The original simple architectural design of West Africa and the romantic colonnade of Europe have been mixed and bloomed one after another. A manifestation intertwined with barbarism. Today, Goree Island has become a tourist destination, with more than a thousand Aboriginal people living on the island. The colorful and unique colonial buildings and the historical culture behind them attract more and more tourists. There are installation art full of historical sense everywhere: many villains made of discarded objects, combined with the historical background of Goree Island itself, are moving; and the ships built with discarded objects will never sail to the abyss of sin… …
go through long hardships
Gore Island is vibrant today
brightly colored boats
happy local life
It shows that the sufferings of the past have become the past
The heavy history and the dazzling architectural style have made the island of Goree favored by many tourists, and in recent years, the island has a new development direction – the emerging West African art center. The theater built by the early colonists has been dilapidated, and now it is an open-air theater, where people often perform and attract many people to watch together. Every summer, curators and collectors from all over the world come here to host several art festivals. At that time, courtyards and villas with different styles on the island would become temporary art exhibition venues.
The art groups who come to participate in the festival are roughly divided into two categories: artists living overseas and local creative forces. The Senegalese government will provide extremely favorable rent as a precondition to attract more artists not only to come to the exhibition, but to stay on the island for a long time to create. Many of the local artists are from the Dakar Academy of Art who have studied systematically, and their works tend to be modern and bold in color. Today, there are many painting and sculpture studios hidden on the island of Goree, making it always full of active artistic atmosphere. Among many arts, sand painting is quite representative. The sand here is not dyed, but natural sand from Senegal. The black comes from the volcano, the red comes from the Sahara desert, and the yellow comes from the island beach. Artists brush a layer of glue on thin wooden boards, and then use these natural sands to create. In just a few minutes, a complete African landscape or portrait can appear.
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