During our first weekend in Ghana, we had the opportunity to learn about the histories of the slave trade along the coastal region. We visited two slave castles, Cape Coast and Elmina. This visit was a reminder of the brutal treatment Africans faced, even before reaching the middle passage– living in dungeons with little to no food, poor sanitation, and under constant threat of exploitation and violence from guards.
Taking photos in many parts of these slave castles felt intrusive. Those who had passed through these walls had experienced atrocities that I could not fathom. Some parts of these castles I could only experience with my own eyes, rather than through the eyes of my camera. What parts of the castle I did capture on my film camera are shown below.
Photos taken on a Minolta with B&W Ilford HP5 400 film:
Our cohort taking photos of the Elmina courtyard below. This is where the governor would stand to choose which woman he would force into his quarters.This is the view looking up from the courtyard, where women chosen by the governor would be in plain sight of other inmates and guards while they were publicly stripped and washed in the courtyard.A view of the city surrounding Elmina taken from behind a wall.A tour guide descends the stairs leading up to the governor’s quarters.A barred view of the city outside of Elmina.A crow stands next to a cannon pointed toward the entrance of Elmina.The top left and right towers in Elmina is where chiefs from native tribes were taken and imprisoned. Between them is a church, which sits on top of the slave dungeons.This is the ‘Door of No Return.’ This is where enslaved Africans, chained together, would squeeze through and load onto ships to be carried to Europe and the Americas. For many, this is the last time they would step foot on the African continent.A local stands along the coast line just outside of Cape Coast castle. These waters carried Africans away from the horrors of the castle onto new atrocities, as they were packed onto ships headed to be sold to Europe and the Americas.
“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.”
