Cape Coast Slave Castle

Prior to my arrival in Apam, I got the opportunity to go to Cape Coast for a tour of the slave castle, which has a very interesting history. The castle was initially built by Swedes in 1650 for use in trading timber and gold. The castle was then taken over by the British in 1660 and remained under their control until 1662. During this period, large underground dungeons were built that held the slaves before they were loaded onto ships that took them to the Caribbean and the Americas. In 1663, the Dutch captured it and the English again took over in 1664 and retained control until 1673. The tour guide stated that the castle held about 1300 men and women who were held in separate dungeons and those who resisted were separated from the group and placed into the 'condemned cell' that was very small. In this cell, the slaves were denied food, water, and light along with oxygen until they eventually suffocated. Other slaves were then required to pack up their bodies and dump them into the ocean, which also served as warning to the others to not act up.

The castle from the back side

Inside of the male slave dungeons; the lights were added during the restoration so when the castle was in operation, the dungeons remained dark, except for one tiny window in each chamber

Entrance to the male slave dungeons

The Cape Coast slave castle has been called 'The Point of No Return' and the doors that lead out of the castle towards the water have been labelled as such to reflect that millions of slaves that passed through those doors and were loaded onto ships never returned home to their families and homeland. Many died while on the ships from sickness and hunger and those who did survive, suffered greatly in slavery as we know.

The door of no return

I find it difficult to express in words exactly how I felt during the tour but I can say that it was a very emotional experience, particularly to stand in dungeons that had once held the slaves and walk the very steps that many slaves had walked before, never to return again. It was a humbling experience and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to have learned more about slavery and its history.


~J