Elmina Castle – Misery prevails and I got a marriage proposal.

Elmina castle is another fort in Cape Coast with a grizzly past. It was built by the Portuguese in 1482 as a trade settlement.

In 1657 it was seized by the Dutch and its strategic position on the Gold Coast made it, like Cape Castle an important establishment for the Atlantic slave trade. This continued till 1814 and in 1872 the fort was finally possessed by Britain.  The slaves here fared no better than at Cape Castle.

Hundreds of slaves were crammed into barely lit dungeons, sometimes for as long as three months at a time. There was no place to lie down and no facilities for body wastes making diseases rampant. Eventually these poor wretched souls would be led through “the door of no return” and shipped, more often than not to Brazil.

In stark contrast to the captive slave quarters the Governors lived in bright airy rooms with beautiful parquet floors, able to enjoy the fresh Atlantic sea breezes. The fort also had a chapel used by the foreign traders and officers who went about their business shamelessly ignoring the suffering around them.

Most people come here by taxi as it’s a little further out of town and there is a small entrance fee which will include a guided tour.

I was reluctant to leave this fort having made a bit of an impression on one of the local vendors that hang around outside the grounds. In fact it was a bit more than a bit and when I finally emerged I had a declaration of undying love declared on a beautifully inscribed shell.

Sadly it was not to be and remains a case of unrequited love, at least for my part