THE GOLD COAST | Ghana, West Africa
Words and photographs by Adrenus Craton
The Gold Coast was a region of West Africa that is now known as the nation of Ghana. The Gold Coast, Slave Coast, and Ivory Coast were named after the resources there...
Many African kingdoms were sustained by massive deposits of gold in the soil. Hence, the first European settlement was by the Portuguese, who built the Castle of Elmina (meaning "the mine" referring to gold mining). It is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. From here they traded human workers, gold, knives, beads, mirrors, rum and guns.
The opening of European plantations in the Americas, during the 1500s, suddenly expanded the demand for human labour. Soon afterwards, the trade in humans overshadowed gold as the primary export from the area. Nearly 6.3 million persons from West Africa were sent as human cargo to North and South America until the importation eventually became outlawed.
A trip to Elmina Castle (with its incredible history) proved to be... well, subtly shocking (and several days later, very, very emotional). I went there thinking, "what more could I possibly learn about slavery??" I really thought I knew... but in reality, I had no idea.
More on this soon... perhaps. Namaste. ♥
(source: wikipedia & Nana, our guide)