The slave trade history is a very long and sad one. Everybody knows that the slaves were coming from Africa. Let's get to know a short part of this hard story by learning about some Ghanean slaves in Cape Coast. Cape Coast Castle was built by the British in 1665 and it took 50 years of work. For the construction wood, marble and other building materials were imported from England. The country had got a lot of gold as a result it was called "Gold Coast". At that time Cape Coast was the first capital.
Olivier Fandi

But in 1877, the capital was moved to Accra because of economical and political problems.
Maria Detchissambou

There was an important slave trade on the West Coast (Benin, Ghana and Ivory Coast). The British brought their products and swapped them for slaves. The latter were criminals, prisoners of tribal wars and particularly strong men. Their main destination was America. Between the 17th and the 19th century the slave trade had been very important on this coast. Indeed, the number of slaves deported from Africa is broadly 15 million of persons. It's only in 1807 that the British abolished the slave trade in England. Before that, slaves were caught in majority in the North. As there were not any transports, they walked to the South. The journey was very hard and dangerous, some of them died of exhaustion and because from attacks from wild animals. Once arrived in Cape Coast castle, slaves were put in chains , branded and parked in donjons. Females were less numerous than males. Moreover they were separated. In the donjons people were coming from different ethnic groups therefore they couldn't communicate. In addition many of them died of diseases like malaria, malnutrition, yellow fever and so on… People who tried to escape from the castle were put in a special cell and died of suffocation then they were thrown in the sea. When the boats of the British arrived the slaves passed into a tunnel and went directly into them.
Olivier Fandi

In the male slave donjon around 1000 persons lived inside. This number was really enormous in view of the fact that the donjon looked very small to contain these male slaves. In spite of its being small, the British put them in this donjon and chained them up to the wall; These male slaves who came from different ethnic groups walked barefooted from their villages up to Cape Coast Castle. They had to relieve themselves on the floor. For that the British built gutters in order to evacuate their faeces and their urines. For the ventilation , there was only a small window. There was also a small hole in the wall , so that the British can spy slaves' conversations. Historical dates : 1807 : slavery was abolished in England 1833 : slavery was abolished in all British colonies 1855 : slavery was still carried out in secret 1957 : independence of Ghana In Cape Coast Castle there were black cannons and cannonballs on the floor which allowed the British to protect themselves against pirates : the Dutch, the Danish and the French.
Zouliath Gibirila

The slaves had very bad life conditions in Cape Coast Castle but the British had some comfort. First, in the courtyard there is a well with pore water to clean the British part and to cook. Secondly, the floor of the British passage was made with marble which came from Italy because there was no marble in England.
Pascale Prudent

Finally there were two very important men to be buried in Cape Coast Castle. Philip Ouapo and George Mackley. Philip Ouapo, an Anglican pastor , was the first Ghanean to be trained in England. He set up the first school for children of African women and European men. Unfortunately he died in 1816 (October 17th). The second was George Mackley who was governor of the fort. He was Scottish and his wife Leaticia Elizabeth was British. Today, the castle has become an important place for the people who want to know more about their origins. That is why the state decided to clean the donjon in 1974.
Maria Detchissambou

In my opinion the visit of the castle was not only the most interesting but also the most moving. Indeed I learned a lot about African history. Moreover I was shocked by the people's conditions of detention as soon as I came into the donjons and also by the way they killed people into the cell. I felt sad and very angry when I realized that these slaves were my ancestors? During the visit the more I learnt about the slave trade, the more I was aware of the disaster of this scourge. In spite of my knowing that "white people" were not the only guilty ones I felt a little hatred for them. Finally by passing through the 'Door of no return" I had a thought for all black people who left without having been able to come back again.
Olivier Fandi

First of all I was shocked by the living conditions of the slaves. Genuinely it was infamous. I imagine their sufferings; Then, I wonder really who was in the wrong in all that.. Indeed I believe it came from our African kings who accepted to exchange our brothers against goods. They thought only to get rich . What the slaves became was not their problem. , they could die. But if the African kings had refused to exchange our brothers against goods, I think that we would not have witnessed what we call today "the triangular trade". But the deed has already been done. We can't draw back. Now, we must see to it that this phenomenon never comes back again.
Zouliath Gibirila