We arrived to Cape Coast around 5 p.m., the second day of our trip. This fort is located on the coast of the central region.
The Cape Coast fort is fairly impressive compared to the one located in Ouidah. The high fortifications protect the fort. Many cannons constitute its defence against eventual attacks, may they be coming from the sea or the land, indeed the fortress has been build by the sea.
We finally boarded for the building, which was as impressive from inside than outside. The biggest part was covered by the governor's apartments, offices and, separated from these, the soldiers' locals.
Two underground rooms were established for slaves. Not much air entered in the rooms by small openings. Each room could contain about 3000 slaves, they were all crushed together. A big amount of them died from wounds succeeding poor hygienic conditions and sickness. Indeed, small channels dug was the only way to evacuate excrements.
There were rarely some slaves who could manage to escape, those who were captured while they were escaping, they were locked in a special cell totally closed from exterior, there was no way to breath and they finally died slowly. We were able to see the marks left by the slaves during their agony.
We finally visited the fort museum and we saw the gate of no-return by which the slaves were aboard to be exported to America, Europe… Nowadays, on the outside part of the no-return gate, it has been writing "the gate of return", it's a symbolic tribute to the Diaspora who came to visit the fort and found these old origins.
It was a great visit, and we realised the horrible reality of the slavery.