Castles and Dungeons

I visited two castles: Cape Coast and Elmina. These were the two castles that the captives from Assin Manso were taken to before they were put on ships and sailed to their new world. Elmina Castle was established in the 14th century as a trading post. Guns, liquor and cloth was traded for gold, spices, and slaves.

Cape Coast Castle was owned by the English. When they abolished the slave trade in 1807, they symbolically closed off the "door of no return." Elmina Castle was mostly owned by the Portuguese, Dutch, English, and currently the Ghanaians. Both castles have the same basic functional rooms that I will discuss here:

The "door of not return" is the name of the passageway from the castle to the ship. It was the last door the slaves went through, before they left Ghana.

We also visited the "condemnation cell." Here, unruly or unhealthy slaves were put. The room lacked ventilation and the occupants were not fed or given water. They were kept there until all of the occupants died, and then, their bodies were thrown into the water.

Men Slave Dungeon: Larger than the women's dungeon. Dark, underground level with little ventilation windows that were installed at a slant so the rain water could pour down and wash the dungeon out. The flooring was slanted and there is a trough in the middle that leads to the door of no return/exit. Ironically, the church was located above the men slave dungeon in Cape Coast Castle. In Elmina Castle, around 600 men were held at a time.

Women Slave Dungeon: This was smaller than the men's dungeon (women captives were worth less). Elmina Castle held around 400+ women at a time. This dungeon's floor was permanently stained and there was a smell that would never go away. After the women marched 1-2 months from Assin Manso, they put on the auction block and then the dungeon. The only ventilation in their dungeon was a small opening that connected with the magazine (where the weapons and ammunition were kept). The urine, menstrual blood, feces, and other body fluids have remained on the dungeon floor. However, there is a courtyard that the women were told to go out onto regularly. The govenor's room was above the courtyard and he is said to have stood on a balcony and chosen the slave he would rape. She would be cleaned up and brought to his room using a special trapdoor. If the woman refused she would be chained to a cannonball in the courtyard until she learned how to comply correctly.

Auction house: Both castles had rooms that were used as auction blocks. The slaves were brought in and sold before they went into their respective dungeons. In Elmina Castle, the Dutch had used their room as a church. An inscription was placed in this room: Psalms "God lives in this room."