Island of Goreia, Senegal

A Slave Island of Slavery


on this side of the Atlantic
Inhabitants of Goreia bathe in the translucent waters around the island.
Non-return door I
Visitors create silhouettes in front of the staircase, now old-pink, of the Casa dos Escravos.
Nassau or Orange Fort,
The main symbol and instrument of power on the island of Goreia, once held by the French and the Dutch.
life of goreia
Children walk along a semi-paved, semi-leafed street on the island of Goreia.
University of Mutants
Resident walks along the island's coastal street, shadow of the University of Mutantes, an international meeting and conference center based in Goreia, founded by Léopold Sédar Senghor.
diving pontoon
A small cement recess is used by the island's youth for socializing, diving and bathing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Non-return door II
The opening by which the protagonism defenders of the island Goreia and the House of Slaves assure that they passed several million slaves on their way to the Americas.
under the palm trees
Passerby walks along the long walled avenue that runs through the island of Goreia.
colonial architecture
Detail of one of the buildings built by the French and the Dutch, after the initial presence of Portuguese settlers on the island, in the XNUMXth century.
a bathing gorée
Children bathe in the island's tranquil waters, just a few kilometers from the western end of the African continent.
Maison des Esclaves
Visitors descend one of the curved stairs that take them back to the ground floor of the Casa dos Escravos.
Gorée in sight
Townhouse on the island of Goreia a few kilometers into the Atlantic, opposite the Senegalese capital Dakar.
colonial forms
Architectural fragments of the slave house, as seen from a window on its first floor.

Were several millions or just thousands of slaves passing through Goreia on their way to the Americas? Whatever the truth, this small Senegalese island will never be freed from the yoke of its symbolism.”

Two findings continue to surprise and intimidate us shortly after we leave Léopold Sédhar Senghar airport, located in the province of Cap-Vert that it shares with the capital Dakar: it has been a long time since we felt such an oppressive heat-humidity pair. It had been at least as long as we hadn't seen so many men over six feet together. We soon confirmed that one of the attributes of the predominant Wolof and Fula ethnic groups – or even the Mandingos – was an enviable athletic build.

We avoid the annoying “sole proprietors” who approach almost all newcomers with imaginative schemes to subtract francs from the African financial community, aka CFAs, or forced payments in other far more famous currencies.

From the airport, we traveled a few kilometers overland and settled in one of the bathing areas on the outskirts of the city. Inside the hotel we ended up in, the air is so thick and musty that it forces us to take deep breaths. Night doesn't take long to fall and even heavier sleep relieves us of the conscious effort to breathe.

We wake up much later than we wanted, peeking at the beach in front of us, already under an excruciating heat that grays the sky and the Atlantic Ocean below, dotted with blackened silhouettes of brats partying in the water and busy fishermen.

As happens almost without exception in these parts of Africa, it was a Portuguese navigator who was the first to disembark there.

It was 1444. Dinis Dias skirted the mouth of the river that now forms the border between Mauritania and Senegal. It continued on to the westernmost point of Africa, which it named Cape Verde and reached what is now the island of Goeia, which it called Ilha de Palma. The Portuguese were quick to use it as a trading post for the region. Almost forty years later, they provided it with a chapel – recently converted into a police post – but the image conquered by the place was far from Catholic. It is another reason why we make a point of visiting it.

The route takes us to the Soumbédioune area, at the other end of the irregular peninsula filled by Dakar and its surroundings. From there, with some of the most modern buildings in the capital behind, we board a catamaran and complete the short crossing. In the immediate vicinity of the final destination, there is the sight of a rounded fort that the Dutch and French resorted to to defend the island from incursions of others and which preserves the double name of Nassau-Saint Françoise.

We disembark to a small jetty, overcrowded with local kids and teenagers who use it as a diving platform. "Look, look, whiter!" shoots one of the bathers at a Frenchman dispatched from the former colony. “The photos on the island are all to pay!” they warn us with the insolence that the group legitimates. Contrary to what we thought, the conversation was anything but small talk. Thereafter, with every image we try to frame someone, that resident avoids their presence, protests unceremoniously against the registration, or gives them a discouraging price, even if it is little more than a passing price.

We walk unhurriedly through alleys of earth or sand, between colonial buildings colored by bricks, paintings, by bougainvillea and other leafy vines. The tour stops at the Casa dos Escravos, a monument preserved in order to perpetuate the memory of Africans imprisoned, raped, sold and allegedly shipped from there to the Americas in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, an infamous traffic represented by the famous “Doors without Return” , with direct access from the dismal dungeons to the Atlantic Ocean.

The colonial building was erected in 1786, used as a mansion by Ana Colas Pépin, a wealthy French-Senegalese mestizo who kept domestic slaves and, it is said, even trafficked a few others, kept on the ground floor of the house.

We examine a mural that illustrates how slaves were captured in the bush, whipped and transported to the coast, trapped by the neck and feet in long human convoys, victims of despotism and cruelty.

The Maison des Esclaves was renovated, starting in 1970, with French support. It holds strong spiritual significance for many visitors, particularly African Americans descended from slaves taken from West Africa. But the dimension of their role in the slave trade is a target of heated dispute.

On the one hand, apologists for Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, who died in 2009, the Senegalese former curator of the museum and main defender that it is obvious that the house was built to house large numbers of slaves and that 15 million Africans will have passed through the its gates to the colonies of all colonial powers.

As we listen to them, guides their subjects preach the version of the mentor of the house: “after passing through the door, they said goodbye to Africa. Many tried to escape but those who tried died. The shackles that held them were so heavy that they caused almost immediate drowning in the deep waters around the island. And even if they resisted, they would still have to escape the sharks.”

On the other side of the dispute, Philip D. Curtain, professor emeritus of history, also deceased in 2009, who wrote, in 1969, “The Atlantic Slave Trade” and several other historians and investigators who guarantee that the most certain thing is that no slave has passed. through that door. That the real starting point was located 300 meters away and that the boats would never approach the back of the slave house, inaccessible due to the many rocks, even more so when the island had a jetty nearby.

They also defend that of the 10 to 15 million slaves taken from Africa, there are only unequivocal records that 26 have passed through the island, or even less. This is the case with the newspaper Le Monde, which infuriated Senegalese authorities and several of their personalities with an estimated 300 to 500 deportations a year.

The followers of Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye accuse this current of revisionism, of seeking to deny the role of the Isle of Gorea in the history of slavery.

We realized that Ndiaye had immortalized her accusing brand in the museum. Noteworthy is a photo of her in the company of John Paul II and an inscription in French that translates as “Sad and Moving Memory, Night of Times. How can it be erased from the memory of Men?”

John Paul II prayed in Goreia, in 1992. He took the opportunity to make faith in the words of historians and ask forgiveness for many of the Catholic missionaries having been involved in trafficking.

And, despite all the factual controversy around the island, personalities from the most diverse origins and countless heads of state have made and insist on renewing its memory. Nelson Mandela, already as South African president, visited her. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were on the island. The last, just 20 minutes, is a foray into dispatch that the BBC and other influential media channels have accused of having had the sole purpose of winning votes from black voters to secure the US election. Barak and Michele Obama were also present.

Accra, Ghana

The Capital in the Cradle of the Gold Coast

Do From the landing of Portuguese navigators to the independence in 1957 several the powers dominated the Gulf of Guinea region. After the XNUMXth century, Accra, the present capital of Ghana, settled around three colonial forts built by Great Britain, Holland and Denmark. In that time, it grew from a mere suburb to one of the most vibrant megalopolises in Africa.
Elmina, Ghana

The First Jackpot of the Portuguese Discoveries

In the century. XVI, Mina generated to the Crown more than 310 kg of gold annually. This profit aroused the greed of the The Netherlands and from England, which succeeded one another in the place of the Portuguese and promoted the slave trade to the Americas. The surrounding village is still known as Elmina, but today fish is its most obvious wealth.

south of Belize

The Strange Life in the Black Caribbean Sun

On the way to Guatemala, we see how the proscribed existence of the Garifuna people, descendants of African slaves and Arawak Indians, contrasts with that of several much more airy bathing areas.

Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

The Swampy Freedom of Quilombo do Remanso

Runaway slaves have survived for centuries around a wetland in Chapada Diamantina. Today, the quilombo of Remanso is a symbol of their union and resistance, but also of the exclusion to which they were voted.
Ijen volcano, Indonesia

The Ijen Volcano Sulphur Slaves

Hundreds of Javanese surrender to the Ijen volcano where they are consumed by poisonous gases and loads that deform their shoulders. Each turn earns them less than €30 but everyone is grateful for their martyrdom.
Fort-de-France, Martinique

Freedom, Bipolarity and Tropicality

The capital of Martinique confirms a fascinating Caribbean extension of French territory. There, the relations between the colonists and the natives descended from slaves still give rise to small revolutions.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Masai Mara Reservation, Masai Land Travel, Kenya, Masai Convivial
safari
Masai Mara, Kenya

A Journey Through the Masai Lands

The Mara savannah became famous for the confrontation between millions of herbivores and their predators. But, in a reckless communion with wildlife, it is the Masai humans who stand out there.
Annapurna Circuit, Manang to Yak-kharka
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna 10th Circuit: Manang to Yak Kharka, Nepal

On the way to the Annapurnas Even Higher Lands

After an acclimatization break in the near-urban civilization of Manang (3519 m), we made progress again in the ascent to the zenith of Thorong La (5416 m). On that day, we reached the hamlet of Yak Kharka, at 4018 m, a good starting point for the camps at the base of the great canyon.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Architecture & Design
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela
Aventura
PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
Miyajima Island, Shinto and Buddhism, Japan, Gateway to a Holy Island
Ceremonies and Festivities
Miyajima, Japan

Shintoism and Buddhism with the Tide

Visitors to the Tori of Itsukushima admire one of the three most revered scenery in Japan. On the island of Miyajima, Japanese religiosity blends with Nature and is renewed with the flow of the Seto Inland Sea.
Panorama of the Licungo valley and its tea plantation
Cities
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 2

In Gurué, Among Tea Slopes

After an initial exploration of Gurué, it is time for tea around the area. On successive days, we set off from the city centre to discover the plantations at the foot of the Namuli Mountains. Less extensive than they were before Mozambique's independence and the Portuguese exodus, they adorn some of the most magnificent landscapes in Zambézia.
Beverage Machines, Japan
Lunch time
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
Garranos gallop across the plateau above Castro Laboreiro, PN Peneda-Gerês, Portugal
Culture
Castro Laboreiro, Portugal  

From Castro de Laboreiro to the Rim of the Peneda – Gerês Range

We arrived at (i) the eminence of Galicia, at an altitude of 1000m and even more. Castro Laboreiro and the surrounding villages stand out against the granite monumentality of the mountains and the Planalto da Peneda and Laboreiro. As do its resilient people who, sometimes handed over to Brandas and sometimes to Inverneiras, still call these stunning places home.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Traveling
Moçamedes to PN Iona, Namibe, Angola

Grand entrance to the Angola of the Dunes

Still with Moçâmedes as a starting point, we traveled in search of the sands of Namibe and Iona National Park. The cacimbo meteorology prevents the continuation between the Atlantic and the dunes to the stunning south of Baía dos Tigres. It will only be a matter of time.
little subject
Ethnic

Hampi, India

Voyage to the Ancient Kingdom of Bisnaga

In 1565, the Hindu empire of Vijayanagar succumbed to enemy attacks. 45 years before, he had already been the victim of the Portugueseization of his name by two Portuguese adventurers who revealed him to the West.

Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

life outside

Santo Domingo, Colonial City, Dominican Republic, Diego Colombo
History
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The Longest Colonial Elder in the Americas

Santo Domingo is the longest-inhabited colony in the New World. Founded in 1498 by Bartholomew Colombo, the capital of the Dominican Republic preserves intact a true treasure of historical resilience.
Victoria, capital, Seychelles islands, Mahé, Capital Life
Islands
Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles

From Francophone “Establishment” to the Creole Capital of Seychelles

The French populated their “Etablissement” with European, African and Indian settlers. Two centuries later, British rivals took over the archipelago and renamed the city in honor of their Queen Victoria. When we visit it, the Seychelles capital remains as multiethnic as it is tiny.
Correspondence verification
Winter White
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

Fed up with waiting for the bearded old man to descend down the chimney, we reverse the story. We took advantage of a trip to Finnish Lapland and passed through its furtive home.
Almada Negreiros, Roça Saudade, Sao Tome
Literature
Saudade, São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

Almada Negreiros: From Saudade to Eternity

Almada Negreiros was born in April 1893, on a farm in the interior of São Tomé. Upon discovering his origins, we believe that the luxuriant exuberance in which he began to grow oxygenated his fruitful creativity.
Ostrich, Cape Good Hope, South Africa
Nature
Cape of Good Hope - Cape of Good Hope NP, South Africa

On the edge of the Old End of the World

We arrived where great Africa yielded to the domains of the “Mostrengo” Adamastor and the Portuguese navigators trembled like sticks. There, where Earth was, after all, far from ending, the sailors' hope of rounding the tenebrous Cape was challenged by the same storms that continue to ravage there.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Hikers on the Ice Lake Trail, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Natural Parks
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit – The Painful Acclimatization of the Ice Lake

On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
UNESCO World Heritage
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

The Legacy of an Historic Shuttle

The founding of Colónia do Sacramento by the Portuguese generated recurrent conflicts with their spanish rivals. Until 1828, this fortified square, now sedative, changed sides again and again.
Earp brothers look-alikes and friend Doc Holliday in Tombstone, USA
Characters
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Beaches
LifouLoyalty Islands

The Greatest of the Loyalties

Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Ice cream, Moriones Festival, Marinduque, Philippines
Religion
Marinduque, Philippines

When the Romans Invade the Philippines

Even the Eastern Empire didn't get that far. In Holy Week, thousands of centurions seize Marinduque. There, the last days of Longinus, a legionary converted to Christianity, are re-enacted.
Serra do Mar train, Paraná, airy view
On Rails
Curitiba a Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

Down Paraná, on Board the Train Serra do Mar

For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
Tabatô, Guinea Bissau, tabanca Mandingo musicians. Baidi
Society
Tabato, Guinea Bissau

The Tabanca of Mandinga Poets Musicians

In 1870, a community of traveling Mandingo musicians settled next to the current city of Bafatá. From the Tabatô they founded, their culture and, in particular, their prodigious balaphonists, dazzle the world.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
Wildlife
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.