Goree Island is one of the 19 districts of the city of Dakar in Senegal. Located just one mile offshore from Dakar’s main port, the site has been contested throughout history by various colonial powers for its role as a strategic trading post in the transatlantic slave trade.
Some scholars believe that Goree Island, derived from the Dutch word “goede reede” or “good harbor”, was the site of hundreds of similar detention centers where a relatively small number of Africans were deported to the United States.
Until the French colony abolished trade, the island was a warehouse of over ten slave houses. Today, people pay tribute to the terrifyingly brutal slave trade, paying tribute to their unknown and obscure ancestors who walked the fateful journey.
The House of Slave on Goree Island serves as a monument to the Atlantic slave trade. Today, visitors can witness in their memory the harsh conditions in which thousands, if not millions, were imprisoned and then shipped off with no hope of returning.
It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since September 1978.
Source: Wikipedia, Historyhit
Image Credit: stefiolivia