on June 5, 2004
The main roles of Ile Goree during colonial times appear to be administrative and trade related. It was also heavily fortified and served as a naval guard point of Dakar. There are and were no large slave quarters here. While slavery was partly administred from here and thus serves as a significant historical and traumatic site, the few cells in the "Slave House" (off to the right in this photo) were probably holding domestic slaves and bone fide prisoners.
Learn the history of slavery in all its cruelty, but don't necessarily accept as a fact that this point was the last African land the Afro-American ancestors touched.
Read and learn for yourself - plenty of reference literature on this subject.
on November 2, 2004
on June 14, 2005
