Viewing Dakar and Goree Island Whilst at International PEN Congress
After the first World Festival of Negro Arts was organized here in Dakar Senegal in 1966, a number of institutions were reoriented toward African traditions, and others such as the Dynamique Museum, the Daniel Sorano Theatre, and the Tapestry Factory of Thiès got created. Quite a number of intellectual as well as cultural institutions came into being. The Fundamental Institute of Black Africa (Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire; IFAN) Museum in Dakar explores the anthropology of Africa and has a collection of African art, while the IFAN Museum in Saint-Louis focuses on studying and preserving the history of the Senegambian region. Other areas such as the craft village of Soumbédioune as well as Goree Island in Dakar have become popular marketplaces and centres for Senegalese artisans. Much wealth of human spirit and culture was evident everywhere when we were in Dakar sometime ago for the 73rd congress of PEN International. Then time came for the first excursion in the International PEN Congress schedule. This was on a Saturday. Actually my biggest dream of paying my way to Dakar was not just to be at the Congress and make useful contacts but was also to have the privilege of seeing the celebrated slave enclaves of Goree which I had read so much about and that I saw in films and exhibitions in numerous museums whilst visiting the U.S.A. recently. However, on the morning there were mixed feelings as we were not too sure whether it was part of the official program or whether it was not part of the extra sightseeing which delegates had to pay for in raw physical cash- Euros for that matter. I had almost given up when someone came and certified that indeed every partipant as well as delegates were entitled to make the trip. As the time approached all of us trooped into two buses that had been scheduled to take us down to the ferry. We were accorded the rare opportunity of sailing like tourists which in some sense we were by ferry to the well preserved and habited island of Goree where memories of the greatest dehumanization of man was perpetrated. Goree is a stark reminder of such violations of human beings and the need to remain ever vigilant and bonded in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood to combat the tyranny that would deny the humanity of another human being. But then the Island itself has been transformed into a tourist resort, a lover's paradise and an artist village. However, it also has a sizeable habitation with schools, churches, mosques, shopping centres, which were much in abundance as well as countless restaurants and motels. However, it took us some time walking through the sandy paths before we could arrive at the main point of our visit, the Slave House, now transformed to a museum. The Slave House is a small fort recorded to have been built in 1776 by the Dutch which was being used then as one of the slave warehouses through which Africans passed on their way to the Americas. Records though show that slaves were being shipped from here earlier going as far back as the 16th century. Millions of young Africans have passed through this island and other similar trading posts to provide slave labour in the plantations of the New World. This slave House is one of several sites on the island where Africans were brought to be loaded onto ships bound for the New World. The owner's residential quarters were on the upper floor where most of us stood whilst listening to the museum curator's welcome us. The lower floor was reserved for the slaves who were weighed, fed and held before departing through the infamous door on the grueling transatlantic journey. The Slave House with its infamous "Door of No Return" has been preserved in its original state. The Portuguese and the Europeans who followed them to Guinea, built forts and castles such as this to store their goods as well as the acquired slaves. The coast of the present day Republic of Ghana, is littered with the highest concentration of such forts and castles than any other coastline in Africa. These include Elmina Castle, Cape Coast Castle, Christianborg Castle, Fort Crevecour, James Fort, Axim Fort. Others were Factories or Baracoons. The shipping of slaves from Goree lasted from 1536 when the Portuguese launched the slave trade to the time the French halted it 312 years later. The produce of sugarcane, coffee, and cotton from the American plantations were shipped to Europe as raw materials to feed factories. From Europe cheap manufactured goods such as cotton cloth, brass wave, rum, inferior guns and gun powder were shipped to West Africa and exchanged for Africans captured and sold by Africans to be transported to work in the plantations of America. while Africa gave its most important resource, its people to build the economies and prosperity of Europe, she obtained in return consumables, which did not help in her growth and development Just 3 kilometres off the Senegalese coast, the tiny size of the island made it easy for merchants to control their captives. For the surrounding waters are so deep that any attempt at escaping would mean certain drowning. With a five kilogram metal ball permanently attached to their feet or necks, a captured African would know the certain calamity jumping into the deep sea would bring. The Portuguese, Dutch, French and British all fought and killed each other over the trade from there Other points of historical interest here include: The Botanical Gardens: Located on the Rue du Port founded by the French in 1667. The Church of St. Charles: Located on the Place de l'Eglise built with public contributions in 1830 in the style of provincial churches in western France. The Castle: Originally built by the Dutch in the 17th century, this fortress has been razed and reconstructed several times. In the 18th century, it housed the residence of the Governor of Senegal and in 1940, a combined British and Free French naval force bombarded it. The William Ponty School building: From 1913-1937 housed the Ecole Normale William Ponty where many African leaders were educated. Strickland House: was the home of American businessman Peter Strickland who came to Africa in 1878 as a representative of the Boston trading firm and was named the US Consul in 1883 thus occasioning the transformation of Strickland House to the site of the first American Consulate established in West Africa. Université des Mutants: founded by former President Senghor, was established to bring together the best minds of Africa. It has hosted frequent conferences on current cultural and economic issues for developing nations. Hostellerie du Chevalier de Boufflers: is a well-known restaurant named after the first French Governor of Senegal, a colorful figure who moved to Goreé from the Capital of St. Louis (northwest coast) and is reported to have broken many hearts upon his return to France in 1788. The island has three other museums, one dedicated to women, one to the history of Senegal and one to the sea. The Historical Museum in the old Fort Estrees opened in 1989, has exhibits on anthropology, West African pre-history and the political and religious history of Senegal. The Museum of women building was once owned by signare Victoria Albis. The house itself was built in 1776 at the corner of rue Saint Germain and rue Malavois. In the 19th century it was being used as the island court and prison. There is also the seventeenth century Goree Police station, Goree Castle, the Church, the picturesque ruins of Fort Nassau, Saint Michel (the Castle), and a small swimming beach near the ferry slip. Many eminent world personalities have been moved enough to make solemn proclamations, denunciations and pledges on their visits here. During his visit in 1981, the former French prime minister, Michel Rocard, said, "It is not easy for a white man, in all honesty, to visit this Slave House without feeling ill-at-ease." The Pope visiting in 1992 asked for forgiveness for the massive involvement of Catholic missionaries in the slave trade. But records seem to show that catholic church's complicity was far reaching. For it was a Papal Bull, which authorized the opening of the slave market in Lisbon. and it is said that in 1452, the Pope even declared that the possession of slaves was the right of all Christians. Former South African President Nelson Mandela who toured the island three years before his election, insisted on crawling into a cramped holding cell whilst touring the slave house. Two American Presidents Bill Clinton, and George Bush have visited the island. During President Bush's 20 minutes visit he made a very moving speech. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030708-1.html The island, is tranquil with no cars, no crime. Strict control seems to be maintained over public hygiene with the strict prohibition of urinating in the streets aw s well as depositing rubbish indiscriminately. Visitors seem to be behaving more like pilgrims visiting a holy shrine. Though a quiet and quaint haunt for tourists with about 1,000 permanent residents, Goreé remains significant in the history of Africa, and in the history of the slave trade. Only three kilometers from Dakar at its nearest point, the island is a flat plain ending in a steep basaltic hill (the Castle), and is only 900 by 300 meters. Possibly sighted by Phoenicians and others in antiquity, it was probably first discovered by the Portuguese explorer Dias in 1444. The island was then colonized in 1817. The Dutch bought it from a local chief for a pittance and gave it its present name, most probably after "Goree" Island in Holland. According to some -it is so called for its sheltered harbor, "Goode Reede" (good harbor). Goreé thus became a way station for Dutch ships plying the route between their forts on the Gold Coast and the Indies. Goreé changed hands many times. The British took it from the Dutch. The Dutch then recaptured it. But theyhad to give it up again to the French during French maritime expansion under Colbert. In 1802, by the terms of the Amiens peace agreement, the island became French and remained so until Senegalese independence in 1960. Goreé was the principal entry point off the coast of Africa for slave ships and merchantmen flying the French flag. Thousands of Africans who had been captured into slavery passed through this island fortress on the continent's bulge. Then after the abolition of the slave trade in France in 1848, Goreé became an outpost for policing the seas. And as its role in trade declined, it became a stepping off point for French colonization of the interior of West Africa. The first school and the first printing plant in French Africa were sited here in Goree Island. Many buildings here have undergone renovation, by Senegaesel and other governments and international organizations.All that culminated in 1978 Unesco designating it as a World Heritage site. |
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