Historic Ghana: The African-American Connection
Slave castle at Elmina, Central  Region. Surrounding town at the foot of the hill.

Historic Ghana: The African-American Connection
Slave castle at Elmina, Central  Region, is perched on a hill to defend from invaders.

Historic Ghana: The African-American Connection
Courtyard of the slave castle at Elmina, Central  Region. Well behaved slaves get the rare opportunity of seeing the light of day by exercising here in heavy chains.

Ghana - Western Intervention
This is the grave of the first Anglican priest of Ghana. He was the bastard son of a British officer and a slave. He was sent to Europe to be educated and returned to open the first Anglican church of Ghana in the second floor of the building behind his grave. Of course, this used to be a fort for holding slaves and so there are dungeons underneath the church. Whilst torturing slaves below, they took time off to hold church services. Also, note that, architecture wise, British forts were plain and not as interesting or ornate as the Portuguese ones.

Ghana - Western Intervention
This is Fort Yago in Elmina. The door to the left leads to the dungeon where slaves were left to die. The door to the right leads to where rebel soldiers were left to die. The Portuguese mantra was that, “God says thou shalt not kill, he did not, however, say you can’t abandon a person to die.”

Ghana - Western Intervention
This is Fort Yago in Elmina. Portugal, who were trading slaves, built this fort on the highest hill to protect them from external attacks.

Ghana - Western Intervention
What’s special about this fort in Apram (Ah-prah-m) is that there is an underground tunnel that runs from the fort to the small island in the distance-that allowed slaves to be transported to the waiting ships. This was because slave traders could not reach the coast with boats. The tunnel was very narrow and dark and slaves stood the chance of suffocating to death.

Ghana - Western Intervention
The rock in the foreground is a “musical rock” that produces assorted sounds by beating different parts of its surface. The grassy area in the background is the dance floor where slaves were made to dance keep moral high. Those who refused to participate were heavily punished. Northern Region.

Ghana - Western Intervention
A watch tower during slavery: from this vantage point, and because they are surrounded by a vast stretch of savannah land, slave masters could be on the lookout for escaping slaves.

Ghana - Western Intervention
As punishment, slaves were chained to this rock and left at the mercy of the sun and other forces of nature. The eroded base of the stone indicates attempts by victims to escape.

The “bar” scene at Takoradi. I wonder what’s up for discussion?