Truth in History

May 27, 2008

We toured the two slave castles in Cape Coast today. It was intense.

Before we went to the castles though we went to the University of Cape Coast. It was great. I enjoyed talking to the lady who was taking us around, even though she was not as familiar with things outside of her field (textiles). The students of Cape Coast seemed really nice. Once again, it was a little surprising at how Western the students dressed. We went to the library, but unfortunately did not hang around very long. The campus was quite large.

Going back to the slave castles- The first one really got to me, so by the end of the second tour I felt completely drained. What was sad about the second castle (Elmina) was a) how many times it changed European hands with the help of the Africans and b) how large it was. (Africans helped the Dutch drive out the Portuguese because they thought they would be better.)

It took a lot for me not to loose it in the first castle. In fact, whenever I started getting too upset I took some pictures to remove myself from the severity of it all, (I debated taking any pictures at all). In the museum is where I lost it though, just to see that my ancestors were reduced to being sold on an auction block when there is so much more. To add to that, the tour guide at the Elmina castle said that they didn't keep the Africans in healthy conditions because they were afraid that the would be too strong. Similarly, after I saw the auction block, I saw the real rich history of the Asante. It hit me that they reduced royalty to a for sale sign, and for what? Cotton?

Even though the day was rough, I made a new friend in the textile teacher's daughter. She's 20 too, but she's about to graduate college. We exchanged info and talked about some of everything. Her and her mom seem like really sweet people.