This is a picture of the fortress on the island which was once used as a prison.
Gorée is one of the earliest European settlement in Western Africa. The island is volcanic and is only 45 acres, with about 1,000 permanent residents.
It was first occupied by the Portuguese in the 15th century and has changed hands several times since. It was proably discovered by the Portuguese explorer Dias in 1444. After changing hands many times, the British took it from the Dutch.
In 1664 Great Britain took occupation of the island in order to supply its labour-hungry colonies with slaves.
1678 marked the begining of the 'golden age' of the Signares. These were daughters of white colonists and slave women. The signares wielded great power over that slave society.
The Dutch then recaptured it, but had to give it up to the French during the maritime expansion under Colbert. In 1802 the island became French and remained so until the independence of Senegal in 1960.
After the abolition of the slave trade in France in 1848, Gorée became an outpost for the policing of the surrounding seas.
The history of many other countries have been sullied by the 'Horrid Trade'. I am sure a lot of wealthy people in these countries do not realise that the wealth they are enjoying was founded in the 'Transatlantic slave trade'.
The millions of African captives shipped from Gorée have populated lands including the USA, Brazil and Jamaica. The most successful traders being the Portuguese, Spanish, British, Dutch, French, Arabs, Swedes and the sub saharan Africans themselves.
In September 1978 Gorée was declared a WORLD HERITAGE SITE by UNESCO.
Below are two pictures of the island's school, where many African leaders were educated.
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Credits: The picture of the fortress is from Beautiful island, sorrowful past. However on the website, the picture is wrongly labled. The rest of the photos are by the author.
Information for these pages were gleaned from: History of slavery, Susanne Everett. Slave and Slavery, Duncan Clarke. The Slave Trade, Hugh Thomas. Monsieur M Diarra. My knowledge and experience. Anti-slavery International www.antislavery.org The Bristol Industrial Museum and its 1999 catalogue, Bristol & Transatlantic Slavery. www.bristol-city.gov.uk/museums. Because of the nature of this subject, the author cannot guarantee the total accuracy or completeness of the information on these pages.
Without my tutor Margaret Chadwick, the, beyond-the-call-of-duty support from the staff in the ILT centres of Vauxhall and Brixton, of Lambeth College and special guidance from Tuem, this web site would not exist.
If you wish to make comments on this page, please feel to email me at chisyrai@tiscali.co.uk
Copyright © 2004 by JJB.