Cape Coast, Ghana

Visiting the slave "deportation" forts on the West Coast of Africa have been on my bucket list for a number of years. After this visits, however, I'm speculating that my desire to visit them might have brought on by the African-American tourist agencies in the U.S.  I observed the Cape Coast Fort is clearly a return to Africa pilgrimage for wealthy African-Americans. 

Quotes for the museum:

"Over the course of four centuries, millions of Africans were forced into slavery." "Within scholarly circles, the estimates range from a total of 12 million to a total of 25 million. 

"Brazil received fully one-third of all Africans; the Caribbean islands together received he second third; and the final one-third was spread throughout the rest of the Americas.  Scholars agree that the smallest number of African came to what is now the U.S.A. and Canada.  Estimates range from 1.5 to 2 million arrived there between 1620 and 1860."

The quotes from the museum's exhibit above makes the point that out of the total number of slaves "exported" from West Africa a very small portion of them landed in the U.S.A and Canada. Nevertheless, the entire last third of the museum's exhibition is dedicated to the African-American and American's Black Civil rights struggle.  Hence, focusing on the African-American tourist, and ignoring the Brazilian or Caribbean tourist of African decent. 

Hence, wealthy African-Americans returning.... :-) 

Inscribed on the inside of the door were slave were sold and deported: "The Door of No Return".  The slaves left and never returned.  Inscribed on the outside of the same door albeit more recently was (as pictured above) the "Door of Return".   A few years ago the sign was place there during a African-American pilgrimage ceremony, where African-Americans returned through the door was there ancestors exited as a right of passage and return to Africa.   

Depicted above is the trade triangle.  How it works:  Europeans sail to West Africa to trade guns, firepower and other goods to West African tribal chiefs in exchange for slaves (mostly prisoners from rival tribes). The same ships then sailed to South and North America (including the Caribbean) with the slaves on road and traded them for sugar, cotton, etc.  The sugar, cotton, etc. was transported back to Europe and sold.