Before getting to the main entrance,one would see a diagram fenced by four short walls on the ground and that was a compass built by the Dutch with the bricks brought ftom Holland. According to Francis, our tour guide, 'It was used to re-check their navigational compasses and it also served as a sundial; they put a stick in the middle and then the shadow used to tell time.The castle had two moats viz, inner and outer moats. These were filled with seawater in those days. As moats and to serve the purpose for which they were intended, there were two drawbridges on them. When enemies were coming, these bridges were withdrawn or lifted and this meant they could not have easy access into the castle. When the Dutch took over, they maintained the outer moat drawbridge and then turned the inner moat to a concrete type. Today thp. water is no more channelled into it and walking pass these bridges take you into the castle itself.In the castle, all the rooms on the ground-floor were initially the storerooms where wares were kept awaiting shipment. When the slave trading started all the storerooms were transformed into dungeon. As much as they could, they separated the female ftom the male slaves, simply because they wanted to avoid procreation and to get more work also from the female slaves. As the male slaves were in the main courtyard, the female captives were also at the inner courtyard. It was learnt that, at least one thousand men and women were held in the dungeons at a time; out of this, six hundred were men whilst the rest were women.Right opposite the main entrance was the male slaves' transit dungeon and adjacent to this to the female slave's courtyard.Female slaves' yardAccording to the guide, four hundred women were kept in all the dungeons and no one can underestimate how horrible and unimaginable life in the dungeon was. These women were kept in the dungeon for three months before the ship came in for them. During this long period, they were not allowed to come out, until the time the governor wanted to select one for sex. Two receptacles or containers were placed at the various ends, where they were expected to ease themselves into, in the same dungeon in which they were sleeping. As women also they continued having their menstruation or periods every month, and without washing down or taking their bath you can not imagine how the floor turned out to be and what they were sleeping in. It is also believed that, during the second month's stay in the dungeons the women became so weak that, they could not even move trom the middle of the dungeons.to where the containers were to ease themselves into them, so virtually they were doing everything on the floor and yet sleeping in it. And that explains why many of them died.Female slaves' dungeonThe dungeons were poorly ventilated, and even in the biggest of the female slaves' dungeons, the hole that was created for ventilation led to the magazine where ammunition and other explosive were kept. So whenever there was any leakage in the magazine, the chemicals came straight to the dungeons, contaminated the air and killed most of them.With the poor diet given to them, faeces and urine on the floor, menstrual blood on the floor combined with the chemicals that came from the magazine, and at the same time, human beings congestedly packed in it, one would not expect anything but great number of deaths in the dungeons.The same conditions however prevailed in the male dungeons. The only exception was that, the males were in chains while they were in the dungeons and were also branded with hot metals to give easy identification, whiles the female slaves were given tags. It is also believed that most of the male slaves died instantly trom the shock of branding and that also explains why most of them died.Not withstanding all these cruel and inhuman treatment, it. is believed one out of three slaves survived to the outside world, and roughly twenty million African men and women were taken all along the coast, so if calculations are correct then it means, sixty million Africans were captured as slaves; whereby forty million died from the hinter lands to the castle and from the castle to the new world.One can hardly understand why the Europeans allowed their captives to die in the dungeons. Truly speaking if they never had any other motive than profit, then the system oftheir commerce was questionable.It is generally accepted that the African captives were cheaper as compared to those in Europe, but that does not mean they should let them die as they wanted more profit. The crux of the matter was that, they were very strong and that if they were allowed to live as normal as possible, they could have revolted and most probably ejected them trom the castle. To make it safer for them, they decide to forgo some of their profit in order to maintain their jurisdiction.Underneath the female slaves' courtyard is a cistern or underground water reservoir built by the Portuguese in 1482. They used the rainwater to fill it, and that means they channelled pipes to the roofs and when it rained, the water collected into it. This cistern when full contained twenty thousand gallons of water. The Portuguese used it for everything, namely drinking, cooking and other domestic purposes.Just on the first floor was the balcony where the governor stood to select the female that he wanted for sex.Gate of no returnWhen the ships came, the number of women expected to go, were taken through the female slave exit which is just before the entrance to the female courtyard and finally to the Room of no Return where the boats came in for them. Their male counterparts who were also in the ground floor, in the main courtyard also joined via transit dungeon to the room of No Return. Previously when they were trading in goods other than human beings, the gate to the boat was a little bit wider, but then when that unpopular trade started, they narrowed the gate to the extent that no adult could have used it under normal circumstances, but then because of the unfortunate conditions they were exposed to, they grew lean enough to use that gate.The sea was closer to the castle at that time, today it has receded and geologists attribute it to the movement of the earth. So the small boats came nearer to the castle, took the slaves through the gate of No Return in chains, and finally to the ships a distance away, from there they were taken to the new world.That was the time these innocent and strong Afiican men and women broke down in tears and wept bitterly as they knew seeing their families and relatives again was far from realization.Through this provocative gate, the Portuguese took their captives to Brazil, the Dutch took theirs to the Caribbean, West Indies, Haiti, Java Guyana, Surina.me and host of other nations, whiles the British took theirs to America and somewhere in Liverpool. But then after the abolition of the slave trade even more captives were taken from Elmina Castle and that was period called the illegal slave trade period. At this point they knew that these Mrican captives would never see Africa again, but then thank God today, if those taken could not come back, their descendants are finding their roots and 'Sankofa' (which means going back to your roots) will forever be the Motto for all Afiicans in the diaspora.Life in the ships was no better as human beings were packed so tightly, women raped by the soldiers and male slaves tortured and some killed and thrown into the sea, and the agony of seeing their fellow brothers and sisters murdered.Stiffer and even more painful was the story when they finally reached ,their various destinations and w~remade to work in the plantations and the mines without rest and were whipped for attempting to rest. Upon all these cruel and unimaginable maltreatment, our great ancestors lived to tell their story. May those who died Rest in Peace.The main courtyardIn the main courtyard, all the rooms on the ground floor were the dungeons for the male captives, the first floor was the residence for the soldiers and the merchants, the second floor the deputy governor's residence and the third floor the governor's residence.In the midst of all these cruel and unpardonable life the Portuguese had their church in the middle of the main courtyard where they went to worship.The Portuguese church or the Roman Catholic Church was previously on the hill San Jago where they worshipped with other Afri.can converts. In 1596 when the Dutch launched their first attack, the Portuguese became afraid so they demolished that one and came to build their church in the Castle for security reasons.When the Dutch took over in 1637 they were not Catholics, so they divided the church into two and then used the top as junior soldiers mess with the down serving as the hall of trade or the auctioning hall where the slaves were sold. When the British also took over they turned both halls into classrooms for the police and that was when they turned the place to a police depot in 1948. The church building which is the oldest of all existing church buildings in the whole of Tropical Africa is now a museum.On the immediate right after entering are two cells, the first one was for the European soldiers and other corrupt officials. It is believed thatalmost all the soldiers who came to the coast were exconvicts and when they came also they were not allowed to go out to mingle with the local people, so it means all their activities centered within the walls of the castle. Life in the castle was also said to be boring, so most of them took to drinking, some got drunk and misconducted themselves and because the male captives were aggressive at all times, wanting to fight for their freedom, the officials wanted to discourage that habit, so that the soldiers would be alert at all times in order to contain any revolt by the slaves.So those soldiers who got drunk. were put into this cell for some hours-and they were released. Other officials who became corrupt were atso put in there for the same period and they were also released.As this cell was for the Europeans, the ventilation was much okay; they took the cell to be so convenient that with time, no captive was put in there. The next cell with the skull and the cross bones on top was the condemned cell. It is also believed that some of the male slaves wanted to fight for their freedom, so when any officer in charge had the scene of that nature, the leader was captured and put into this cell and then starved to death. When the troublemaker died, he was picked and thrown into the sea. And this was to serve as a deterrent to those who might also want to commit the same offence. What happened in the cell that was very unfortunate was that, four people could be taken there, one a week after the other and as they were being starved to death one died while the others were still alive. The soldiers were also afraid going to pick the dead body first, with the fear that, those alive could hurt them, so they waited until all of them died before they went to pick the bodies and threw them all into the ocean. So as one was there alive, others were getting rotten or decaying and one cannot underestimate the pain and the agony those alive went through before they also died.Just after the condemned cell is one of the buttress walls built by the Dutch to support the walls of the castle. When the British took over they added metal rails on it where the police used for training.Beside the Portuguese church, on the right, is a staircase that leads to the second floor where there are two watch towers built by the Dutch. When the British took over, they turned the towers to prisons and that was where one ofthe greatest kings of the Ashantis called Nana Akwesi Agyeman Prempeh I was held. In 1888, the British confirmed the installation of a new Asantehene, Kwaku Dua Ill, also known as Prempeh I. Born around 1872, his mother was queen mother Yaa Akyaa and his father was Kwasi Gyambibi, son of Asantehene Kweku Duah I (1834-1867). Nana Akwesi Agyeman Prempeh I was enstooled in the presence of a British officer, captain E. A. Bamet on 281h March 1888 at the age of sixteen after contesting the stool with Yaw Atwerboana.He came to meet a treaty signed in 1873 by his predecessor between Ashantis and the British, compelling the Ashantis to pay 50,000 oz of gold as war indemnity. But then when Prempeh came to power, he decided to pay half of the gold and pay the rest in installment; this the British took it as a breach of contract. Further in 1894, anxious to prevent Asante alliance with Savory Toury, the Mandingo warrior and conqueror of Gyaman, a revival of the old Asante Empire and possible take over of Asante by the French or Germans who were fiercely engaged in "Scramble for Africa" the British asked Asantehene to accept British protection, a British resident in Kumasi and official payment for himself and his chiefs. Prempeh took that offer as the first step to the annexation of their kingdom therefore he refused.Further, the Ashantis wanted to dislodged the British from the castle, so series of wars ensued between the Ashantis and the British. Also the British were not using the castle for slave trade, and the gold and others were no more coming, however, the cost of maintaining the castle was also expensive to the British. In order to avoid these attacks, they told the Ashantis to organize a durbar where they could meet to settle their differences peacefully. Unknown to the Ashantis that was just a trick, as M1ey were celebrating unarmed, the British went there with soldiers, captured the king, some members of the royal family and other paramount chiefs. The king and his retinue were brought to the Elmina castle. The king, his two wives and his father were put in one room which is now named "Prempeh's Room" whiles the other paramount chiefs were put at the opposite room. Four years later, as the Ashantis were still pursuing the release of their king, the British took hhp to Freetown in Sierra Leone in transit for one year and was finally exiled to Seychelles island in the Indian Ocean. He stayed for twenty-three years; returned in 1924 and died seven years later at the age of fifty-nine. On his return the British built a house for him in Kumasi which is now known as Prempeh's Museum. Today it is believed that the king has got descendants in Seychelles.On the left of the Prempeh's room is a terrace that overlooks the beach. There one can see some broken walls and that was the jetty where the ships anchored to load and offioad their goods. At the far end there is another watchtower built by the Dutch for security reasons. Adjacent to this, is the boardroom where conferences and business negotiations were held. On the left is the balcony where the governor stood to enjoy the breeze and also gave instructions to-the soldiers in the main courtyard. At the very end of the boardroom out of the door on the left leads one up to the governor's residence and beneath was the deputy governor's residence, both residences comprised a bedroom, two living rooms, washroom and emergency exit. Right opposite was the officers mess where the senior military men and the governors enjoyed themselves. And on the right, the trap door through which the females selected by the governor came up. From here one can see the balcony that overlooks the female slaves courtyard and that was where the governors stood to make their choices. Following the balcony straight takes one to the Dutch church. After the Dutch turned the Portuguese church to a mess and hall of trade, they went up to build their church, and the church was called Dutch Reformed Church.When the British took over, they maintained the Dutch church but then renamed it after John Wesley so it became John Wesley Church. At the top of the exit is a small writing in old Dutch which has psalm 132:4 and it says, 'Zion is the temple of the Lord and here is his eternal habitation.' So they believed God was there and they went there every Sunday to pray, but just beneath the church was the female slaves' dungeon. From this scenario, one can really imaging how genuine Christians they were at that time.Before getting to the entrance of the Dutch church, one would meet separate kitchens the first one was for the Dutch governor and the second for the Portuguese governor. When the Dutch took over with reasons no one knows, they abandoned the Portuguese kitchen and they built a new one, that was a little bit bigger and with two ovens in addition.Using the door in the Dutch governor's kitchen on the right takes one to 'Bastion de France'. The French claimed that; they were the first Europeans to trade at the coast and they even built a fort in 1382, which the Portuguese used this southern bastion to bombard. Although this claim has been proved wrong, the bastion is still named after the French.Looking down on the Southern part are the additions made by the Dutch. On the left was the maintenance shop and on the right, the artisans apartment, but when the British took over, they maintained the maintenance shop and turned the artisans apartment to dormitories for the police in 1948.Fort San JagoLooking up the hill is Fort San Jago. It was built by the Dutch in 1665. The fort which was formerly called fort Coenaraasburg was just for security reas.ons. It was this hill that the Dutch used in 1637 to dislodge the Portuguese. So in order to avoid any attack from there the Dutch built the fort and then filled it with soldiers to protect the castle.We use the same route back to the trap door, to descend to the inner staircase to the main courtyard. There we have a metal balustrade that has got a 'W' sign in the middle. It is believed that was the logo for the 'West Indies Company' that came here to trade. Flanking it on the right was the coat of arms of one of the Dutch governor called Pieter Valkenier, and on the left, the governor's wife or the first lady's coat of arms. Just beneath was the magazine where ammunitions and other explosives were kept.Before the cells is a plague that reads: 'This is in everlasting memory of our anguished ancestors. May those who died rest in peace. May those who return find their roots. May humanity never again perpetrate such injustices against humanity. We the living vow to uphold this.' We really support this and believe we can better uphold it, if we Africans both in Afiica and the Diaspora really get united both spiritually and physically. We hope our ancestors' spirit will be glad to support this course.
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