Goree - There are no more slaves here.

                                       VISITORS WELCOME! 

                                 There are no more slaves here.


Goree is "a tiny tranquil island" just 3,000 feet (900 meters) in length and 1,150 feet  (350) meters) in width. It is  surrounded  by deep waters, sheltered by the Cap Vert peninsula and located 2 miles (3 kilometers) off the coast of Senegal, opposite Dakar in West Africa. The name Goree, which means good harbour, was given to the island by the French.



Just 1,300 people live on the island which, since 1978, is a World Heritage site. Yet it made news on the BBC World Service yesterday (October 12, 2020). Why? Because it has been closed to visitors for six months due to the pandemic. Now it is opened again!

Goree is part of the city of Dakar. From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, however, it played a major role in the Atlantic slave trade. It was "the largest slave trading center on the coast of Africa."  The House of Slaves (built by the Dutch) is the last surviving one and its "Door of No Return" is now a museum. It is a tourist destination that is used to show the horrors of the slave trade.

Slaves were shipped from this place for 312 years. The practise began in 1536 (when the Portuguese launched the slave trade) and continued to the time when the French ended it.  Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish  and British people were all involved in the slave trade.The Portuguese would capture Africans and take them back to Europe as slaves. The Spanish took the first African slaves to America in 1503. 

Although it is so small, (and has only one hotel) many famous people have visited the island.  Among them are Pope John Paul 1 (in 1992), former South African President Nelson Mandela, US Presidents Barak Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  

The story on the BBC World Service said: "The mayor's office said it would welcome the return of visitors to sights including the Door of No Return through which slaves would pass never to touch African soil again."

                                        ===000===



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