What was goree island

Others bought and taken by European colonialists. None came of their own free will. France abolished slavery twice: firstly after the Revolution and then again in Yet in , it became the first western-style municipality in West Africa — complete with elected mayor and municipal council — with the French affording it commune status.

In it was finally annexed by Dakar and to this day remains one of its 19 communes. Pastel-coloured colonial-era houses dance with the weaving narrow streets. Bountiful bougainvillea infuse with wooden shutters, while attaya bubbles on stoves and pelicans totter by. Artists line the streets up the hill to the castle, whose vantage point was used by the Vichy Government against the Allies during the Battle of Dakar.

A view that centuries before must have been so horrible. Built in and established as a museum in the s, it showcases the cruelty and scale of the transatlantic slave trade. Theme: Slavery. Country Senegal. Continent Africa. Purpose of Memory To commemorate all the victims of transatlantic slavery between the 15th and 19th centuries. Location description. Organization in Charge - Main Referent. Links of interest. Related Sites. Category Cultural Natural Mixed. All With videos With photo gallery.

Country Region Year Name of the property. Without With. Source: unesco. WebGL must be enable, see documentation. Media Activities Links. State of Conservation SOC by year Donate Now. The Portuguese, Dutch, French and British all fought and killed each other over the trade from there. The island is just 3km nearly two miles off the Senegalese coast, and its tiny size made it easy for merchants to control their captives. The surrounding waters are so deep that any escape attempt would ensure death by drowning.

With a 5kg metal ball permanently attached to their feet or necks, a captured African would know what jumping into the deep sea would bring. Today modern cargo ships go past the island, on their way to and from Dakar's harbour.

The island, with some 1, inhabitants, is said to be so tranquil that there are no cars, no crime, and those who visit Goree are said to behave more like pilgrims visiting a holy shrine than as tourists. Most visitors do not even spend the night on Goree. There is only one hotel.