Last updated, Jan. 1, 2010.
From the 1600's to the early 1800s, European traders built castles along the coast of Africa to contain slaves until ships could transport the slaves to markets in the New World. Through these grim, utilitarian structures over 10 million people passed on their descent into slavery. About 30 of these castles still exist today, most along a 300-mile stretch of the coast of Ghana. But these historic structures have never been adequately documented.
This project hopes to change that. We are Doug Henderson and Greg Merrell, US-based photographers working to establish a body of photography on Africa's slave castles. We will make this work available to the public in the form of a photo-essay book, stock photography, a traveling exhibit to schools and universities, a possible lecture series and a website.
VIEW PHOTOS OF CASTLES ITINERARY UNESCO REPORT MAP ITINERARY
The Castles.
There are about
28 castles along the coast of Ghana, most of them west of the capital city,Accra.
Then in far west Africa, off the coast of Senegal is Goree Island. Another
stands along the Gambia River in Gambia, also in West Africa. Proximity
Map
Some of the castles are abandoned stone ruins with just a few walls standing, others are still in use as prisons. Several are now "guest houses": for $2. you can spend the night. One, the hugh Osu Castle, is the seat of the Ghana's government. At least three are museums, in the African sense of the word museum, which is just a few signs, some artifacts and some small exhibits. Goree Island is quite extensive and quite a commerical tourist location, complete with restruants.
When I (D.H.) was photographing AIDS research in Ghana in 2004, I briefly visited three of these castles, but at the time didn't really understand what I was seeing. With very limited time and oportunity, I was able to get just a few snapshots of the castle at Elmina and the one at Cape Coast. I visited several of the dungeons where slaves were kept, passed through the "door of no return", and held in my hands the actual iron bars used to secure the dungeons. These are very strange places. When I returned to the states I wanted to know more about these castles, but was surprised to find almost no information available.
UNESCO, a part of the United Nations, has declared most of these sites as World Heritage Sites of immeasurable historical importance, and steps have been taken to preserve them(read the UNESCO 1998 REPORT)But the countries involved simply have no funds for doing this, and even if they did, HIV/AIDS and a thousand other causes would rightly take priority over the historical preservation of these sites. And as such, the sites continue to deteriorate.
The Documentation. Such documentaion would primarily consist of new digital photography, high-definition videography and possibly also audio recordings of these places, including
- Architectural photography of the exteriors of the castles and their surroundings
- Details of the castles
- Interior shots of the dungeons, cells, chapels, the door of no return, etc.
- Environmental shots of people, fisherman, children, living in the vicinity of these forts
- Equipment used in the slave trade, such as shackles, chains and other gear.
- Aerial photos of the castles and their surroundings along the Atlantic coast.
The present plan is for myself (D.H.) and Greg Merrell to go to Africa during the month of June 2010. We expect to be there for about 35 days, but this is quite tentative and subject to change.
The photography and videography would be made available for purchase to researchers, authors and educators and the general public via this website.
The photography would be compiled into a hard cover, photo-essay book, 9x12 inches, about 180 pages in length. The paper would be heavy, quality glossy stock. The book could possibly be a "slip-cased" book. Some of the photography would be presented in color, some of it in Black and White.
The photography would be accompanied by informational captions and text consisting of brief historical narratives, quotes from slaves and statistical information. While I envision this book as being primarily factual, I also want this to have a "human" or, for lack of a better term, a "spiritual" aspect. Text would be historically informative of the slave trade, but not exhaustive, as this has already been done and is not the focus of this project. The book would also include a satellite photo/map of the Atlantic Ocean, showing trade routes used by slave ships from these castles to their destinations and a satellite photo/map of the coast of Ghana with the castles labeled.
The traveling exhibit would be freestanding displays, with photography and text.
The lecture could be two fold, a more historical, factual side presented to schools, colleges and other institutions and then a more visual side presented to museums and photography groups.
Qualifications: As a professional photographer, Douglas Henderson has over 20 years of experience. His work has been published in The New York Times, Newsweek, Newsweek Japan, The National Enquirer, the National Examiner and others. www.douglashenderson.com
Henderson has experience in Africa and first hand knowledge of the slave trading castles. In 2004 and again in 2005 Henderson spent time Ghana, visiting three of the castles there. His connections in Ghana include a tribal king and a doctor, the administrative head of one of the hospitals in Accra.
The Plan Much of the pre-project research is already complete. Henderson has visited some areas of the project and has a good idea of what is "on the ground" and has been in contact with people in the area for some time. Itemized budget of African documentary trip.
The current plan would call for Henderson to travel from the United States to Accra, Ghana, arriving in mid-July. Accra would be a "base of operations" since it is centrally located on the coast of Ghana, which is where the majority of the work will occur. Henderson would work his way along the coast of Ghana to the western-most castle, then return to Accra. Henderson would travel east from Accra shooting the remaining castles in that country. Henderson would then travel to back to Accra, and fly to Dakar, Senegal, on the west coast of the African continent. In Senegal he would shoot Goree Island, then travel the short distance into Gambia, where he would shoot Ft. James Island and two villages in that area. He would return to Dakar and then fly back to the United States, leaving Africa in late August. Baring unforeseen circumstances, by late October, rough editing and initial drafts of the book should be well underway. Hopefully by the end of the year the book would be ready to go to press. Day-by-day itinerary.
