Goree - a symbol of slavery exploitation

Off the coast of Senegal , a few kilometers from the capital , is the island of Goree . Given its picturesque location , it's hard to believe how tragic story is bound . As an erstwhile center of the slave trade today is a symbol of the exploitation of man by man.

The history of the island dates back to 1444 , when Portuguese sailors discovered her under the leadership of Denis Dias . It was then called Ilha de Palma. The first real trading settlement was established there through the Dutch, who renamed it to Goede ReeDe ( good port) - hence the present name of Goree . Since 1677, the island was under the authority of the French. It was here that he established the then governor of Senegal , Stanislas de Boufflers , who in 1785 moved to Goree his residence from St. Louis .

Base slave trade

Located on the island of Fort d ' Estrees from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century was the largest in Africa, the slave trade base , where they were imprisoned , sold , and then loaded onto ships and sent across the Atlantic to America. It was from this seemingly idyllic island representatives of the peoples of Africa set off on its voyage slave , called a "journey of no return" . The slave trade was one of the cornerstones of the economic organization of each colony .

Goree Island was officially attached to the Dakar in 1927 , and since September 1978 appears on the UNESCO World Heritage List . Was the place to visit world leaders and authorities , as Barack Obama , Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II. Their intention was to honor the memory of millions of black slaves who were transported to the Americas on plantations White .

severe scarring

Currently, the island of Gorée is an important point on the tourist map of Senegal . Visitors are attracted mainly its historical aspect . The architecture of the island today is characterized by the contrast between the elegant old houses traffickers and gloomy districts inhabited by slaves at that time .

Despite the passage of so many years , the scars of the period of slavery in Africa are still keenly felt. Violations of the most basic human rights, breaking the population of its native land , torture and poniżeniom left their mark . However, the need for change and reform of economic development should involve a change also in the African mentality. Posited current failures in the old colonialism does not contribute to progress in various areas of life.