A raggedy ferry ride into forgotten, dark history

Economic Times

10 hours ago

Agencies Representational I recently spent an entire week in the country where I live. Didn't go anywhere, didn't even fly. Flying less than once a week always struck me as somewhat improbable. Now that I am back on the road again, I realise that there is no avoiding home though. Islands separated by oceans and moments in time spanning centuries, they are all connected.
Attending a conference in Dakar, Senegal's boisterous and decidedly sweaty capital, my friend Paul and I found ourselves contemplating what to do on our day off. Originally from the Dutch province of Zeeland - after which New Zealand was named - this is also where the 'discoverer' of Easter Island, Jacob Roggeveen once came from.
Roggeveen's landing at Easter Island in 1722 is now some three centuries ago. A hundred years prior to this, Dutch West India Company (WIC) was established in 1621 with the specific task to involve itself in the nauseating, but decidedly lucrative, trade in enslaved Africans. One of the slave trading posts the Dutch operated to facilitate this was located on the Island of Goree off the coast of Senegal. It seemed fitting to visit it. A couple of times a day, a crowded ferry plies the route from the messy port of Dakar to Goree. A half-an-hour journey, the island reveals itself meticulously built up with a round fort that once offered it protection from other seafaring parties. Seated on wooden benches, the smell of fermented fish mingles with thick fumes of diesel. From somewhere, the intoxicating rhythm of Senegal's iconic mbalax (pronounced: uhm-bal-aks) music can be heard, its lyrics in Wolof that compete with the sonorous rumbling of the boat engine. Paul is contemplating the name 'Goree' (pronounced: go-rey), rolling it around in his mouth as if exploring it with his tongue and trying out different possibilities. In its current spelling it suggests a French origin. But it actually takes its name after the Dutch delta island of Goeree-Overflakkee (Ghhu-rey-Over-flakkey). A contraction of 'goede reede', or 'good roadstead; in Dutch, it's unclear how the Dutch came to take over Goree from the Portuguese who had established themselves here as early as 1444. Seeking access to the region's richness in gold soon got them entangled in the slave trade as well. Vasco da Gama visited the island on 1502, only a few years after having established a route to India. In doing, so he had followed his fellow countryman Bartolomeu Dias, who had been the first European to successfully go round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Other islands that became part of the Portuguese network such as Sao Tome and the Cape Verde during this period soon became home to sugarcane plantations demanding an ever-increasing number of slave labourers. From the 1530s, Brazil would follow, the final destination of an estimated 5 mn enslaved Africans.
Goree is particularly known for its House of Slaves and its Door of No Return, once visited by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, and Michael Jackson. Constructed around 1776, the 'building hails from Senegal's 'French' period. But historians differ in opinion on what role it actually played in the slave trade. Those who were transported from the island probably never walked through the door itself, but did so from the beach near the fort. While Goree has come to be equated with atrocities of the slave trade, it was Easter Island that was probably more directly impacted by it. Around the time when slavery had already been abolished by most European colonial powers, Peruvian slave raids were busy capturing Polynesians for guano mining. Over half of the population was abducted. The few who made it back carried smallpox with them, decimating the remaining population even further. Half-an-hour on a raggedy ferry can't do justice to this history. But it's remarkable how easily it let its door pried open for a glimpse in. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.) Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. How Vedanta's Anil Agarwal bettered Warren Buffett in returns
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