Dahomey, Benin West Africa: ‘The Point of No Return’

Ouidah: the most notorious of the Slaving Ports. The Dahomey Kingdom was the most ruthlessly effective of the African Slave Traders. Five separate forts were built to hold 10,000 slaves at any one time. The route from the forts to where the slaves were loaded into the ships, has become a shrine for Africans and their American brothers. Similar to the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem in emotive terms. This “Route Des Esclaves” is historical fact, whereas the Via Dolorosa is not.

In a rather futile attempt to get a ‘feel’ for what must have been going through the minds of all those unfortunates, I strip down to my shorts and bare feet and take the route they did.

It is 4Km from the only surviving fort to the shore where the ‘Slavers’ (ships) would lie. In the back of the fort, in an open enclosure the size of a tennis court, 2,000 slaves would lie manacled. When the ships arrived – the final march would begin - children, females and males chained together. Every 100 metres is a Voodoo Shrine, commemorating an aspect of tribal ancestry.

The first thing that strikes, is the appalling heat and humidity. Walking 4kms with no clothes and barefoot in this climate is excruciating. At least I am carrying 4 litres of water. They were not.

The second is the sound. Despite magnificent sandy beaches, West Africa has the Atlantic battling its shores with vast ‘breakers’. The thunder of them grows ominously louder as the unfortunates would have approached the shore. They would never have seen the sea before, coming from the northern hinterland.

It takes me 2 hours and 4 litres of water to reach the shore. I am utterly shattered but that is irrelevant to what confronts me. The Bay is vast. It is exactly as it was then. 5 miles of golden sand in one huge arc, encircled by Palm-fringed jungle. A Tourist’s dream.

But to the unfortunates it was the last sight of their home – Africa. Can one possibly imagine their feelings as they were loaded onto “lighters” (small flat-bottomed craft) to be taken through the surf to be lowered into the dark, dank Holds of The Slaver Ships, resting at anchor 500 metres beyond the breakers?

That last desperate look at the shore while listening to the surf, and then into the dark depths of the Hold. Horrible. I suspect I only felt a “batsqueak” of their anguish.

ABOLITION

There had always been objections to slavery throughout history.  However, they rarely came to anything because double standards were involved, as all those in power were all directly, or indirectly, financially involved in he trade.

The realAbolition movement started in North America with the Baptists in Carolina and the Presbyterians in Pennsylvania state . The first example was the condemning of the Witches of Salem. They were in fact all the slave traders.

The Quakers of Newport, Massachusetts and Rhode Island state , all of whom were large slave owners, also began the realisation of the inconsistency of slavery with Christian principles.

But there was another reason in North Americabeyond philanthropy and that was the fear of rebellion.  There was instant pressure to reduce the number of slaves coming in because of this.

This was the period of the Enlightenment.  The great wave of ideas and emotions of which Voltaire was the grand figure who wrote in 1764:  

"People who traffic in their own children are more condemnable than the buyer."  condemning both the African and the Slaves.

  Together with the American beginnings, the movement finally took off in the Atlantic

  Together with the American beginnings, the movement finally took off in the Atlantic