Africa

[Visited: April 2025]

After having explored Ikija Town in Abeokuta, we drive straight to Badagry, where we arrive in a hot afternoon. We get rid of our bags, and head straight to the Slave Market. Our guide starts telling the story. Initially a fishing village, Badagry turned into a trading post when the first Europeans (Portuguese) arrived at the end of the 15th century. Because of its strategic location at the sea, not far from Lagos, and connected by land and water, Badagry turned out to be a perfect trading post. Initially, this trade included ivory, palm oil and textiles, but the traders soon turned to slaves which was a much more profitable business. It even continued well after the British abolished slave trade in 1807. Rough estimates suggest that around half a million Africans were sold into slavery in Badagry alone.
The lady of the Slave Market, now a museum, shows us an indigenous shrine for Vlekete, sculptures, and artefacts reminiscent of the black page of Nigeria's history. She shows us drawings of how chained slaves were thrown into the ocean in case ships were too heavy, how slaves were chained and silenced while awaiting their transportation across the Atlantic. She then sends us off on motorbikes to the First Storey building of Nigeria, which is a lighter page of Badagry's history. From here, it is a short hop to the private museum of the Mobee Royal Family. We are learning how local chiefs, like Mobee himself, were involved in the trade: they took slaves from the hinterland of Nigeria, and traded them with items like firearms, alcohol and manufactured goods. This system sustained itself for centuries. In the small museum, we see chains used to control slaves, we read the background stories of the terrible conditions in which slaves were kept, and how finally in 1852 a treaty was signed abolishing the trade.
With heavy hearts, we walk across the street, embark a small boat and cross the lagoon to reach Gberefu Island. Here, we follow in the footsteps of slaves who were forced to walk from the barracks in the city to where the ships were waiting to take them away - chained. Roughly halfway, we stop at the Attenuation well, where slaves were forced to drink from, in order for them to forget their origins and be ready for their new lives. At the far end, on the Atlantic beach, we come to the Point of No Return. This is where slaves boarded the ships that would take them to the Americas, mostly to work on plantations. The monument is in disrepair, but the thundering sound of the waves makes this a special place anyway. Once back in Badagry, we visit the Brazilian Barracoon, where slave-turned-slave trader Williams Abass had a profitable business until the abolition of slave trade. A young guide shows us the tiny cells in which 40 slaves would be kept, with only a small window, in conditions that we cannot even imagine. The trader has his tomb here as well. On a wall, we see the goods that could be traded for slaves: cannons, umbrellas, mirrors, brass kettles and alcohol. Even though we have been to former slave trading posts before, seeing and hearing about the trade still brings up many emotions. We return to the Slave Market, have a nice chat with the lady, and some time to roam around in the lively town and its attractive waterfront before we find a place for a drink to watch the sun sink over the lagoon.

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Badagry (Nigeria)

Badagry > Nigeria > Africa

[Visited: April 2025]

Around the World in 80 Clicks