On his second day in Senegal, President Chen Shui-bian (
"Green Island attested to the White Terror in Taiwan, while Senegal's Slave Island is like a history textbook of the 300-year-long slave trade across the African continent," said deputy secretary general to the president Joseph Wu (
Accompanied by Senegal's Minister of Culture, Amadou Tidiane Wone, Chen and his delegation arrived at the island's port after a 20-minute ride on a 200-seat ferry, at 3pm local time, where the chief of staff of Senegal's navy and an honor guard greeted them.
They then went to the museum, whose director briefed them on the island's history. They also visited the "gate of no return," at the center of the lower story of a slave house.
Slaves who were caught while trying to escape would be pushed through the gate, which opens on to a corridor leading to the sea. In the corridor, the slave would be beaten by club-wielding guards before being pushed to his watery grave.
Slave Island is situated southwest of Senegal's capital, Dakar. It is 900m-long, 300m-wide and is shaped like a boot.
It was discovered by Portuguese merchant Dinis Dias, who was seeking new routes for the spice trade. By 1817 the island became a stopping point for African slave ships traveling to America and Asia.
The La maison des Esclaves (Slave Museum) was built by the Dutch in 1776 and is the youngest of the island's "slave houses." In 1990, UNESCO and a French foundation provided funding for its renovation.
Inside the house, partitions separated men, women and children.
Each compartment was used to imprison 150 to 200 people. The slaves wore a pillory around their necks and sat on the floor against the wall. They were permitted to use the toilet only once per day.
The Slave Museum is built in the shape of a horseshoe. Under the stairs is a confinement cell and a weighing room. The former was used to punish disobedient slaves and the latter to measure their weight. Weight and muscle tone determined the value of male slaves. Prices varied from race to race.
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