Island of Gorée, World Heritage Site in Senegal

Island of Gorée is a small island off the coast of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Today it is an idyllic island, but it was home to the largest slave trade on the African coast from the 15th to 19th centuries. Colorful houses, such as the “Slave House,” still stand today. This is a place where the unforgettable memory of mankind remains as a “negative world heritage”.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why Island of Gorée is a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner.Read this and you will definitely learn more about Island of Gorée!

What is Island of Gorée?

A small island off the coast of Senegal, 3.5 km from the capital Dakar, was once the site of an unprecedented slave trade in human history.

Island of Gorée was highly valuable as a slave market because it was the westernmost point of Africa, the center of the north-south shipping route, and an excellent transit point for ships to anchor. Island of Gorée became the base of the “triangular trade,” in which European countries sold arms and cotton goods in Africa, and slaves from there were sold to the Americas, where they obtained sugar and cotton.

The island would be occupied by the Portuguese in the 15th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century. Thereafter, fierce conflicts between the British and the French followed, but in the 18th century the French came to dominate the island, which until 1815, when Napoleon abolished the slave trade, was lined with “slave houses” and other such places.The center of commerce then moved to Dakar, and when Senegal gained independence in 1960, the island became a World Heritage Site in 1978.

The slave house was a structure where slavers lived on the second floor and the slaves were housed on the first floor. The maximum number of people that could be crammed into the house was about 20. At the northern end of the island is a solid fortress called “Estrées Fort,” and a fort and gun emplacements remain at the southern end.

Although the island’s architecture is in a state of decay, the slave houses are still preserved as museums. Today, Island of Gorée remains as a memory that transcends various ethnic groups and should be reflected upon by humankind.

For what reason is Island of Gorée on the World Heritage List?

Island of Gorée was recognized for the following

Registration Criteria (vi)
The point is that Island of Gorée is a place where the memory of the slave trade, one of the most tragic histories in human history, remains.

World Heritage Mania Conclusions and Comments

The site is valued because it preserves historical sites that give a full picture of the slave trade, which is a stain on human history. Although UNESCO does not officially recognize the category of “negative heritage,” given that the site was first included in the World Heritage List in 1978, it is believed that UNESCO places importance on the site as a place that preserves memories that should not be forgotten by humanity.

*The content here is a discussion derived from a survey of World Heritage enthusiasts.As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the media.