Designs of Slaving Castles
Slave castles, well the biggest ones anyway, looked like mini cities with several multi-story buildings; up to 50 or 60 guns; defense walls; barracks, dungeons, or sheds for slaves; and chapels for worship. Outside the walls of the castles, but within the protection of the guns were the huts of the Africans employed by the castles, a quarantine hospital for sick slaves, and burial grounds for dead slaves. Often painted white, these "castles" rested on beautiful bays and coves with extraordinary views of the ocean.

 

Picture of Arguin Fort in 1709

Shows the structure of fort construction and interior featurs of the forts such as the entrance, gates, courtyard, cistern location, and the living quarters.

Christiansborg Castle on the Gold Coast in 1750

Shows the north and south sides of the fort and a neighboring African village.

Slave Barracoons in Sierre Leone in the 1840s

Picture of a slave barracoon with a thatched roof, captured slaves inside the barraccoon, guards on the outside, and one person being whipped.

Cape Coast Castle in Ghana in 1973

Photo showing bastions with guns pointing seaward.

 

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