Badagry's Dark role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

 

                Badagry, a coastal town in Lagos state, Nigeria is one of the most important locations on the African continent as far as colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade is concerned. This small town played a pivotal role in the trade which saw millions of Africans forcefully taken from their homes and sold to the Americas and Europe as slaves. Badagry is an impressive historical landmark, it has a long history dating back to the precolonial era. As a major entry point to the continent, it witnessed many historical events such as the Portuguese invasion, the British colonial era and is also important to the history of Christianity in Africa. Today, Badagry serves as a physical testimony to the transatlantic slave trade and is proof of the resilience of every African slave that has graced its shores.

                The Awori people who are considered the original occupants of Badagry are believed to have migrated from present day republic of Benin sometime in the 12^th century. These people were also victims of the slave trade and lost a lot of their citizens to the practice. Badagry which was the capital city of the pre-colonial Awori kingdom was unfortunately taken over by the Dahomey people, the next occupants of the territory, in the 18^th century.  The Dahomey/ Fon people of Benin and Togo also have historical ties to Badagry because of their heavy involvement with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Badagry has also housed several other tribes like the Egun and Yoruba people of Nigeria and many western nationalities such as the British, the Portuguese, and even Brazilians.

Badagry garnered a reputation in the 18^th century as an important trading port for merchants from several parts of Africa and the known world. Slave merchants from all around west Africa brought captured slaves to the thriving slave market in the town. In the 18^th and 19^th century, Dahomey was one of the major powers of west Africa and they essentially set up a famous slave market that they named “Viekete Market”. In league with the Awori people who served the European buyers directly with services such as interpreting, pottering and supplying provisions, the Dahomey set up a thriving market and a functional economy that was notorious for several decades. In addition to slave trade, the port also facilitated the export of agricultural products such as rubber, cocoa, palm oil etc. from many parts of Africa to Europe and other parts of the world.

The arrival of the Portuguese to the region which would eventually be known as the protectorate of Nigeria was a significant point in Badagry’s history. The Portuguese arrived in Badagry in the 15^th century during the period of the European exploration and colonization of Africa. The Portuguese established a relationship with the locals, exchanging European goods such as beads, textiles and fire arms for local products like palm oil, pepper and slaves. It was during this interaction that Christianity became introduced to Badagry leading to its eventual reputation as a mission town. The catholic mission, which was first introduced in 1863 was run by the Holy Ghost Fathers, a religious order. The initial aim of this order was to provide education and healthcare to the local population but latter played an important role in the abolition of slave trade.

The Dahomey kingdom successfully established the Viekete slave market through its expansionist policies. In the late of 17^th century, the Dahomey kingdom expanded its territory westward and ended up in the present day Nigerian coastal town of Badagry which was already a center for European trade in the region.  Recognizing the potential for a thriving slave market, the kingdom of Dahomey used its powerful army to maintain a sophisticated system of capturing people from; neighboring territories and selling them off to European traders from Britain, Portugal and France.

After suffering the humiliation of being captured by the Dahomey in raids or being sold into slavery by their own families, these slaves were further subjected to many other ills in their slavery experience. The conditions of their transportation from Badagry across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas or Europe were often grossly unfavorable. The treatments of the slaves on the ships were very inhumane and brutal. The slaves were packed into ships with little space, usually not enough to move or breathe. They were chained together and forced to lay in their own waste for the duration of their trips. Many of these slaves died in transit due to many reasons like starvation, diseases and physical abuse; some of the slaves were thrown off the ships and left to drown in the ocean. Upon getting to their destinations, their living situations didn’t improve. They were usually sold to plantations and were subjected to physical abuse not very different from their lives on the ships. They had to endure physical abuse, long hours of labor, hard living conditions and were often separated from their loved ones permanently.

Prior to the transatlantic slave trade, west Africa already had a pre-established system of slavery that had been in practice for centuries. This slavery system was not based on race but rather on other factors such as debt, being captives of war, criminal punishment and an age long hierarchical system of social class which often created slaves as soon as they were born such as the Osu caste system of the Igbo people. These slaves were often used for domestic or military labor and unlike their future counterparts who would go on to work under grossly unfavorable conditions in the Americas and Europe, many west African cultures did not treat slaves badly. They were mostly treated as family members and had their own rights under customary law. The internal slave trade in west Africa was fueled by an increasing demand of slaves from the surrounding Islamic communities and the expansion of the sub-Saharan trade routes. The internal slave trade in Africa was a complex and multi-faceted system, a system that played a significant role in the success of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Slave trading in Nigeria and essentially the coastal town of Badagry was abolished in 1901 by the British colonial government after taking control of the territory in the late 19^th century. The anti- slavery law was passed in response to the increasing international movement against slavery. However, despite the ban on slave trade, the practice continued in some parts of the region, particularly in the remote areas up until 1948 when it is believed that the last slave market officially closed. The aftermath of the slave trade especially in the wake of the new British colonial government transformed the town of Badagry from a slave trade center to a diversified economy. During the British colonial era, the town became notorious for agricultural trade and as a major gateway for Christianity into the region.

Badagry has several historical sites that are relevant to the transatlantic slave trade such as the slave trade route, the slave trade relics museum, the point of no return and the Viekete market.  In 1990, the slave trade route in Badagry, Nigeria was recognized by UNESCO as a site of outstanding universal value. The slave route is a path that runs through town from the slave market to the beach. It was the route taken the enslaved Africans who were being transported to the ships that would take them across the Atlantic. This route leads to another historical site called the point of no return which is basically a monument to mark the point where the enslaved Africans were loaded unto the ships. Another notable historical site known as the Brazilian barracoon was a slave holding cell used to hold slaves before they were to be transported. In recent times, the barracoon has been converted and developed into the slave trade relics Museum.

In Badagry today, you can choose to embark on a guided slave route tour. This guided tour features the transatlantic slave trade historical sites and retraces the steps of the enslaved Africans from the slave market to the beach. This powerful and sobering experience really helps visitors to understand the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade and its lingering horrors on African societies on the continent and in diaspora. By walking on the same route the enslaved Africans were forced to take, visitors can gain a deeper understanding of the dehumanizing conditions under which they were transported. The tour serves as a reminder of the resilience and strength of the enslaved Africans who were forced to endure brutal working conditions and subsequently fought for their rights to freedom.

The significance of exploring Badagry’s dark history cannot be overemphasized. It serves as a painful reminder of the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade but most importantly it highlights the role of the African communities in facilitating it. In several places in Africa and around the world, social and cultural systems that facilitated the slave trade are still in place and has metamorphized into modern day slave trade in the guise of child and sex trafficking. In conclusion, revisiting Badagry’s dark history and the revulsion that was the transatlantic slave trade serves the same purpose as to why we study history at all, so we do not repeat it.