Many historians doubt that the Maison des Esclaves presents accurate history. “The whole story is phony,” says historian Philip D. Curtin, who insists that no more than 30,000 slaves were transported through Gorée Island over 400 years of the Atlantic slave trade, not 20 million as Joseph Ndiaye, the site’s curator, often claimed. As for the Maison itself, critics contend that one of the most beautiful homes on the island would not have been used as a warehouse for slaves. They argue that the history of the house is being intentionally distorted in order to attract tourists.
However, for those tourists, including many African-Americans seeking a connection to their ancestry, Gorée Island and the Maison des Esclaves serve as powerful symbols of the Atlantic slave trade. How important is historical accuracy in a site that holds such emotional power?
On the web, UNESCO and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience both favor the version of history presented by the curator and guides of Maison des Esclaves; The Baltimore Sun and Time offer historians’ dissenting views of that account. H-Net has a spirited discussion among historians, including Philip Curtin, on the Gorée controversy.
References
“Through The Door of No Return.” Time, June 27, 2004.
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John Murphy, “Powerful Symbol, Weak in Facts,” The Baltimore Sun, June 30, 2004
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Design of Goree Island
Since artifacts are scarce, the Maison des Esclaves tells its story through its architecture. A horseshoe-shaped staircase divides the space between the Europeans’ rooms above and the slave quarters below. According to Joseph Ndiaye, the site’s recently deceased longtime curator, the courtyard between the stairs served as a marketplace where traders and buyers bargained from the balcony while the slaves were being weighed and sorted. After this assessment, Ndiaye said, slaves were sent down a corridor leading to the infamous “Door of No Return,” which opens onto the sea. The Maison des Esclaves was restored in 1990 with the support of UNESCO and the Senegalese government.References
UNESCO: Official Site on Gorée Island.
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