41.4% of the 2,579,400 slaves that were sold to the English from Africa during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade era (1690-1807) were from the Bights of Benin and Biafra. Both in present day Nigeria.
Over the week I visited the old city of Calabar, and among the places I stopped by was the Slave History Museum where the relics of an ugly past are preserved.
The museum is situated by the Calabar River that was known as the "point of no return" where natives said final goodbye to an environment they had come to trust, goodbye to the known and familiar, and adieu to freedom.
Because of its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Calabar served as home to the colonial era that settled just after the slave era. I was in the home of the colonial regime that had a vantage view over what is now known as "Old Calabar." That too serves as a museum with some notable relics, including a vintage Velocette Motorbike that Hope Waddel allegedly rode. My friend told me that, though the tour guide didn't confirm the information.
Unfortunately, these were all camera-restricted areas and I can't share the many pictures that my photographic eye was able to preserve on the embedded memory stick in my brain. That's a thing ;-) But I will share a little bit. Youtube got even more butthurt as I used Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta" soundtrack on the slideshow. They took it down in seconds. Thank God for Dtube!
Overall it was a fun trip, albeit emotional. The slave museum (largely deteriorated) offered a realistic recreation of the time. You could hear them wail as they were forced away from their homes.
Point of No Return was the final departing point of slaves that were exchanged for gin, bottles, mirrors and guns. Present day African elites haven't changed much from their ancestors, apparently.
Enjoy!
Video Created with GoPro Quik App
