House of Slaves

The House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves)
Statues and plaque at the Maison des Esclaves Memorial (2006).
Map
Established1962

The House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves) and its Door of No Return is a museum and memorial to the victims of the Atlantic slave trade on Gorée Island, 3 km off the coast of the city of Dakar, Senegal. Its museum, which was opened in 1962 and curated until Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye's death in 2009, is said to memorialise the final exit point of the slaves from Africa. While historians differ on how many African slaves were actually held in this building, as well as the relative importance of Gorée Island as a point on the Atlantic slave trade,[1] visitors from Africa, Europe, and the Americas continue to make it an important place to remember the human toll of African slavery.[2]

  1. ^ "Tiny island weathers storm of controversy" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. CNN Interactive, Andy Walton. 2005. Note: the link is to a reprint on the Historian's discussion list that was a prime source for the article's quotes.
  2. ^ "Through the Door of No Return", TIMEeurope, June 27, 2004.