Talk:Gorée

Untitled
It seems inconsistent that the article claimes the Slave House was built by the Dutch in 1776, yet later on says the Dutch lost control of the island in 1677.

"Gorée is best known as the location of the House of Slaves (French: Maison des esclaves), built by the Dutch in 1776...the Portuguese setting foot on the island in 1444. Later it was captured by the Netherlands in 1588, then the Portuguese again, and then eventually the French in 1677. The island remained continuously French until 1960 when Senegal was granted independence, with only brief periods of English occupation during the various wars fought by France and England between 1677 and 1815."

I've read conflicting stories about the Slave House and the leading theory is that the original owners of the house was a French doctor named Jean Pepin. Can anyone else verify this claim?

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I have some beautiful photos of Gorée, and am wondering if there's any way I can add/post them, or if this is useful. Please let me know and I can post them or send them to you. Thanks! Annekoplinka (talk) 18:41, 5 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Great idea - you can add them to Wikimedia first to make them available without restriction, then to the article (instructions at Wikimedia).--Parkwells (talk) 12:44, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Extent of slave trade at Goree
Gorée wasn't an important slave trading port. The article probably ought to be clearer about this. I'm going to make a few edits. Here's a very useful link that will give you the full explanation of the Goree phenomenon. Professor Curtin is the foremost authority on the demography of the slave trade -- if anybody knows how many slaves were shipped from where to where it is Curtin. --Stewart king (talk)


 * More than the link, you should provide sources and cites for this, since Gorée came to have a reputation as a center of extensive slave trade.--Parkwells (talk) 12:44, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Bibliography for ARC 312
Atwood, Roger. "Senegal's Forgotten Slaves." Archaeology 65.5 (2012): 47-51.

Pikirayi, Innocent. "Gold, black ivory, and houses of stone: historical archaeology in Africa." historical archaeology 9 (2006): 230.

Thiaw, Ibrahima (2011). 8 Slaves without Shackles: An Archaeology of Everyday Life on Gorée Island, Senegal. Proceedings of the British Academy 168:147.

Thiaw, I., 2003a, Archaeology and the Public in Senegal: reflections on doing fieldwork at home. Journal of African Archaeology 1(3): 215–225.

Wilson Marshall, Lydia. "Slavery in Africa: archaeology and memory." Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 48.1 (2013): 140-141. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nicoleslaw22 (talk • contribs) 18:03, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

Summary or Plan of Action for Archaeology at Gorée Island Section
Summary of the Archaeology at Gorée Island

The first thing that I am going to change or add, is the title of the section that I am expanding. “Historical Sites” will be changed to “Archaeology at Gorée Island”. After that there will be a brief introduction to one of the earliest Afro-European settlements found, Gorée Island. The main focus will be the three heritage sites which are: Maison des Esclaves, Rue des Dungeons, and the Quartier Bambara. All of these sites can be considered historical archaeology.

Maison des Esclaves was built in 1780-1784. Although it is the home of the infamous “Door of No Return”, said to be the last place exported slaves touched African soil for the rest of their lives, there is little evidence at Maison des Esclaves to suggest a “large-scale trans-Atlantic slave trade” economy (Thiaw). At Rue des Dungeons, as the name suggests, there is a presence of dungeons, which can clearly be associated with the confinement of the slaves to be exported. Quartier Bambara was a segregated settlement, which suggests domestic slavery rather than exportation. The maps of this settlement has segregated lines that eventually, by the mid-eighteenth century, were shown to be “considerably reduced” (Thiaw). Ibrahima Thiaw is one of the main archaeologists studying and publishing articles about these sites and this island. I would also like to take a few sentences to talk about the controversial aspects of these sites. Pictures of all these historical sites should be included.

In addition to talking about the main (controversial) historical sites on Gorée Island, there is also other sites from the late first and early second millennium that have importance in discovering the daily life of the people of Gorée Island. Information regarding their diets and animals of domestication can all be found in other archaeology projects around Gorée. Although I believe the majority of the information I am going to find is going to revolve around the 3 main historical sites above, I’d like to see if I can give Gorée a more well-rounded archaeological breakdown.

I am also adding another source: Thaw, I. (n.d.). Digging on Contested Grounds: Archaeology and the Commemoration of Slavery on Gorée Island, Senegal. In New Perspectives on Global Public Archaeology (pp. 127-138). NY: Springer New York.

Nicoleslaw22 (talk) 17:30, 24 October 2016 (UTC)Nicoleslaw22


 * Looks great so far. I think your plan sounds good - you're right that you will want to contextualize this a bit more in terms of the archaeology of slavery in West Africa more broadly (check out some of Christopher DeCorse's work at Elmina, for example). Expanding to include some of the controversial issues related to heritage tourism would also be important, I think. Pics that are available for use might be hard to find, but I can help look. Nice job - keep going! Ninafundisha (talk) 19:12, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Transportation of prisoners from the UK
says this location was a destination for British prisoners (in the 1700s? 1800s?) which turned into a disaster, citing the book A Merciless Place: The Lost Story of Britain's Convict Disaster in Africa. No doubt coverage of that would make an interesting expansion for this article. -- Beland (talk) 16:21, 13 September 2019 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 13:01, 23 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Senegal location map Topographic.png