Take A Walk of Lifetime Through The Badagry Slave Route

Filed in Articles by on October 8, 2020

Take A Walk of Lifetime Through The Badagry Slave Route.

Badagry Slave Route: Badagry is a small coastal town located between Lagos and Seme Border, Benin Republic. Its closeness to Lagos has always made it more significant than some small towns in Nigeria.

Though Lagos has a hassled and rugged atmosphere, Badagry has a quiet vibe with laid-back locals. The town seems to have a blustery relationship with modernity.

Badagry Slave Route

Although Badagry is notably known for the slave trade to foreigners, it also filled with beautiful culture and heritage. Badagry serves up the most exciting blend of incredible art, momentous history, and also amazing town lifestyle.

Paying a visit to Badagry museum is an emotional experience, as you will get to see how their slaves suffered.

The history of the slaves in Badagry tells of how 40 slaves were sold in exchange for an umbrella to how slaves were kept in inhumane conditions some for months before they were sold and shipped away. In this article, you will get to know more about Badagry slave route.

Visit the Badagry Heritage Museum

Paying a visit to Badagry Heritage Museum offers a lot; the museum is located at Boekoh Quarters along Lander Road.

At this museum, you will get to learn about the slave trade history which took place in Badagry around the 19th century.

You will also be privileged to see the amazing comprehensive collection of slave trade history and relics. There are jaw-dropping images that describe what happened during the slave trade era in the museum.

The next place to go while walking around the Museum is the iconic houses built and designed in Brazilian architecture.

A Visit to the Historic Place

There is also a place called the historic place in the museum, where Christianity was first preached in Nigeria. There used to be an Agia Tree and Christianity was first preached under the tree by Rev. Birch Freeman of Methodist Church.

At this point, you are expected to say a silent word of prayer because there is a popular saying that prayers said there are always answered.

A Visit to the Chief Seriki Abass Slave Museum

At the Chief Seriki Abass Slave Museum, Brazilian Slave Barracoon, and Mobee Family Museum you will get to learn more about the history of Badagry Slave Trade.

The Brazilian Slave Barracoon is located opposite the Slave Port and within the Seriki Abass Court. The Slave Barracoon used to be a prison where slaves were kept before they were sold and then taken to the slave ships and shipped from Badagry.

The museum features relics and antiques gained from slave trading with the European slave dealers, such as Umbrella, Ceramic plates, Jugs, etc.

When walking through the Slave Route at a point, you have to board a boat at the Slave Port and cross the lagoon to walk through the slave route to the Sea where the large ships are docked.

The Slave Port used to be where the slaves were loaded into boats for shipment to Europe or America via the Atlantic Ocean.

The Place of no Return

At the beginning of the route, there is a point that says the point of no return and as you move forward, there is another point that says “This is the route of the journey to an unknown destination”, at this stage; you might be engrossed in fear, with a lot of things running through your mind because only the wind and the whispering palms of the many coconut trees around are heard.

The point of no return was the place where the slaves were captured and shipped to the strange lands and never returned.

There is a port where the slaves were forcefully made to board a boat to cross through the lagoon, at the other side of the lagoon, there were large ships where the slaves were being shipped to Europe or America via the Atlantic Ocean.

It was learned that anyone who passes through to the strange land never returned. This human trafficking went on for more than 400 years and everyone feared this land.

It was later explained that the Europeans weren’t the ones transporting the slaves but Africans (Alaba, 2018). This point of return has now become a tourist site where tourists now pay to visit the place.

Along the way, there is an Attenuation Well, the well is about three feet high and is covered with a crafted raffia cover with two broken pieces of calabashes on top.

It has been recorded that water from the well may have been ‘jazzed’ with charms to make the slaves forget whatever they have gone through or whatever life they have lived in the town.

Permaculture Forest Garden

At the Permaculture Forest Garden located at Gberefu Island, you will be taught how to sustain your environment via agriculture, hydrology, natural building, waste management, and forestry.

You will learn other interesting things including TravelNextDoor tours and projects. There’s a tour guide present to show everyone around and educate tourists.

Badagry is a city filled with secrets but its charm is more than its natural beauty. Walking through the Slave route is an experience you can never forget in a hurry.

CSN Team.

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