Saint-Louis slave trade sites fade from view in Senegal

Physical traces of Saint-Louis's role in the transatlantic slave trade are fading in northern Senegal, where historians say many former slave-holding sites have disappeared or changed beyond recognition.

One of the only explicit reminders is a dilapidated three-storey building facing the Senegal River. A plaque says the ground floor contains the remains of the only preserved slave depot in Saint-Louis.

Historian and teacher Mamadou Diallo said the building belonged to the Bordeaux-based trading company Maurel and Prom and was built between 1822 and 1825. He said at least 10,000 enslaved people passed through Saint-Louis every year during the 18th century.

Saint-Louis was France's first trading post in sub-Saharan Africa, established in 1659, and later served as the former capital of the French colonial empire in west Africa. Historians interviewed by AFP said the island was also a holding point for captives before they were shipped onward.

Ibrahima Seck, director of research at the Whitney Plantation Slavery Museum in Louisiana, said the peak trade in Saint-Louis occurred during the high-water season from May to November. He said victims were drawn from the pre-colonial kingdom of Galam, between Senegal and Mali, and that gold and captives were among the main commodities.

Diallo said there were many slave-holding facilities in Saint-Louis, especially in the northern part of the island, but that they are no longer visible. Writer and local expert Louis Camara said old trading houses along the river quays also served as depots but were not preserved by a population that did not know their history.

Seck said the Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade records about 145,000 captives officially transported from Saint-Louis. He said every old house there was potentially a slave-holding facility.

Local experts said the subject remains little discussed in Saint-Louis. Camara said most residents do not know the history, and Diallo described it as “a taboo subject”.