Never Forget the Past – Bunce Island

Visit the remains of the largest slave fort in Sierra Leone, where thousands of enslaved Africans saw their homeland for the last time before being shipped off to the Americas. See how nature is slowly reclaiming what men built, with vegetation covering the ruins of buildings.

Bunce Island lies in the estuary of the Sierra Leone River around 20 miles (30 km) upriver from Freetown. It takes about 45 minutes by speedboat to reach the island and most people visit as part of organized tours.

Starting in the 1500s, the small island by Portuguese and then British slave traders, one of the main hubs where enslaved Africans were held and processed before being sent to the Americas. It’s estimated that over 30,000 people were transported to labor camps in the southern U.S. from Bunce Island, many of them perishing during the arduous Middle Passage across the Atlantic.

After the abolition of slavery, Bunce Island and its castle were abandoned and slowly fell into disrepair, with vines, trees and plants engulfing the stone buildings. The island is now protected by Sierra Leone’s Monuments & Relics Commission, and work is underway to preserve the castle and other historical structures present on the island.

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