The transatlantic slave trade necessitated the creation of structures that have now become monuments of historical significance to Ghana.
From castles and forts to hidden underground tunnels, these infrastructures serve as stark reminders of the agony endured by our ancestors.
As we mark Heritage Month, Channel One News explored the untold stories of the hidden slave tunnels in Jamestown and other trading points in the then Gold Coast.
The transatlantic slave trade, which spanned four centuries, was largely facilitated by European powers through infrastructural developments aimed at efficiently acquiring enslaved Africans.
From fortified trading posts along the coast to inland transportation networks designed to expedite the capture and movement of slaves, these facilities have become monuments of historical significance in Ghana.
Master Hansen, as he was affectionately called, was a Danish slave merchant who operated in British-controlled Jamestown, Accra, during the transatlantic slave trade. He also served as the governor of James Fort.
Nii Jaase Hansen, a fourth-generation descendant of Master Hansen, was the first point of contact when Channel One News visited what used to be his ancestor’s slave lodge.
“Hansen was Danish. He traded with the Danes and after they left, he traded with the British. He dealt in ammunition and slaves. He settled and married a black so when the Dutch left, he stayed behind,” he told Channel One News.
Faced with resistance from families of enslaved people and sporadic uprisings by locals, merchants like Hansen resorted to constructing underground tunnels beneath their lodges to secretly transport captives.
As a major trading hub for enslaved people, tunnels were common at lodges and forts. Just a short distance from the Nii Hansen lodge, Channel One News visited the only slave tunnel in Jamestown that remains unblocked.
Another significant structure is the documentation office, where ships were registered for the transportation of enslaved Africans.
The Jamestown Sports Arena today is a hub for nurturing talent, in stark contrast to its grim past.
For at least three months, enslaved Africans were kept in these tunnels, shackled and malnourished, before being transferred to James Fort.
Although the distance from the tunnels to the fort is only 400–500 meters, the journey took nearly two hours due to the difficulty of moving in chains.
Nii Marmah, a tour guide, explained that the blockage was necessitated by the continued illegal slave trade even after its abolition.
“At a point, the British wanted to opt out because they thought business was not brisk anymore, because the slave trade had been abolished, but some individual merchants decided that you can’t opt out. This is the best place to be. They wanted to expand their infrastructure in terms of telegraph lines, so those individuals paid part of the construction of the telegraph lines, and that is how telegraph was laid into this structure,” Nii Marma Marquaye said.
Merchants who still had enslaved people in their possession resorted to using these tunnels in secrecy.
The tragedy of enslaved Africans in Jamestown is just one chapter in a broader history, reflected in other coastal trading centers like Fort Williams in Anomabo, Central Region.
Back in Jamestown, slave masters had their own strategies for luring captives into the tunnels.
The transatlantic slave trade may be over, but the stories of brutality—many etched on the very walls of these tunnels—remain largely untold.
