The star is for the winery and the beautiful land to explore. That said, I have some concerns.
Between the slave house and the mausoleum, there’s a sign just off the path that reads:
‘For example, there are accounts of white seashells or pebbles being used to decorate burial places in some parts of the South. These items are indicative of the watery underworld that features in the religious customs of some Central African tribes; additionally, some historians note that in Central Africa, the color white—not black—is associated with death.’
While partially correct, this description is incomplete. In many Central African cultures, white is not only associated with death but also with ancestors, peace, victory, spiritual purity, and the afterlife. Among the Fang, Punu, Gbaya, Banda, and Mandjia peoples, for example, white often symbolizes a powerful and elevated spiritual transition. Presenting it solely as a death-related color omits this broader cultural meaning.
Inside the slave house, several informational displays contain interpretations of the Transatlantic Slave Trade that I believe are misleading. These issues may arise from omission rather than deliberate intent, but they still distort history.
The reality is that slavery was a global institution long before Europeans arrived in West Africa. Many African kingdoms and societies actively participated in capturing and selling their own people and members of rival groups to any buyers—Arab, Jewish, Asian, or European—who had the means to purchase them. The Arab/Jewish slave trade across the Sahara and the Red Sea predated the Transatlantic system by centuries and continued for more than a thousand years, taking millions of Africans to North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. Conditions for these captives could be brutal: castration of male slaves was common in some Islamic and Jewish markets, and mortality rates during transport were often extremely high.
In East Africa, Arab, Jewish and Persian traders acquired Africans through raids and coastal markets, sending many to Arabia, Persia, and the Indian subcontinent. Some Africans were also transported across the Indian Ocean to serve in military or domestic roles in India, Sri Lanka, and other parts of Asia.
China, including during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), practiced slavery through conquest, tribute, and trade. Most slaves were from Central Asia, Korea, and Southeast Asia, though small numbers of East Africans arrived via the Indian Ocean trade network facilitated by Arab and Jewish merchants. These Africans were considered exotic and often used as status symbols in elite households, with limited rights and no prospects for freedom.
Even in the Ottoman Empire—which ruled large parts of Southeast Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East—African slaves were used as soldiers, eunuchs, and concubines. Many endured extreme hardship, and mortality rates in some roles were staggering.
Slavery, in other words, was opportunistic and practiced wherever profit or power could be gained. It was not unique to any single race, region, or time period.
Visitors might consider this question: Would it have been better to live as a slave on this land, or as one in the Syrian desert? Neither choice is acceptable, but the comparison shows that conditions varied widely depending on geography and culture.
In the modern West, all races are legally free. European-descended peoples played a central role in building the infrastructure, institutions, and technological advancements of what is now the most materially advanced civilization in history—one that offers unprecedented freedoms and opportunities to people of all backgrounds, including millions of legal immigrants. While acknowledging the moral failings of the past, it is both unfair and dangerous to portray this demographic as inherently malicious in the very societies they helped to create.
The modern world benefits daily from innovations, governance systems, and rights frameworks developed within this civilization—benefits now...
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