{"id":4828,"date":"2017-03-10T22:55:13","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T22:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpdemo.themnific.com\/01\/?p=35"},"modified":"2025-07-03T23:59:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T23:59:13","slug":"my-effort-was-crowned-with-a-success-full-image-left-sidebar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.museeafrica.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/10\/my-effort-was-crowned-with-a-success-full-image-left-sidebar\/","title":{"rendered":"Gor\u00e9e Island and its historical museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Located in the Bay of Dakar, Gor\u00e9e Island is a place steeped in history. Indeed, it is an island marked by the seal of slavery that has seen the succession of great maritime powers such as Portugal (from 1444), Holland, France and England. Paradoxically, it is also a tourist spot rocked by the waves of the Ocean with an attractive beach, a must-see for any tourist visiting Senegal. Gor\u00e9e is one of the first two communes, with Saint-Louis, created in 1872 by the French administration in West Africa on the Western model. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1978. A major place of education and culture, the island hosted the first school in Senegal, which also trained the first French-speaking executives in the perimeter of the then AOF (French West Africa). Cultural and artistic life has always been vibrant there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Main entrance of the Gor\u00e9e Historical Museum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the visitor experience, the latter is most of the time taken care of from the station of small boats that regularly shuttle between Dakar and Gor\u00e9e by a guide whose role is to tour the entire island while explaining the highlights of the history of the places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most important attractions is undoubtedly the famous slave house through which hundreds of thousands of slaves passed on their way to the Americas. Built in 1776, it was both a memorial and a place of pilgrimage for many Afro-descendants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it is not the only museum on the island, the Historical Museum is certainly the most important. Attached to the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa, the Historical Museum occupies the former Fort d\u2019Estr\u00e9es. This citadel was built by the French between 1852 and 1856 and bears the name of Vice-Admiral Jean II d\u2019Estr\u00e9es who took the island from the Dutch in 1677. This museum\u2019s mission is to tell the general history of Senegal and more specifically that of Gor\u00e9e Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The building of the Gor\u00e9e Historical Museum seen from the sea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The actual visit to the museum is special in that it follows the logic of the building\u2019s plan, that is, a circular route that gives it a certain originality. The building has a surface area of 1900 m2 with 793 m2 of exhibition space. The content is divided into 13 rooms: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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-room 1: the cartography of Gor\u00e9e, from 1681 to 1984 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 2: the Paleolithic <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 3: the Neolithic <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 4: the shell mounds <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 5: the sites of the Senegal River <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 6: the megaliths <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 7: the kingdoms <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 8: the slave trade <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 9: the resistance <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 10: the Europeans (renamed Carrefour des nations <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 11: Islam <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 12: independence <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-room 13: the cannon room (which today houses the sale of artisanal products) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 500 pieces illustrate all these themes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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