From Slave Forts to Fortune: How Africa's Darkest Ports Became Economic Hubs

• Research; by Awonusi Oyindamola 

From Chains to Commerce: The Untold Transformation of African Slave Ports into Trade Hubs

Africa’s coastlines tell one of the most remarkable stories of human transformation in world history. The same shores that once witnessed unimaginable suffering during the transatlantic slave trade have now become a vital arteries of global commerce. Ports such as Elmina (Ghana), Gorée Island (Senegal), Ouidah (Benin), Bonny (Nigeria), and Luanda (Angola) stand as living testimonies to Africa’s capacity to transform pain into progress, and history into heritage.

Over the centuries, many African coastal outposts that once echoed with the horrors of the slave trade have been reborn as centers of legitimate commerce and development. Fortified trading posts like Ghana’s Elmina Castle (Castelo de São Jorge da Mina), Senegal’s Gorée Island, Benin’s Ouidah, Nigeria’s Bonny Island, and Angola’s Luanda played pivotal roles in the Atlantic slave trade. Today these sites – some preserved as historic monuments and others expanded into modern ports underpin national economies. By tracing their histories and present-day functions, we see how European colonial powers (Portugal, Britain, France, the Netherlands) and African kingdoms (e.g. the Ashanti, Dahomey/Benin, Bonny, Ndongo/Matamba) shaped their fortunes, and how each port adapted after abolition by shifting to exports like palm oil, cocoa, ivory and, more recently, petroleum products. (For visual context, one might include maps of trade routes or timeline graphics of each port’s evolution.)

This is not merely a story of economic evolution, but a broader reflection on how Africa’s maritime history from the fifteenth century to the modern era traced a journey from chains to commerce, from colonial exploitation to continental resurgence.

ELMINA, GHANA - From Gold Fortress to Slave Castle and Commercial Hub

Elmina Castle was built in 1482 by Portuguese traders at the urging of a local chief called Caramansa. Constructed of prefabricated stone blocks shipped from Portugal, it became the center of the Portuguese Gold Coast trade. Although originally intended to protect gold trade, Elmina soon became a major slave-holding depot: captives from the West African interior were held in its dungeons and sold to ships bound for Brazil and other colonies. Over time Elmina changed hands in the scramble for African trade. In 1637 the Dutch bombarded and captured the castle, making it the Dutch Gold Coast’s main base; the Dutch expanded the fort in the 1770s and even used its chapel to hold slave auctions. With growing European opposition to slavery, the Dutch outlawed the trade by 1815. Eventually the British took over Elmina (purchasing the Dutch forts in 1872) and abolished slavery there. By Ghana’s independence (1957), Elmina Castle had long ceased being used for trade and was later preserved as a museum and World Heritage site.

Aerial view of Elmina Castle, Ghana.

After abolition, the economy of the Gold Coast (later Ghana) shifted to “legitimate” exports. In the 19th century coastal trade focused on palm oil and other tropical products, and by the 20th century the colony became a top cocoa producer. For example, by 1901 British administrators reported exporting gold, ivory, pepper, timber, grains and increasing quantities of cocoa. Today Ghana's economy is powered by exports of gold, cocoa, and oil, and Elmina’s contemporary connection to trade is primarily through Ghana’s ports. The main harbor is Tema, just east of Accra. Ghana has heavily invested in modernizing Tema: in an ongoing expansion, authorities dredged a 19m-deep channel and built a new 1.4 km quay with four deep-water berths (able to handle 18,000-TEU ships), tripling the port’s capacity to roughly 3 million TEUs per year. These upgrades (opened in phases since 2021) are driven by World Bank and Chinese financing. As a result, Tema handled about 1.67 million TEUs in 2024, dwarfing the much smaller Takoradi port (about 32,000 TEUs). (Ghana is also adding digital customs systems and eliminating transit taxes to sustain this growth.) Elmina Castle now stands as a poignant historical site, but Tema Port – sometimes called the “Port of Prosperity” – exemplifies how Ghana’s coastal infrastructure has transformed to serve modern trade.

GORÉE ISLAND, SENEGAL- The Island of Memory and Maritime Heritage

Gorée Island, just off Dakar, was one of West Africa’s earliest European footholds. Portuguese sailors first visited around 1444, and by the 1500s a settlement had taken shape. From the 16th through 19th centuries Gorée was among the largest slave trading centres on the African coast, successively controlled by Portugal, the Netherlands, England and France. Its Maison des Esclaves (Slave House, c.1786) and five forts (including Fort d’Estrées) facilitated the Atlantic slave trade. Gorée was an active slave embarkation point from 1536 until 1848, when Senegal (under French rule) legally abolished slavery. In recognition of this history, Gorée was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, described as a “unique ‘collective historical monument’: not only to the evils of the slave trade, but also to nearly four centuries of pre-colonial Afro-European commerce”.

The Door of No Return at Maison des Esclaves, Gorée Island, Senegal.

In the post-abolition era, however, Gorée itself declined as a commercial port and became primarily a historic/tourist site. Nearby Dakar took over as Senegal’s main harbor. Today the Autonomous Port of Dakar is among West Africa’s busiest: it handled about 24 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, a 6% rise over 2023, including 881,289 TEUs of containers (up 4% year-on-year). Senegal is now investing heavily to expand its maritime infrastructure. For example, DP World and British International Investment have launched a US$1.2 billion deepwater Ndayane Port project near Dakar, creating a 5 km channel and berths for 1.2 million TEUs per year. Such projects aim to turn Dakar (and thus the Gorée area) into a 21st-century trade hub connecting West Africa to global markets. Meanwhile, Gorée Island itself – a ferry ride from Dakar – remains a museum and pilgrimage site of memory, its economy tied to tourism rather than bulk shipping.

OUIDAH (WHYDAH), BENIN - Whydah’s Passage from Chains to Cultural Capital

Ouidah (Whydah) on the Slave Coast (modern Benin) was a bustling slave port from the 17th into the 19th centuries. It was the Atlantic outlet of the Kingdom of Whydah (Ajudá) until 1727 when King Haffon was overthrown by King Agaja of Dahomey. European traders (French, Portuguese, English, Dutch) all maintained forts there; notably, a Portuguese fort (São João Baptista) was built in 1721 on land ceded by King Haffon and remained under Portuguese control (as tiny São João de Ajudá) until 1961. Ouidah was one of the largest slave-export ports in West Africa (at its peak, some 20,000 captives a year). Even after Britain outlawed the trade in 1807, illicit slavery from Ouidah continued (famously, the Clotilda brought a final illegal shipment to the U.S. in 1860). By the mid-19th century Ouidah like much of Dahomey transitioned to “legitimate” trade: palm oil, palm kernels and ivory were now in demand. In fact, the 1830s saw Dahomean rulers (and French traders) actively shift Ouidah’s economy toward palm oil production. Eventually colonial Benin (Dahomey) consolidated trade at more accessible ports: Ouidah’s shallow lagoon port lost out to nearby Cotonou, founded by the French in 1858. (France captured Ouidah itself in 1894, integrating it into colonial Dahomey.)

The Memorial Arch of Ouidah, Benin.

Today Ouidah is a relatively quiet coastal town known for its heritage (and annual Voodoo festival). It no longer handles significant cargo. Instead, Cotonou is Benin’s commercial port. Cotonou has been steadily modernized: Africa Global Logistics (Benin Terminal) recently secured €75 million (about 50 billion CFA) to extend and dredge its container terminal, doubling quay length to 1.1 km and raising capacity to roughly 1 million TEUs. By 2026 these upgrades including new gantry cranes and yard space are expected to cement Cotonou as a regional transshipment hub for landlocked neighbors. Thus, the old slave port of Ouidah lies quiet today, while just 30 km away Cotonou hums with 21st-century commerce.

BONNY, NIGERIA - From Slave Routes to Petroleum Powerhouse

The island of Bonny (in Nigeria’s Niger Delta) was the capital of the Kingdom of Bonny and a major slave-trading entrepôt for several centuries. From the 1600s to early 1800s it was dominated by the Pepple dynasty of Ijaw (Ibani) rulers and became one of the largest slave-export depots in West Africa. In 1790 an estimated 20,000 enslaved people (mostly Igbo from inland) were shipped from Bonny to the Americas. The Bonny kings (“Amanyanabo”) resisted British demands to end slavery in the 1830s, but ultimately had to shift their economy. By the 1850s Bonny had turned to exporting palm oil, palm kernels, ivory, beeswax and timber. Bonny remained an important oil-export port (and river pilot base) into the early 20th century, but in 1916 it was eclipsed by the newly-founded Port Harcourt (linked to the Nigerian Railway).

Modern Bonny LNG Terminal, Nigeria.

The mid-20th century brought a new boom: Nigeria’s offshore oil and gas. From 1961 Bonny became a crude oil export terminal (with pipelines and storage tanks). Today it is also the site of the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) export plant a joint venture of NNPC, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni which initially had six LNG “trains” producing about 22 million tonnes per annum. A large expansion (Train 7, 4.2 Mtpa) was approved in 2019 and began construction in 2021. By mid-2025 Train 7 was ~80% complete, with first gas output now scheduled for 2027. When online, this will raise NLNG’s capacity to ~30 Mtpa, reinforcing Bonny’s role in global energy supply. (Nigeria once ranked 4th in LNG exports worldwide, largely thanks to NLNG.) Plans have also been floated for a dedicated “Bonny Deep Seaport” to handle general cargo, though as of 2025 Bonny’s main exports remain petroleum and LNG via tanker and pipeline terminals.

LUANDA, ANGOLA-From Slave Empire to Oil Capital

Luanda (Angola’s capital) was founded by the Portuguese in 1576 (named São Paulo de Luanda) and became the colony’s capital by 1586. During the 17th–19th centuries Luanda was the Portuguese empire’s single most important Atlantic slave-trading port in West Africa. Enslaved Angolans were shipped mainly to Brazil, fueling a brutal trade until Lisbon formally banned slavery in 1836 (though in practice the trade to Brazil persisted into the early 1850s). When slavery ended, Angola’s coastal exports shifted to commodities like palm oil and peanuts; by the 1840s Luanda was exporting palm and peanut oil, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, tobacco, and cocoa. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Portuguese expanded Luanda’s harbor and built railways (e.g. the Luanda Railway) to exploit diamond and mineral wealth in the interior.

Aerial view of downtown Luanda, bay and Port of Luanda, marginal and central buildings, in Angola

Today Angola’s economy is dominated by oil and natural gas. The country is the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria, outputting roughly 1.03 million barrels per day in 2025. Oil accounts for about 75% of government revenue. Luanda is Angola’s main port (handling over 76% of the country’s container and general cargo volumes) and a transshipment hub for Central Africa. In 2024 Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group won a 20-year concession to upgrade Luanda’s multipurpose terminal, including dredging to 16 m depth and new cranes. (Noatum/AD Ports projects completing in 2026 aim to let larger ships call the port.) Angola is also investing in refineries to process its own oil domestically. Luanda’s skyline a mix of colonial and modern architecture reflects this role: it is simultaneously the historical site of Portuguese colonialism and a pivot of Angola’s 21st-century oil-driven trade.

FROM COLONIAL EXPLOITATION TO COMMERCIAL EXPANSION

Each of these five ports thus illustrates a common arc: slave-trade epicenter → abolition and commodity export shift → modern transport hub. In every case, African political entities (Ashanti-Fante diplomacy in Ghana, the Dahomey kingdom in Benin, the Bonny monarchy in Nigeria, the Ndongo/Matamba queens in Angola) negotiated and fought with European powers, shaping trade.  

The abolition of the transatlantic slave trade by treaties and laws in the nineteenth century forced European powers to restructure Africa’s economic systems. With the decline of the slave trade, they sought alternative commodities palm oil, groundnuts, cocoa, coffee, rubber and later minerals or hydrocarbons to sustain their industrial economies.

Colonial powers invested in railways, warehouses, and harbor facilities, but primarily for resource extraction rather than African development. Ports like Elmina, Bonny, Lagos, and Luanda became conduits for exporting raw materials and importing European goods, embedding Africa into the global capitalist economy on unequal terms.

Nevertheless, these colonial infrastructures inadvertently laid the foundation for Africa’s modern trade networks. By the mid-twentieth century, as countries like Ghana (1957), Nigeria (1960), and Angola (1975) gained independence, their leaders modernized port facilities to enhance national development and regional integration. The construction of Tema Port (Ghana) and Port Harcourt (Nigeria) reflected a new era of African economic self-determination.

Today, governments and foreign investors are expanding infrastructure new berths, rail links, dredged channels to integrate these ports into global supply chains. The medieval castle at Elmina, the cobbled streets of Gorée, the palm-tree-lined Kpasse Gate of Ouidah, the river waters of Bonny, and the modern cranes of Luanda each tell a chapter of African trade history. Each has transformed “from chains to commerce,” bearing witness to dark chapters while propelling vibrant commercial futures.

MODERNIZATION AND THE NEW ERA OF GLOBAL TRADE

Today, Africa’s former slave ports have become strategic nodes in international trade:

• Tema Port (Ghana) handles over 70% of the nation’s total imports and exports, serving as West Africa’s gateway for goods and raw materials.
• Luanda Port (Angola) processes approximately 14 million tonnes of cargo annually, positioning Angola as one of Africa’s top oil exporters.
• Cotonou Port (Benin) facilitates nearly 90% of Benin’s external trade, supporting commerce with neighboring Nigeria and Togo.
• Bonny Island (Nigeria) exports over 1 trillion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas annually, fueling both domestic and global energy markets.

Massive investments particularly from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, European Union partnerships, and private logistics corporations have transformed these once-colonial ports into modern maritime hubs equipped with container terminals, automated cranes, and digital tracking systems. The juxtaposition of ancient forts and modern cargo ships is a visual symbol of how Africa’s coastlines have evolved from sites of oppression into engines of opportunity.

PRESERVING MEMORY AMID PROGRESS

Yet, amid all this transformation, memory endures. The dungeons of Elmina, the Maison des Esclaves of Gorée, and the Door of No Return in Ouidah continue to attract scholars, tourists, and descendants of the African diaspora. These sites have become centers of reconciliation and remembrance, ensuring that economic progress does not erase historical consciousness.

Cultural initiatives, such as Ghana’s “Year of Return” (2019) and Benin’s Heritage Route Project, have reconnected African nations with their diasporic communities, blending remembrance with cultural diplomacy and tourism. This delicate balance between preserving the past and embracing progress underscores the maturity of Africa’s historical transformation.

CONCLUSION – The Coastlines that Changed the World

From chains to commerce, from despair to development the transformation of Africa’s former slave ports encapsulates one of the most profound shifts in global history. The same Atlantic that once carried millions of Africans into bondage now carries ships laden with goods, energy, and hope.

Elmina, Gorée, Ouidah, Bonny, and Luanda each with its unique journey demonstrate how Africa’s past, though painful, became the foundation for its resurgence. These coastlines, once gateways to exploitation, have become gateways to self-determination and global integration.

Their story reminds the world that history is not merely a record of suffering, but a testament to resilience, renewal, and rebirth.