Slaves and Grains: Understanding the Role of Slaves and Grains
in the History of Anomabu during the trans-Atlantic trade

David Akwasi Mensah Abrampah
(lead & corresponding author)
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies

University of Ghana
Email: [email protected]
Mark Henry Freeman

Archaeologist and former Community Relations Manager

Cirrus Oil Company, Ghana.

Abstract
In the years of the trans-Atlantic trade, Anomabu located at the west
coast of Ghana prospered and became renowned entrepót for large
volumes of trade goods, provisions, and slaves carried by both local
and European merchants to the New World. European trading
activities on the West African coast during the trans-Atlantic trade,
particularly, during the19th century improved this trade and generated
massive amount of wealth for those who participated in it. Although
documentary records give an indication of the Atlantic material culture
in Anomabu, there is limited understanding from these historical
sources alone. While the documentary sources describe the materials
that were traded as provisions to European slave ships in Anomabu,
the archaeological data comprising the excavated artefacts and the
extant ruins of Anomabu fort and other merchandises outlets give
further understanding of the materiality of the Atlantic era in
Anomabu. The trans-Atlantic materiality of Anomabu encompassed
materials such as grains, slaves and its associated material culture,
European/imported utilitarian materials, gun flint, and the built
environment, particularly Anomabu fort and other extant trading
outlets. This article explores how material engagement at Anomabu
shaped the structure and the organization of the trans-Atlantic trade
resulting from European-African interactions and give further
understanding of how Anomabu was incorporated into the Atlantic
world during nineteenth century.
Key words: Anomabu, provisions trade, Fort William, grains, slavery