Remembering our Ancestors

Remembering our Ancestors. African Presence and The Middle Passage. , Beaufort, North Carolina, was involved in the Trans-Atlantic human trade and is a documented Middle Passage arrival site., Enslaved people disembarked at or neat this exact location, now called Topsail Park. Records from 1769 show that one particular ship transported thirty-six Africans directly from the coast of Africa to the Port of Beaufort, North Carolina., The ocean voyage, known as the Middle Passage, was a treacherous and brutal journey. It was part of the largest forced migration in human history; twelve million Africans were captured and taken from their homeland. Approximately two million Africans perished during the journey to the Americas. Their remains lie at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean., The men, women, and children who survived the voyage of the Middle Passage disembarked here and were sold into chattel slavery for the purpose of profit and development of this town and nation., Over the centuries, these men and women, and their descendants made possible the agricultural and maritime commercial development of the region, with special emphasis on the menhaden and turpentine industries., Although these enslaved people have departed from this life, their descendants have continued to contribute to the town's success, culture, and community in countless ways., As a documented arrival site, Beaufort, North Carolina, has been designated as a Site and Itinerary of Memory by the UNESCO Slave Route Project., UNESCO Slave Route: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage , Launched in 1994, the international and interregional project ‘The Slave Route: Resistance Liberty, Heritage’ addresses the history of the slave trade and slavery through the prism of intercultural dialogue, a culture of peace and reconciliation. It thereby endeavors to improve the understanding and transmission of this human tragedy by making better known its deep-seated causes, its consequences for societies today and the cultural interactions born of this history. The project is structured around five key fields of activity: scientific research, development of educational materials, preservation of written archives and oral traditions, promotion of living cultures and contributions by the African diaspora and, lastly, preservation of sites of memory., The promotion of the memorial heritage related to the slave trade and slavery plays a decisive role not only in educating the general public, and young people in particular, but also in facilitating national reconciliation and social cohesion processes in societies., It is in this perspective that The Slave Route Project has created a label to encourage the preservation of sites of memory and the establishment of itineraries that can tell this story and ensure that this heritage receives due attention at the national, regional and international levels., This site fulfils the quality criteria set by the UNESCO Slave Route Project in conjunction with the International Network of Managers of Sites and Itineraries of Memory.