Bagamoyo

Bagamoyo is a town one hour a away from here on the coast where to main slave trade was held.

Slaves were marched from all parts of Africa to Bagamoyo, on the east coast and then shipped off to Zanzibar where they would be taken to other lands from there. Bagamoyo actually means “lay down your heart” as that is the last of their home land that they would see and after that they would have to leave it all behind.

David Livingstone and others created an awareness of what was going on here to get people to end the slave trade. Many missionaries would come to help put an end to it, but most died very young due to the malaria and sickness of which, at that time, there was no cure.

There is a graveyard next to the old church and if you look at the ages on the gravestones most are from 22 to 36 years old.

So many have gone on before me to pave the way, but all their efforts did pay off, as the slave trade was abolished!

So that is some of the history behind Bagamoyo.