The Kunta - Kinteh Island
The Gambia
An important historical site during the atlantic slave trade, the Island together with it related sites including Fort bullen, Juffureh and Albreda are World heritage listed sites. The first european settlers on the island came from dutch of court land, though the English crown had granted the island to two separate companies in 1588 and 1618. In 1651, the settlers built a fort that they named after Jacob Kettler the then Duke of Courland, and used it as a trade base. They held the fort from 1659 until the British captured it in 1661.
A character described in Alex Halley’s book and TV series roots has become associated with the Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly known as James Island. Kunta- Kinteh was one of 98 slaves that in 1767, the slave ship Lord Ligonier took to Annapolis, Maryland.
Quick Facts
- Kunta-Kinteh Slave Island
Its first settlers were the Duchy of Courtland & Semegailia a vassal state of the Polish Lithuanian Common wealth.
- The Slave Island
The Island was major slave trading post in Africa during the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.