The hidden Sacrifice of Fort Dixcove

In the year 1692, the year that altered my life for the better or worse? Let's reel back a bit, shall we?

Who knew a visit from a couple of English men, will cause this life changing decision.?

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A part of me wondered, had I escaped the gruesome slave trade, through this sacrifice, or have I made it worse?

I mean but for my death, there wouldn't be a Fort to serve as a death trap to begin with.?

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Would I have become a wife, a mother, a farmer, a doctor, a lawyer? What would life have looked like but for this decision.

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Some would call me brave, others stupid. All in all at the time of this decision, I felt brave, a heroine, elated even though the unknown scared me. That the future of the township depended on me.?

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What a great sacrifice!!!?

16 years and a virgin, the ultimate criterion for this sacrifice. Was it worth keeping myself pure over? Should I have just slept around? Perhaps I would have lived life to the fullest.?

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On that fateful day, I clothed in gold. Oh what a great opportunity!!!! What a bliss, call me the golden bride because that what I felt like that day.?

Taking away the fear of being put in a dark box with no way out, suffocating till the claws of death dragged me away from the land of the living. Oh the tears of my parents, the wails of the township of dixcove. The excitement of the English men, finally the Fort will be built for business.?

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All in all, my people traded gun powder, whiskey, tobacco, etc. A win they thought, till the actual intent of the English men was revealed.?

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Thus began the treacherous beast, slavery.?

I guess my sacrifice was worth it or was it?

I guess that's how she felt. My heart tore apart upon hearing this story. The brave girl who sacrificed her life, her all for the future of her community. The tour guide said, the building used to belong to a certain chief, before the arrival of the English in 1692. When he died, his descendants decided that, they would use the land as a cemetery for the family.

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When the English arrived, they also decided to built a Fort for trading on that same land. The descendants of the late chief agreed on the precedence that their forefather, the chief will remain buried there, so they can visit the place during their festival yearly, called kundrom and pour libations.?

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An agreement was made. The men then went back to England to bring materials for building the Fort. According to the tour guide, it took them 8 years to build the Fort. Because every time they built the building, it collapsed. The people of the township consulted the gods who demanded a sacrifice of the blood of a 16 year old Virgin. Hence the great sacrifice of this brave heroine.?

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According to the tour guide, the girl willingly decided to lay down her life for this purpose, with no questions asked.?

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After the sacrifice, they were able to build this Fort. After which a barter trade was established. Gold, spices, etc for gun powder, whiskey, tobacco, etc.

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One can only wonder if this was really worth it, or not?

Today, the gold she was clothed in, still remains in the burial grounds at Fort Metal Cross.