This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
On the 400th anniversary of the first recorded arrival of African slaves in North America, historic sites along West Africa's coast are drawing visitors in record numbers.
One such site is Kunta Kinteh island, a former slave site in The Gambia, where waves threaten to wash away the island's history.
Abdoulie Jabang, a local boat captain, has witnessed the erosion firsthand and is working to preserve the island for future generations.
"You see the island is very small now," he said. "We have to preserve this island for the young coming generations - we need to let them know about it. We should never forget what this land has been used for."
From Senegal's Goree Island to the Nigerian port of Badagry, sites where slaves spent their final days on African soil have become places of pilgrimage and remembrance.
Many of these sites have been granted world heritage status by UNESCO, which recognizes their importance in testifying to the brutal transatlantic slave trade.
Chief Seraphin Kpissi, whose village in Ivory Coast lies near a slave site on the banks of the Bodo river, believes that these sites serve as a reminder not to let history repeat itself.
"Future generations need to know what is happening so that it does not happen again," he said.
