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Behind the Scenes: Slave Kingdoms


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10/26/99, 9:00 p.m. ET Gates travels through Ghana and Benin in West Africa to unravel the real story of the transatlantic slave trade. He begins in Elmina on the coast of Ghana and visits a slave castle with a group of African-American visitors. By bus, he heads inland to the old Asante capital of Kumasi, where he has an audience with the Queen Mother of Asante. In the modern Republic of Benin, Gates tours the remaining royal palace of the kings of the powerful kingdom of Dahomey. His final destination is the old port of Ouidah, Dahomey's busy slaving port from which the last ship carrying slaves left West Africa in 1889, bound for Brazil. With Martine de Souza, the African descendant of a notorious Brazilian slave trader, he retraces the path of the old slave road from the market to the beach, wondering how Martine feels about her heritage.

Film Credits

Written & Presented by
PROFESSOR HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

Camera
GRAHAM SMITH

Camera Assistant
SUE CANE

Sound Recordist
STUART BRUCE

Dubbing Mixer
BOB JACKSON

On line Editor
MARC ESKENAZI

Colourist
GRAHAM HOLTOM

Editor
RENEE EDWARDS

Title Music
SPIRO, WIX, LEGWABE

Music
KOO NIMO
ISHMAEL PAMPHILLÉ
AYUB OGADA

Map Illustration
PETER VISSCHER

Graphic Design
BURRELL DURRANT HIFLE

Series Consultant
DAVID M. ANDERSON

Location Managers
ICON COMMUNICATIONS
EKOW QUARCOO

Production Coordinators
OLIVIA BROWN
MELANIE BURT

Production Manager
HELENA ELY

Researcher
KATRINA PHILLIPS

Executive Producer
JONATHAN HEWES

Series Producer
BEN GOOLD

Director
NICOLA COLTON

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EPISODE OVERVIEWS


Black Kingdoms of the Nile
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The Swahili Coast
=
Slave Kingdoms
=
The Holy Land
=
Road to Timbuktu
=
Lost Cities of the South



RETELLING AUTHOR BIOS


Zayde Antrim
=
K. Anthony Appiah
=
Roderick Grierson
=
Martin Hall
=
Timothy Kendall
=
Kevin C. MacDonald
=
John Middleton