Along the Slave Routes

Arsène Francoeur Nganga is a historian, researcher, and one of the foremost experts on the history of the Kingdom of Kongo and the transatlantic slave trade. He takes us along one of the slave routes of Central Africa.

The past speaks through the land, if we are willing to listen.

In a powerful journey of remembrance, renowned historian and researcher Arsène Francoeur Nganga guides us along one of Central Africa’s historic slave routes. As one of the leading experts on the Kingdom of Kongo and the transatlantic slave trade, Nganga’s work uncovers the stories that were nearly erased, walking paths where millions were taken but not forgotten.

This is more than history, it’s healing. Each step taken along these ancestral trails reconnects us to the roots of a fractured legacy, and each truth shared is a seed of renewal.

At Matatchébo, our mission echoes this work. We plant mango trees along those very paths—not only to honor the memory of those taken, but to create living markers of resilience. These trees stand as symbols of growth, rooted in truth and watered by remembrance.

Let this journey remind us: history lives in the soil, the stories, and the people brave enough to tell them.

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