When I stepped onto the pebble-paved pathways of Senegal's Gorée Island, I saw bright-pink flowers along vines that wrapped around the tops of purple doorways. Children laughed and played soccer ...

In 1793, in response to this demand, successful merchants built the Goree Warehouses, named after Senegal's Goree Islands off the coast of Africa. When fire destroyed the buildings in 1802 ...