Breaking the Silence of Colonialism and Slavery: Redefining Authenticity and Integrity from an Anthropological View—Case Studies of Ghana’s Forts and Castles and Angola’s World Heritage Sites

Africa’s tangible and intangible heritage and its diversity must be at the heart of its preservation and management. The ratification of the 1972 UNESCO Convention by all African countries, unfortunately, does not consider the anthropological views of Africans in its endeavours. A 2024 joint UNESCO/ICCROM/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to Ghana’s Forts and Castles World Heritage Site unearthed a dynamic perspective worth the attention of all heritage practitioners in the nomination and management of the world heritage sites. This paper brings out an alternative reflection on authenticity and integrity as expressed by the communities surrounding the Forts and Castles of Ghana and the World Heritage Sites in Angola. This neglected aspect of the discussion of the properties’ authenticity and integrity has resulted in the current poor state of preservation of the Forts and Castles. On the other hand, the nomination of the site of Mbanza Kongo for the World Heritage List in 2017 for Angola has made it possible to redefine the authenticity and integrity of Angola's heritage.