[2] According to Nigerian historians, as many as 3 million slaves were believed to have been shipped to the Caribbean and Americas between 1518 and 1880 from the island.

The Island's first settlers and real landlords are two Ewe communities (villages) under one umbrella, which are Gbragada, and Kofeganme (Yovoyan).

The Ewes of this Island were salt merchants and seasoned fishermen from Keta (The KETAS) around 1734, but majority of them are fishermen and farmers by occupation in the late 18th and early 19th century, although there are other ethnic groups living in the area, which comprises the Egun(Ogu)/Ilajes in one harmony with there landlords.

[4][5] Since Gberefu Island is an historic site, it has attracted several tourists around the world thereby increasing its notability.

[6] According to a 2015 statistics released on The Guardian, a total number of 3,634 people visited the island in 6 months.