Cais do Valongo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Cais do Valongo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Subject (Topic)
Brazil--Rio de Janeiro
Enslaved persons
Slavery--Brazil
Slavery--Portugal
Transatlantic slave trade

Subject (Object Type)
Archaeological site

As the last nation in the Americas to officially abolish slavery in 1888, historians estimate that of the approximately 10.7 million enslaved persons brought to the Americas, as many as 50 percent arrived in Brazil. Valongo was the debarkation point for an estimated 900,000 enslaved Africans. In July 2007 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization added the wharf to its World Heritage List. The site consists of a number of archaeological layers, the lowest of which are the remains of the Valongo Wharf’s floor pavings. The bodies of the enslaved who died upon arrival in Brazil were burned, and chopped-up bones were buried in mass graves on a site near the wharf.

Photograph: Flickr, "Cais do Valongo -- Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 2013" by Wagner Tamanaha, CC BY-SA 2.0.

1811-1831

Rio de Janeiro City Hall, Rua Afonso Cavalcanti, 455 - Cidade Nova, 20211-110, Brazil

JPEG

English

Archaeological Site

Jornal do Comércio Square, Av. Barão de Tefé - Saúde, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 20220-460, Brazil

Plaque:
Patriomonio Cultural Carioca

Circuito da Herança Africana
Foi construido em 1811 para o desembarque e comércio de africanos escravizados. Remodelado em 1843 como Cais da Imperatriz, foi alerrado em 1911 para dar lugar a Praça do Comércio. Em 2011 foi redescoberto nas obras do Porto Maravilha.

English translation:
Built in 1811 for the disembarkation and trade of enslaved Africans. Remodeled in 1843 as the 'Cais da Imperatriz,' it was demolished in 1911 to make way for the 'Praça do Comércio.' In 2011, it was rediscovered during the Porto Maravilha works.

Paving stone

UNESCO. "Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site." Accessed May 28, 2019. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1548.

Querin, Camilla. "An Antidote for Social Amnesia: The Memory Space of the Cais do Valongo." Smarthistory. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://smarthistory.org/memory-space-cais-valongo/.

Angeleti, Gabriella. "Valongo Wharf--Historic Hub of Brazil's Slave Trade--Opens Following Overdue $400,000 Renovation." Art Newspaper, January 4, 2024. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/01/02/valongo-wharfhistoric-hub-of-brazils-slave-tradeopens-to-the-public-following-overdue-400000-renovation.

Chuva, Màrcia, Leila Bianchi Aguiar, and Brenda Coelho Fonseca. "Sensitive Memories at a World Heritage Site: Silencing and Resistance at the Valongo Wharf." In Decolonizing Global Heritage, eds. Britta Timm Knudsen, John Oldfield, Elizabeth Buettner, and Elvan Zabunyan, 175-192. Routledge, 2022.

Renée Ater

Archaeological site