TheValongoWharf

Angola, Congo, Benguela,
Monjolo, Cabinda, Mina,
Quiloa, Rebolo
Aqui onde estão os homens
Há um grande leilão

In the 18th century, the city's Atlantic connections intensify, with the exploitation of gold in Minas Gerais and nearby regions, and the consequent increase in the Atlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans. Different European groups in the Atlantic dedicate themselves to this activity which, later, in the 19th century, will be called the infamous trade. In several coastal cities of Atlantic Africa, commercial contacts are established with Rio de Janeiro, and the extended ocean reaches Mozambique, in East Africa. Rio is transformed into the colony's capital, and ever more vessels arrive bringing enslaved African people, goods, and other peoples from many parts.

Image description: This is a painting depicting a main street in Rio de Janeiro. On the left side, we see a classical column with people sitting and walking. In front, there is a donkey and a standing person. In the center, there is a church with a bell visible on the roof. On the right, there are several houses with balconies and open windows. In the background, we see a hill with buildings and trees. The image is in shades of gray, suggesting that it is an old painting.

The arrival of African men and women brought by force from their homeland in the terrible crossing produced scenes that were hard to watch, even in a society that lived alongside the legality of slavery. They disembarked sick, afraid, poorly dressed, and carrying all the pain of the voyage in their bodies and faces. The trade in people was often carried out on Rua Direita and its surroundings, very close to the wharf of the Chafariz do Mestre Valentim and to the seat of the colonial government. These scenes began to create discomfort among the local elite, who started to complain and to request that the disembarkation of captives be moved away from that noble area of the city.

Image description: This is a painting depicting an indoor setting, likely a cell or waiting room, with yellowed walls and a wooden ceiling. On the left, there is a barred window allowing natural light to enter. In the center, two men in formal attire are standing, talking. One of them is holding a cane. On the right, two women in elegant dresses are standing, also talking. On the floor, several people are sitting or lying down, some appearing to be in a vulnerable situation. The lighting is soft, with a lamp hanging from the ceiling.

The Viceroy, Marquês do Lavradio, acceded to these demands and mandatorily transferred all disembarkation of Africans to the Valongo cove, also ordering the relocation of the market for enslaved people and of the cemetery of new Black people – the final destination of recently arrived captives who did not survive the diseases and suffering –, as well as of the lazaretto, a kind of hospital for treating those who arrived ill. An entire slave-trading complex was set up in Valongo, and this urban apparatus took root in the region, extending beyond the period of operation of the Cais do Valongo, which runs from the late 18th century until 1831. The pier's use as a landing site for hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans brought directly from their continent of origin lasted just over four decades; however, its connections with other Brazilian Atlantic ports in the interprovincial trade, the market for enslaved people, and the shops dedicated to the trade in torture artifacts continued on there.

Image description: This is a black-and-white illustration, possibly an engraving or drawing, depicting an indoor setting with several people spread throughout the space. On the left side, there is a vertical structure with vertical windows. In the center, a group of individuals is gathered standing, some appearing to be talking. On the right, a person is seated on the floor, while others stand near an open door that reveals more people in the background. The ceiling is made up of wooden structures and tiles, suggesting an industrial or commercial building.

Wandering When they build the Cais da Imperatriz over it, to receive the Princess of the Two Sicilies who came to marry Emperor Pedro II, in 1843, they cover the Cais do Valongo, they change the name of the streets that surround it, but they cannot completely silence its memory, and its history. The African presence there continued, resistant, creative, alive, pulsating, and Atlantic, in this case fed by the eventual clandestine arrival of those brought by illegal trafficking or by internal migrations. Urban quilombos formed in that area in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, such as the Quilombo da Pedra do Sal. And, in the region surrounding the wharf and part of downtown Rio, gatherings of Black musicians and artists, in batuques, samba circles, and religious houses of African origin, led it to be named a "miniature Africa" by Heitor dos Prazeres, in the 1920s.

In 1976, Djalma Sabiá, a true griot of the Escola de Samba Acadêmicos do Salgueiro, wrote samba lyrics evoking the historic Cais do Valongo, referring to the disembarkation of people he identified as having been brought specifically from Angola and the Congo. In 1996, the discovery of the Cemitério dos Pretos Novos brought back memories of the pain of death caused by Atlantic slavery.

Image description: The image shows a historical exhibition inside a space with a wooden ceiling and brick walls. On the left, there are informational signs with text and images. In the center, a large panel displays names and dates written in black on a light background. On the right, three photographs of people hang on the walls. The floor is made of wood, and in the center there is a transparent glass triangle.

Since 2017, Cais do Valongo has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, characterized as a historical site of a sensitive nature.