Rio:ItsAfricanShores

Mar: azul horizonte, azul infinito
A África inteira baila no dorso de suas ondas

The carioca Atlantic Ocean does not begin at its white-sand beaches and greenish-blue sea, with its infinite horizon. There are at least two beginnings: one in the mountains of the range that gives it its name – the Serra do Mar – and another on the far side, in the African ports, which also receive rivers from their interior. Waters born from mountains and valleys that run to empty into that vast, luminous liquid expanse, which sways to the motion of the winds and hides many stories and mysteries in its depths. Calm spells and storms have made this ocean a challenge, always faced with courage and a great deal of fear.

Image description: The image is an old engraving depicting a map. The spatial arrangement begins on the left, where the Atlantic Ocean is located, marked with the name "OCEANVS ATLANTICVS." Moving to the right, we find islands and continental lands, including the island of Príncipe and São Tomé. The map continues to the Indian Ocean, marked as "OCEANVS INDIACVS." At the top, there are references to Africa and the Red Sea. The regions are labeled with names in Latin, such as "BARBA RIA," "NUBIA," and "AYMAN." The map features a grid of latitude and longitude, with the "TROPICVS CANCRIS" and "TROPICVS CAPRICORNIS" lines highlighted.

In the lands of Africa, the Atlantic that reached the shores of Rio de Janeiro came initially from West and West-Central Africa — most intensely from this region of the continent. São Tomé and Príncipe, the archipelago, functioned as a point of intermediation for many vessels carrying enslaved people brought from the northern coast of the mouth of the Congo River and the lands surrounding its enormous river basin. Almost a third shore, that is what the African islands in the Atlantic were, and they became true laboratories of experience in the tropics at the start of European Modernity. On them, the first sugarcane mills were tested and then brought to Brazilian territory, and, crossed by the imaginary line of the Equator, they mark the space where the Atlantic Ocean came to be conventionally divided into North and South parts. They are connected to the Atlantic Rio through the ocean routes that transported enslaved people, along with their knowledge, technologies, experiences, and worldviews.

The old Kingdom of Congo, great and sovereign, whose monarchs had converted to the Catholic faith since the 15th century, amid resistance and negotiations, handed over its prisoners to traders of enslaved Africans. The river port of Mpinda, near the mouth of the Zaire River (Congo River), controlled by the King of Congo, initially became the main continental Atlantic connection. The demand for captives grew, and what had been part of a locally recognized practice exceeded, in demographic scale, what could be considered within ethical bounds, and protests arose even within the Congolese elites. Escapes, rebellions, and revolts in the warehouses and on the ships stirred up the waves of this Atlantic of pain. Many people brought enslaved from the region dominated by the old Kingdom of Congo kept fighting for freedom under the hardships of slavery in Rio de Janeiro, and, to attain it, drew on direct confrontation as well as on their talents and knowledge. In 1851, a group of Congo freedmen in the city of Rio de Janeiro managed to organize themselves in an attempt to undertake a journey back to their homeland, and for that they sought the support of the English. From an Atlantic Rio, they looked toward the other shore, with plans for Africa.

Image description: This is a black-and-white engraving depicting a historic landscape. On the left side, we see a river with several boats carrying people. Moving to the right, we find a densely wooded area separating the river from the rugged terrain. In the background, there is a fortress built on a hill, with several structures and a raised flag. To the right of the fortress, there is a row of smaller buildings and a road descending the hill. The sky is partly cloudy, and at the top of the hill, there is a small, isolated structure.

Quando eu venho de Luanda
eu não venho só
Quando eu venho de Luanda
eu não venho só

Image description: The image is an old engraving depicting a map. The spatial layout begins with the ocean on the left, marked as "Oceanus." On the right, the map shows territories with rivers, mountains, and region names, including "Angola" and "Congo." In the lower left corner, there are illustrations of an elephant and a rhinoceros, along with two human figures. The map's title is located at the top, mentioning "Millaria Germanica Communis." The colors are predominantly beige and brown, with details in green and blue.

The island of Luanda, with the city of São Paulo de Luanda facing it, became, over time, the most important African shore of Atlantic Rio de Janeiro. The expulsion of the Dutch from this African city in the late seventeenth century was only possible thanks to the participation of a military expedition that set out from Rio de Janeiro, financed largely with capital from merchants established in the city, and commanded by Salvador Correia de Sá e Benevides, who had been governor of the Capitania of Rio de Janeiro. After this group's victory, achieved with strong participation from the local population, the ties grew stronger, and the African city came to be governed by him. Trade routes, especially the Atlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans, intensified the relationship between Rio and Luanda, in a constant back-and-forth of people, goods, news, and ideas. Mercantile and kinship networks created connections between these cities on both shores, which soon extended further south along the African coast and came to include Benguela. Most of the captives who disembarked in Rio de Janeiro were brought from the ports of what is now Angola, and with them, along with their labor and intelligence, came the quitandas, the batuques, and semba — fundamental ingredients and foundations of Carioca culture. This closeness intensified over time, making Rio de Janeiro also the main destination for free or freed people coming from this part of Africa.

Image description: This is a colored illustration of a woman carrying fruits and vegetables. The woman is wearing a red and green apron, with a blue skirt. She holds a tray of fruit on her head and has a baby in her arms. The background is white and there is a number "9" in the upper right corner. Below the image, it reads "QUITANDEIRA."

Dentro do meu alforje
Quem me alforria e ilumina
É uma oração de São Jorge
Guerreiro lá da Costa da Mina

Image description: This is an old print, likely from the 16th or 17th century, showing a coastal city. On the left side, we see a village with several red-roofed houses. In the center, there is a castle with towers and a central building with a pointed tower. On the right, there is a large mountain. In the foreground, three boats are sailing on the sea. The text in the upper left mentions "Trium Regum" and "S. Georgii," while the upper right reads "S. Iacobi."

The West African coastal region stretching from the coast of what is now the Republic of Ghana to the delta of the Niger River became known as the Costa da Mina (Mina Coast); it lies within the Gulf of Guinea and encompasses the Gulf of Benin. This name refers to the fortress of São Jorge da Mina, built in the 15th century on the initiative of the Portuguese, who were intent on safeguarding their primacy as foreign intermediaries in the Atlantic trade with that coast. The gold routes running toward the interior of that territory justified naming it thus, as did the saint of faith, a warrior and patron saint of Portugal. From this castle — in the parlance of the time — the gold of the mine was shipped, and, over time, the other gold, the living one: enslaved people. The African men and women who were traded at this fortress became known as pretos and pretas minas (Mina Blacks) in Rio de Janeiro. Among them were Mahis, Dahomeans, Yorubas, Hausas, and people of other origins and backgrounds. The Mina nation in Rio de Janeiro gradually took shape, forming a true identity umbrella, a process that has been thoroughly studied by historian Mariza de Carvalho Soares. Moving about the city, working in trade, forming religious brotherhoods with practices of an Africanized Catholicism, plotting escapes, creating terreiros of African-derived religions, and fighting for freedom, the minas became well known in the city, even though they were not the majority. The Costa da Mina, with its ports, is therefore one of the shores of the Rio Atlântico.

Image description: This is a photograph of the facade of an old building with colonial architectural features. The image shows a main entrance with an open door, revealing a lit interior. On the left, there is a small shop with various items on display, including colorful fabrics and hanging decorative objects. On the right, two men are standing at the entrance, looking inside. On the upper part of the building, three windows with black frames and red shutters are visible. A large light fixture hangs to the left of the entrance. The building's facade shows worn textures and paint stains, suggesting its age.

Tumba lá e cá
É Moçambique

Brought from the eastern coast of Africa, the so-called moçambiques were among those who arrived latest in Rio de Janeiro, compared to the other enslaved Africans disembarked here. Their origins in Africa could be the Makua, Yao (called muchaus, mujaus or mugãos in Rio) or Tumbuka peoples, and they were registered as moçambiques or inhambanes upon their arrival in the city. Particularly numerous during the period of greatest activity at the Cais do Valongo, they came in the 1820s to make up more than a quarter of the captives brought on slave ships, according to historian Mary Karasch. The rhythms, identity markers and religious festive celebrations known as moçambiques originate from the presence of these people, and they both occupy spaces in the city and spread out from it, connecting the Rio Atlântico to its shore on the Indian Ocean, on Mozambique Island. On this island, a point of departure and arrival for vessels from Rio de Janeiro, Saint Sebastian is also the patron saint who names the fortress that was built there on Portuguese initiative.

Image description: The image is an antique engraving depicting a nautical chart of the Bay of Mozambique. The spatial layout begins in the upper left, where Luanda island is located, followed by Mozambique Island at the center, with the Fort of São Sebastião in front of it. To the right are the islands of São Jorge and São João. In the background, there is a large expanse of water, marked with numbers indicating depths. At the bottom is Ponta de Mangala and the Mocanque river. The map presents geographic details and the names of the islands in French.