The Slave Markets of Colonial Brazil
(What’s left of the actual pillory of Pelourinho in Salvador, source)
It’s well-known that after Brazil was discovered, an extremely high number of African slaves (three million between the 16th and 19th centuries, to be more exact) were brought here via tumbeiros, or slave ships. It was only in 1888 that Princess Isabel signed the The Golden Law, a very succinct ruling that ended slavery and for which the document itself only consisted of two statements. The first basically said, “From this date onwards, slavery is abolished” and the second said something to the effect of, “Anything to the contrary is now void.”
Diving Into the Rio Carioca
Rising at the base of Corcovado in the neighborhood of Cosme Velho and emptying into Guaranabara Bay from the Praia de Flamengo, the Rio Carioca has a history that parallels that of the city. As a freshwater river, the Rio Carioca quenched the thirst of the Indians, French, Flemish, Portuguese and Brazilians, all the while becoming a strategic point of interest as well as the setting of much discord.
