New World Cultural Heritage in Rio de Janeiro

On your next Brazil trip, you will have the opportunity to be one of the first to visit Brazil's newest World Heritage Site in Rio de Janeiro. Only recently the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) included the former slave port "Cais do Valongo" (Valongo quay) in the list of cultural assets worthy of protection.

The remains of the historic port facility, which was built in 1811, were rediscovered during excavations in 2010. Twenty years after its construction, however, the quay was officially no longer to be used for its actual purpose, the violent transport of African slaves, as slavery was banned in Brazil due to political pressure from England. However, slavery in Brazil was not abolished until 1888. It is estimated that during this period, approximately 900,000 of the estimated four million slaves shipped from Africa to South America between the 16th and 19th centuries came ashore at the Valongo quays in Rio de Janeiro.

The archaeological site of the "Cais do Valongo", which includes a slave cemetery discovered already in 1996, thus represents one of the most important testimonies of the terrible history of Afro-American slavery. To adequately protect this historically and spiritually significant site, the Brazilian Office for the Protection of Monuments (IPHAN), in cooperation with the city administration of Rio de Janeiro, applied for the inclusion of the "Cais" in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In doing so, the city is actively engaged in coming to terms with the issue of slave farming in Brazil and is facing up to its historical responsibility for the country's sometimes dark history. The World Heritage Committee has now confirmed the inclusion and declared that the memorial is to commemorate the unspeakable tortures and atrocities of slavery. The memorial is to have a similar significance to the National Socialist concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan.

As cruel, racist, and inhuman as the slave trade was in Brazil at the time, it also represents an important cornerstone of the country's identity today. Only through the mixing of different ethnic groups, such as the indigenous population, the Europeans, and the Africans, the Brazil of today, which is known worldwide for its multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism, could be created. Today, many African influences are deeply rooted in Brazilian culture. Especially the northeast of the country is closely woven with the historical roots of the African slaves. The most prominent examples of this are:

During your next stay in Rio de Janeiro you should not only visit the classics like Copacabana, Sugar Loaf and Co. but also the "Cais do Valongo". And if you want to learn more about Brazil's colonial history, you should make a stop in Salvador da Bahia during your Brazil vacation. The third-largest city in Brazil is considered the capital of Afro-Brazilian culture and is especially famous for Capoeira, Candomble, and of course the carnival. The entire historical center of the former capital of Brazil was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985 and is a wonderful starting point for our day tour "The Colonial Heritage of Bahia".

And if you've had enough of culture and the hustle and bustle of the big city, you can also take a rental car tour of northeastern Brazil from Salvador da Bahia and easily reach some of the country's most beautiful beaches.

Source: www.unesco.de