In December 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 68/237, which proclaimed that the years 2015 to 2024 would be recognised as the International Decade for People of African Descent. According to the statement given by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, in the Human Rights Council’s 43rd session on 13 March 2020, “the Decade is a unique platform that emphasises the important contribution made by people of African descent to every society, and promotes concrete measures to stop discrimination and promote their full inclusion.”

The purpose of this article is to reflect upon a case of discrimination faced by African nationals, particularly from the western African region when the transatlantic slave trade was at its peak. This article will discuss the slave trade to Portugal, highlighting the horrific voyage from western Africa. Moreover, the contributions made by enslaved Africans towards culture and history in Portugal will also be examined. 

HOW IT BEGAN

Encouraged by the ruler of Portugal to supply the rest of Europe with the wealth of the wider world, Portuguese merchant traders began their journey through the Atlantic islands, eventually entering the African Coast. Upon arrival, they learned about various commodities and wealth available in the region. With each successful voyage, they recovered more resources as well as practical information about the continent and a plan to enslave the tribal population. With goods and commodities shipped directly from the African continent to Portugal through the newly discovered sea route, there was an inevitable transport of Africans – both free and enslaved.

Initially, the Portuguese used enslaved Africans in their sugar plantation, built in Madeira, a Portuguese island off the western coast of Africa. Later in 1481, the first slave fort, “Elmina Castle,” was built off the coast of modern Ghana which served as the headquarters for Portuguese slave traders.

Despite its periodic efforts to force all traffic in the slave trade to pass through Lisbon, enslaved persons continued to be cleared through other almoxarifados (revenue-collecting districts) and alfandegas (custom houses). Notably, the Portuguese were also involved in a contractual agreement with the Spanish colonies to provide them with enslaved people for their plantations. Lisbon was the major trade port involved in the African slave trade. From there, ships were sent to West Africa and took enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Portuguese-owned colonies of Brazil for plantation or mining work. As per the records, a total of 4,650,000 enslaved Africans were carried through the Portuguese ships.

TREATMENT OF THE ENSLAVED IN PORTUGAL

The journey to Portugal itself was dreadful for the enslaved. They were fastened and chained with manacles, padlocks, and rings around their necks. Furthermore, the owners would often whip, chain, pour burning hot wax and fat onto the skin of enslaved people, and use branding irons to brand them as property. Enslaved persons were treated more like items of possessions, and in medieval legislation, they belonged to the same category as mules, poultry, swine, and horses. Notably, the enslaved were also mentioned in wills and donation documents passed on from one will-bearer to another akin to objects.

In 2018, a campaign pledged to build the Museum of the Discoveries in Lisbon, dedicated to Portugal’s colonial history. However, this move sparked a debate over Portuguese national identity and drew attention to the crimes committed in service of Portugal’s colonial project. Furthermore, both critics and international scholars have called the proposed name an “obsolete, incorrect expression, filled with wrong-headed meanings”. According to Joacine Katar-Moreira, a researcher at the University of Institute of Lisbon, “this would only reinforce Portuguese colonial ideology and mask the glaring issues of slavery, mass killings, and other abuses”.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Despite the horrific torture and slavery they endurerd, Africans significantly shaped the culture and history of Portugal. One of the topics explored by linguists and experts in literature was the use of a simplified form of the Portuguese language, which was used by the enslaved. This was called fala de Guinѐ, dos pretos, or fala dos negros – the “speech of Guinea,” or the “speech of Blacks”.

Furthermore, the most comprehensive discussion of cultural influences can be found in the works of Jose Ramos Tinhorão, which includes the image of slavery in literature, theatre, and printed ephemera (satirical pamphlets). He also reflected on the influence of slavery on the Portuguese language, the creation of lingua de Negro, songs, lyrics, and various types of music. Often described as the Portuguese blues, one such famous Portuguese musical genre is Fado. It has a deep connection with the first voyages of the enslaved Africans to Portugal, and its origins allegedly date back 200 years ago to the brothels of working-class Lisbon when laments of enslaved Africans blended with the yearnings of Portuguese sailors.

In addition, the famous district of Madragoa in Lisbon served as a place of extreme duress as well as sacred assembly. Here, enslaved persons would often practice their traditional West African beliefs and took part in various ceremonies similar to what Afro-Brazilians now practice as Candomblѐ.

Mayur is currently pursuing an MBA in Marketing from University of Canberra with the hope of pursuing a career in Marketing. He is passionate about writing about topics pertaining to business, international relations as well as human rights and environmental issues.

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