Five black African slaves arrive on the coast of South America, but two escaped.
- Handwritten note from an unknown author to the captain of the Pluto.
- One page.
- 21.7 cm x 16.4 cm.
- In Spanish.
- Montevideo, Uruguay, October 31, 1832.
- Good condition conservation.
- Unique piece.
Original transcript
The Brazilian Cap del Berg-goleta, Pluton, can continue traveling with the five black people on the list of another ship, and even though I introduce a series of them, it is said in this department that they have escaped.
Montevideo, October 31, 1832
Translation in Portuguese
The captain of the Brazilian Barquentine, Plutão, can continue his journey with the five black men from the other boat, and although he brought seven on board, this department reports that two escaped.
Montevideo, October 31, 1832
Few know that Brazil shares a harsh mark on its history with its southern neighbor, Uruguay, a legacy that goes beyond the Cisplatine War or the famous Paraguayan War. Brazil, a country with an agricultural and colonial past, exploited enslaved African labor on its plantations; however, it was not the only one on the continent to do so. Another prime example is Uruguay, the land of barbecue and gauchos, which also used forced African labor and, through the slave trade, established commercial relations with Brazil.
Brazil experienced a long period of slavery. In the lands of the Tupiniquins (Brazilians), the use of slave labor was only abolished in 1888, and almost 5 million Africans were brought to the country. Uruguay was a route for slave ships whose final destination was Brazilian plantations. Furthermore, it was the Portuguese who had settled in Brazil who were responsible for bringing the first slaves to Uruguay.
Another peculiarity is the fact that slavery in Uruguay was abolished much earlier than in Brazil, in 1825, when Uruguay freed itself from Spanish rule. This caused many Brazilian slaves to flee to the neighboring nation, since in Brazil, abolition would only occur 63 years later.
This historical scar has left strong cultural influences that bring the two countries closer together. In present-day Uruguay, 8% of the population considers themselves Black, and African roots are strongly evident in the local culture, especially in some areas of the capital. Candombe, for example, a traditional Afro-Uruguayan rhythm that would sound familiar to any Brazilian, was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009 and resonates through the traditional African neighborhoods of "Barrio Sur" and "Palermo" in Montevideo, where Carnival is also celebrated annually with parades similar to those in northeastern Brazil.
African heritage is not exclusive to Brazil or Uruguay; the marks of the slave trade throughout the centuries can be seen in Latin American societies, even if their forms are distinct in each country. African labor was the basis for the construction and organization of the entire region, and it is fundamental to tell this story to reclaim the importance of African people in our society, because only by recognizing our past can we understand our origins and, finally, rebuild our relationships in a more egalitarian way.
This document is a rare testament to slavery and human trafficking of that era, with one fortunate "detail": two of these men escaped.
