Mercado de Escravos
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Mercado de Escravos | |
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| Established | 1691 (opened as museum in 2016) |
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| Location | Lagos, Portugal |
| Coordinates | 37°06′02″N 8°40′16.3″W / 37.10056°N 8.671194°W |
| Type | Former slave market converted to museum on slavery |
| Owner | Lagos Municipality |
| Public transit access | Yes |
| Nearest parking | Close |
The Mercado de Escravos (lit. 'Slave Market') is a historical building in Lagos, in the Faro District of Portugal. It is located on the site where the first slave market in Europe of the modern era took place, in 1444. The building was first used for military administration and, later, as a customs house. In 2016, the whole building was occupied by a museum dedicated to the story of slavery.
In the mid-15th century, Lagos was developing into a major maritime centre, trading with the west coast of Africa. Prior to this time, African slaves had been mainly Berbers and Arabs from the North African coast, who were enslaved during ongoing conflict between indigenous Christians and Muslims. The first expeditions of discovery further south to Sub-Saharan Africa were sent out by Prince Infante D. Henrique, known today as Henry the Navigator. The first expedition that purchased slaves seems to have been one in 1441 commanded by Nuno Tristão, which went to the area known by the Portuguese as Rio do Ouro in Western Sahara, where one of the captains, Antão Gonçalves, discovered that Africa already had an internal African slave trade and bought slaves on his own initiative, returning to Portugal with 14 Africans.[1]
In 1443, Henry the Navigator was granted an exclusive monopoly on all trade south of Cape Bojador by his brother Peter of Coimbra. A consortium of merchants in Lagos applied to Henry for a licence. Six caravels set out to the Bay of Arguin in modern-day Mauritania, commanded by Lançarote de Freitas and it was this mission that returned to Lagos in 1444 with 235 slaves, the first to be sold in Europe. As sponsor of the expeditions, Henry the Navigator was entitled to one fifth of the value of the slaves brought back. The 235 slaves were divided into five equal groups and Henry chose the group he wanted. Groups were formed without regard to family relationships, separating spouses and parents from children.[2]
Slaves were initially rare. Only the richest could afford them and owning a slave was a symbol of social prestige. From the 16th century, however, slaves became commonplace and were employed both in a domestic context and on large-scale works such as land reclamation in the Algarve region of Portugal.[2][3][4]
