1 . The Mercado de Escravos in Lagos , Portugal . 9 July 2020 . Roundtheworld ( Wikimedia Commons ) chocolate , tobacco , among others – that were shipped to Europe for processing . The Slave Voyages database indicates that of the 12.5 million enslaved men , women and children transported from Africa to the Americas between the years 1501 and 1874 , more than 5.8 million were carried on Portuguese ships as part of this triangular trade .
As one of Europe ’ s southernmost trading ports , Lagos holds the distinction of being one of the continent ’ s few places where enslaved people from Africa were known to be bought and sold . A small museum , the Mercado de Escravos ( slave market ), located on the edge of the square Praça do Infante D . Henrique , marks the site where , in 1444 , Henry the Navigator traded the first African slaves on European soil . In 2009 , excavations for a car park outside the old city gates unearthed remains of men , women and children from the 15 th century . Forensic experts determined that the way these bodies were inhumed in a variety of positions , some of them buried with their hands and arms shackled , and the artefacts found with them , revealed that they were some of the first enslaved Africans brought to Europe . This is the only known site in Europe where enslaved Africans were found to be buried . 2
Despite the importance of the find , there is no mention of the history at that site and no memorial or plaque . The location is currently used as a minigolf course . The Mercado de Escravos museum , which opened in 2010 , displayed some of the remains
2
S . N . Wasterlain , M . J . Neves , and M . T . Ferreira , “ Dental Modifications in a Skeletal Sample of Enslaved Africans Found at Lagos ( Portugal )”, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 26 , no . 4 ( 2015 ): doi : 10.1002 / oa . 2453 , 630
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