The Valongo Wharf was built from 1811 in the port of Rio de Janeiro to land enslaved Africans brought to Brazil. UNESCO estimates that up to 900,000 African captives entered the Americas through it. It was later buried under the Empress’ Wharf (1843) and later construction, and was rediscovered during building works in 2011.
In 2017 UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List as the most important physical trace of the arrival of enslaved Africans in the Americas: a site of conscience with deep historical and spiritual meaning for people of African descent.