LITTLE AFRICAS

Little Africa’s formation is intertwined with the history of Rio’s port area. From the activity in the first warehouses to the inauguration of Praça Mauá in 1910, a large majority of Black men, who were enslaved or exploited in longshoring built and maintained the Port of Rio de Janeiro for decades. Their coexistence on the docks gave rise in 1903 to Brazil’s first trade union, the Sociedade dos Trabalhadores em Trapiche e Café [Pier and Coffee Workers Society], known as Resistência [Resistance]; it also gave rise to the creation of the Recreio das Flores carnival ranch and the Império Serrano Samba School, albeit at different moments.