Lagos to open a new museum focused on its role in the European slave trade
A new museum is going to open up in Lagos in the near future and this one will have a very peculiar subject matter, namely the role that Lagos played in the European slave trade, quite interesting to say the least.
The future museum plans on documenting and showing Lagos’ role as the first European port to which slaves were shipped starting with the 15th century. Julio Barroso, Lagos’ mayor said that while the museum will in fact have various focuses, its main one will be centered around the former slave market located at the city centre.
The exact opening date is unknown however the protocol for museum creation will be signed sometime at the beginning of October between the Lagos town hall and the Centre for African Studies, part of the Lisbon Technical University, working in cooperation with the Portuguese committee of Unesco’s ‘Slave Route’ project.
The museum will use the open ground floor of the former slave market and it will extend into the first floor once renovation works are completed there.
The artifacts showcased at the slave market were recovered during archaeological excavations that have been carried out during the city’s construction of the centre’s new underground car park. This location will also be transformed in a location for a museum called ‘Poco dos Negros’ or Well of the Blacks.
Back in 2009, 155 skeletons of slaves were found at the site so it will be transformed into a Centre for Information and Historical and Archaeological Interpretation, featuring a multimedia area. There is a lot of history here to make for a very interactive and educational museum.
Near the ‘Poco dos Negors’ a number of statues are planned to be erected, statues which will be donated by Portuguese language countries where the slaves came from to begin with.
Unesco will also create a bibliography and documents centre for researchers in the Casa Manuelina, located in the city centre.
First described by the chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurana, the slave trade from Africa to Lagos started in 1444 with Lagos becoming the first point of entry for slaves into Europe.
