The Slave Trade In Lisbon – A Historical Walking Tour

Short Description: On this private 3 hour walking tour you will learn how, in the 15th century, Portugal created the Atlantic Slave Trade, and how slavery went hand in hand with the journeys of exploration Portugal is most famous for. This educational experience cover the locations in Lisbon’s historical city center associated with the Slave Trade and African History, but will also address Portugal’s contemporary History and the recent fall of the country’s colonial empire in the mid 1970’s.

Long Description: IIn the first half of the 15th century Portugal, under the guidance of Prince Henry the Navigator, began what we now refer to as the Atlantic Slave Trade. This trade saw between 12 to 14 million Africans sold into slavery and taken across the ocean to the Americas, it was a crime against the humanity of these individuals that lasted for four centuries.

In this walking tour you learn just how this trade shaped Portugal’s development. To that end will guided along back streets and main avenues, monuments, churches and public squares that have a connection with this history and can offer insight into how Lisbon was marked by slavery. We will address various topics such as the genesis of the slavery in the Iberian peninsula, the birth of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the Age of Discovery, the day to day aspects of the life of a slave living in historical Lisbon, the importance of Brazil, the abolition of the trade in Portugal, the Portuguese colonies in Africa and the struggle for liberation by African nationalists.

This tour is conducted by a licensed local guide whose mission is to inform travelers on what they need to know to enhance their stay in Lisbon, and to promote Portugal’s culture and heritage. From recommendations of things to do in the city, to insider advice on public transportation to other areas you would want to visit on your stay, feel free to ask your guide anything.

A total of one coffee and WC break is included. The tour fully private, meaning it will only be you or your group interacting with your guide.