It was the first and most important slave market in the Americas. African slaves were brought to work the sugarcane when the local enslaved indigenous people died from European disease. Eighty percent of the population are descendants of those slaves brought in equal numbers from Angola and Nigeria. They influence the food, art and religion of the area.
One of the churches we visited was the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Blacks. It's the beautiful lavender one in the photo. This church was started in 1704 and was built at night by slaves; it took over a century to complete. When we were there today a wedding was taking place.
The church and convent of St Francis was completed in 1723 and much of it was also built by slaves. It is incredibly ornate with painted wooden panels, elaborately carved railings, ivory statues, silver lamps, mosaic tile, and painted tiles, 48 paintings on the ceiling, the choir is carved from Jacaranda and displays what looks like topless, pregnant women! Much of the woodwork is covered in gold leaf.
The old neighborhood of Pelourinho is a Unesco world heritage site due to its extensive examples of baroque architecture and it has had a lot of money spent on the restoration of 600 buildings. It certainly shows as there are delightful cobblestone streets lined with of colorful storefronts. There are something like 350 churches and a lovely square with churches at both ends and the medical school on the side.
In the harbor is the Fort of St Anthony, built in the 1500s when a number of European sea powers were causing trouble up and down the Coast of South America. Although we didn't get to any, the area is also home to some gorgeous beaches. As we have found elsewhere in Brazil, the people are very friendly and helpful, even with limited English.
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