Brazil

In 2023, the Slave Wrecks Project visited Brazil to assist the recovery of brig Camargo. The Camargo is the first archeological investigation of a shipwrecked slave ship in Brazil by the AfrOrigens Insitute. We are working with our partners in Brazil to identify and recover the wreck, and work with the descendant community at the Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí to understand the living legacies of this important history.

The frame is taken up by an overhead shot of a boat. with a red and white roof. Off the back of the boat a person in full dive gear jumps into calm green waters. Another people in dive gear stands on the boats edge.

In 2023, the Slave Wrecks Project (SWP) visited Brazil to assist the recovery of brig Camargo. The Camargo is the first archeological investigation of a shipwrecked slave ship in Brazil by the AfrOrigens Institute. The Camargo case is the pilot program of the AfrOrigens, which will continue to search for and study of wrecked slave ships off the Brazilian coast. AfrOrigens collaborates with the SWP networks on an international level to enhance collective goals of maritime archaeological research and historical recovery, while working directly with descendant communities, international teams, and local constituencies.

 

AfrOrigens and SWP members survey the possible wreck site of the <em>Camargo</em>, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

AfrOrigens and SWP members survey the possible wreck site of the Camargo, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

This collaborative initiative seeks to study the brig Camargo, the last known ship to land enslaved Africans in Brazil in December 1852. The current research area is Port of Bracuhy and Port of Frade, in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The nearby Afro-Brazilian community of Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí recognizes their ancestors and history of resistance as directly linked to the sinking of the brig Camargo.

SWP and its global partners are excited to continue their support of and collaboration with local partners in Brazil, including AfrOrigens, the University of Sergipe, the Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí, and others. 

Learn more about our past and current work in Brazil here.

History of the Camargo

In 1851, captain Nathaniel Gordon, a U.S. citizen from Portland, Maine, stole the brig Camargo in San Francisco, and launched an almost decade-long slaving enterprise. According to testimonies at the time, in 1852 Gordon was in the process of delivering a large number of enslaved people to the Brazilian enslaver Commander Souza Breves near his holdings in Angra do Reis, when the discovery of his operation forced him to set fire and sink the Camargo to escape. Gordon would continue in his slaving pursuits until he was apprehended in 1860 by the U.S.S. Mohican while transporting over a thousand enslaved Africans aboard the ship Erie to Cuba. Gordon is the only U.S. captain hanged for slave trading, despite it being a capital offense since 1820.

The image is of a cove with several sail boats anchored in the water. In the background several hills rise up out of the water. The sky is made of dense grey clouds, expect for in the center of the frame where rays of sunlight shine through a small opening.

Photo by Yuri Sanada.

Two men sitting together with greenery in the background. One man is wearing a hat and looking at the other man wearing sunglasses.

AfrOrigens members at the Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

Group of people sitting in an outdoor patio space. They are sitting in yellow chairs in a semi circle and some are standing behind the seated people.

A community discussion at Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

Four men are visible in the photo. Two of them are shaking hands while talking to the third man. The fourth man smiles at the other three. Behind them a straw roof is visible. Behind the some buildings an water are visible. The background, green hills rise to meet the grey sky.

SWP co-directors Steve Lubkemann and Paul Gardullo with AfrOrigens team members in Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

Group of speakers behind a table with a presentation of Brazilian flag behind them.

SWP co-directors Steve Lubkemann and Paul Gardullo with AfrOrigens team members in Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

A man sits on a bench aboard a boat. He is dressed in a wetsuit and sunglasses and is looking at the water. Next to him a Brazilian flag waves in the winds, under the boats awning. In the background, rough waters are visible. Behind them is a mount shrouded in grey skies and several dark clouds. The slight blurriness of the photo suggests that rain drops have hit the camera lens.

SWP co-director Steve Lubkemann during field work surveying for the wreck of the Camargo, Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

In the foreground a boat sits in clam waters. A man stands on the boats roof. Off the back of the boat, two people are in the water, dressed in but scuba gear. the majority of the frame is taken up with calm water. At the top of the frame, small hills are visible before a clear blue sky.

SWP and AfrOrigens divers search for the wreck of the Camargo, Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

Six people are visible swimming in the center of the photo, slightly dispersed. They are all dressed in goggles and oxygen tanks. In the background several hills covered in trees are visible. Above the hills, a blue sky can be seen

SWP and AfrOrigens divers search for the wreck of the Camargo, Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

Three people having a conversation on a boat in the water being filmed by a camera person.

SWP and AfrOrigens divers search for the wreck of the Camargo, Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

The frame is taken up by an overhead shot of a boat. with a red and white roof. Off the back of the boat a person in full dive gear jumps into calm green waters. Another people in dive gear stands on the boats edge.

SWP and AfrOrigens divers search for the wreck of the Camargo, Brazil, 2023. Photo by Yuri Sanada.

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