Arqueologia da Cidade Velha, Cabo Verde : da escravidão às múltiplas vozes na contemporaneidade

Abstract

Cidade Velha formerly known as Ribeira Grande de Santiago was the first region of the Cape Verde archipelago that landed the Portuguese colonizers. This is a region that was an obligatory passage, as was one of the vertices of the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans. From this process resulted memories, representations and materials traces greatly linked to slavery. Based on this context, the region was considered in 2009, World Heritage Site by United Nation for Education Science and Culture (UNESCO). The objective of this research is to understand the vision of the population of Cidade Velha about the colonial occupation of the region, the importance and significance of the material traces that remain of this occupation in everyday life. It also analyzes historiographical nature of issues related to the theme, as well as historical and geographical aspects of the archipelago of Cape Verde. In particular, It discusses about a possible occupation of the archipelago prior to the Europeans, and cover up the colonial perspectives that started the history of Cape Verde from the Portuguese colonization and trafficking of enslaved people. It also presents a brief history of archaeological investigations in the country, based on the excavation reports. From the material culture linked to slavery found in archaeological research, it discusses the inhuman conditions in which they were enslaved in the archipelago as a way to demystify the romanticized ideals we have of slavery in the country. On the other hand, presents materials related to black materiality, which demonstrates that the slaving not only as a product but also agent. The ethnographic method used during the field research enables to understand nowadays, constant discourses on cultural heritage material, presented from the local perspective. The preservation of these records is the historical cultural heritage for future generations of Cape Verdeans, and constitutes a major challenge for the authorities and the local population itself.