Middle Passage Site of Memory

In 1818, the Portuguese schooner María left the coast of São Tomé and Príncipe for Puerto Rico to bring captive Africans to the Spanish colony for enslavement. It arrived first in San Juan in April and then in Ponce a few weeks later in May. Early research indicates that eight captive African men and women were disembarked at each stop and sold into slavery. Their descendants went on to live in Ponce and surrounding communities, where their resilience, courage, hopes, and dreams endured in the many Afrodescendants of the city whose contributions have had a positive impact around the world. The Port of Ponce, where they arrived, has been designated a Site of Memory and History by UNESCO's Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project.

Ponce, Puerto Rico · United States