Exhibitions

Africa in the Americas: Slavery in Spanish and Portuguese Realms
 

Los Negros de Esmeraldas, by Andrés Sánchez Gallque, 1599. Museum of América, Madrid.

Between 1500 and 1800, millions of Africans sailed to the New World against their will, with almost ninety percent going to Spanish and Portuguese colonies. This exhibition explores the lives of Africans during the first three centuries of the American enterprise, with particular emphasis on how the slave trade created the prosperity of the New World and stamped the evolving society with indelible aspects of African culture.

Exhibition

The story of Africa in the Americas: Slavery in Spanish and Portuguese Realms is told through illustrations of paintings, watercolor sketches, details from panoramic panel and mural paintings, engravings, archival documents, color photographs of historic places, and maps and graphs of the origins and destinations of slaves. Panel topics include:

• Involuntary migration
• Old World traditions of slavery
• The Middle Passage
• The slave market
• First encounters with native peoples
• African influences on food and culture
• Work performed by Africans
• Domestic, social, and religious life
• Experience as slaves, rebels, runaways, free persons, patriots, and citizens of Latin American lands, including Florida and the Southwest

Africa in the Americas is an exhibition produced by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Exhibition Formats

Africa in the Americas: Slavery in Spanish and Portuguese Realms is available in three formats:

*Rental fees are based primarily on the cost of shipping. Prices may vary based on current fuel surcharges or venue location within the state of Texas. Out-of-state rentals are priced on an individual basis. Please call for a rental fee quote specific to your venue.

Print Materials

A specified number of print materials are provided with this exhibition at no additional cost. Additional copies of these materials may be obtained for a nominal fee:

• 50 bilingual brochures with an essay on slavery in Mexico
• 50 bilingual brochures with an essay on slavery in Brazil
• 10 posters

Publicity Materials

Press release

Africa in the Americas press release.

Publicity image

A publicity image is available for promoting this exhibition at your venue. Please contact the exhibitions coordinator to request an electronic file of this image. Please allow 2-3 business days for the exhibitions coordinator to process your request. 

Humanities Texas logos 

Venues may request a CD with the Humanities Texas logo in a number of electronic file formats for use when developing print and online promotional materials. Logo files are also available for download on the logo page.