portugal

Chokwe (an ethnic group from central and southern Africa) murals are among the best known and most thoroughly documented in Central Africa. These designs painted on the outer clay walls of their houses were community works by both adults and children. The murals reproduced here are replicas based on the José Redinha’s photographs and watercolors.

In 2015, media outlets were abuzz with the news of the discovery of a sunken slave ship near the coast of South Africa. The Portuguese slave ship Sao José Paquete de Africa (often shortened to Sao José) began its journey in 1794 from Mozambique, heading to the cotton and rice plantations of Brazil with a cargo of roughly 500 African captives. The ship never reached its destination—as it rounded the Cape of Good Hope, it was ripped apart by high winds and sank just off the coast. Although the crew survived, 212 of the slaves drowned.

Dejima, or Deshima, was a small fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki, Japan. During the Edo period (1615-1868), Dejima was the only place in which foreign traders were allowed to conduct business with Japan. It was originally built for Portuguese traders but was later used by the Dutch East India Company. In 1858, when Japan concluded the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States, Dejima’s role as the only port of entry for the West was over. The island was expanded by reclaiming land, and it was merged into Nagasaki, thus obscuring the island’s original borders.

The Azores, an archipelago of volcanic islands west of Portugal, undoubtedly possesses one of the most unique and ever-changing environments on the planet.  Within these lush and vibrant islands lie flora and fauna never seen before.  In fact, it is not unusual to discover new species on the islands.