International Black History Sites Everyone Should Know

Black History Month celebrates African Americans' legacy of struggle and achievement throughout the United States' episodic 244-year history. For travelers, the February celebration also provides a roadmap for uncovering domestic sites connected to Black history.

Yet travelers in the Caribbean and South America can also find contemporary sites tied to Black history, most notably the transatlantic slave trade through which millions of Africans were forcibly introduced to the Americas.

The sites are both sobering and hopeful. Some chronicle horrific events including slave revolts and the plantation system's innate cruelty. Others chronicle lesser-explored aspects of post-slavery rebuilding and celebrate examples of progressive initiatives to bring African, American and European colonial cultures into greater harmony.

Visitors in several Caribbean and South American nations - including Brazil, Curacao, Martinique and Nevis - can explore these important locations via organized tours or through independent exploration, as all are located within major tourist districts.

Here are four international sites tied to Black history in the Americas:

Located in Rio de Janeiro's Jornal do Comércio Square, Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site is situated in the city's 19th-century harbor; the stone wharf was the landing place for generations of enslaved Africans from 1811 through the end of slavery in the country in 1888. An estimated 900,000 Africans arrived in South America through the Valongo Wharf.

Excavated in 2011 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017, the Wharf features several archaeological layers. The lowest of consists of floor pavings in "pé de moleque" style, say UNESCO officials, attributed to the original Wharf.