Aside from rice, other products from the Ribeira valley were transported by boat to a river port on the shore of the Ribeira river, close to Iguape, and from there by donkeys or carts to the ocean harbor, where they were loaded into big ships. To facilitate and cheapen transport, Iguape obtained permission from emperor D. Pedro II to build a 4 km long and 2 m wide channel, connecting the river port with the ocean port. The request was approved by D. Pedro and after hard work (by enslaved workers) the canal was concluded in 1855.