Slavery In Brazil Analysis

The Africans that arrived to Brazil where faced with two choices: either they refused to accept their fate and refused to try or else they integrated themselves into a new society of slavery (Mattoso 92). In Brazil, rural and urban slaves were not organized in the same way, and contrasting forms of obedience in the fields, cities, and mines. Jobs awaited them in agriculture in the northeastern and east-central Brazil that were large-scale productions of sugar cane. In the interior regions, livestock-raising and mining were the primary economy while in the cities of Pernambuco, Bahia, and Rio were economic fortresses (95). Africans would be forced to work hard, to humble oneself, and to obey their masters were the pillar of the slave’s new life (88). Before the slave could change their plight, one had to undergo three major changes: to learn the language of their masters, to learn to pray new God, and learn a useful skill (97). For the ones that refused to accept his fate the only alternatives were fight to the death, suicide, flight, or revolt (92). The experience of slaves differed greatly from region to region. …show more content…
When the slaves crossed over in the slave ships they brought with them foods from their country that have become known as soul food to the world. Some of these are: rice, okra, black-eyed peas, and kidney and lima beans (Holloway 2). During their free time, mainly at night, they would dance and sing, which later became the base of jazz and other styles of music (Sambol-Tosco 1). They also brought a religion that has different name from place to place but has the same theme: in Bahia, it was called Candomble, in Rio de Janeiro, it was called Macumba, and in Pernambuco it was called Xango (Wk. 8, Lec. 11) The slave owners were fearful of their voodoo magic which could cause sickness or dead that they believed the Africans capable of using against them (Mattoso