By 1502, the first slave ships had landed in Brazil, and did not stop arriving until 1850, when the transAtlantic exchange of slaves to Brazil was abolished. The Portuguese first colonized Brazil in the year 1500. The native tribes originally occupied the land, but the Portuguese took over and the indigenous people soon became their slaves. The Portuguese first became involved with the African slave trade during the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. In 1494, the ‘Treaty of Tordesillas,’ gave Portugal authority over the lower section of the New World, which resulted in them bringing slaves to Brazil. From 1502 to 1860, Brazil became known as the largest transporter of slaves to the New World, with a total of “38% of all slaves shipped to
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The Portuguese first traveled to Brazil in 1500 “under the excursion of Pedro Álvares Cabral,” and slaves were instantly put to work, imprisoned, and killed ruthlessly. Indigenous slaves were the majority of the slaves during this time, and it was not until the mid sixteenth century, when African slaves began to be shipped to Brazil. The Portuguese “supported the early experimentation with African slaves,” and most enslaved Africans who arrived on the Brazilian shores were forced to embark at West Central African ports, specifically in Luanda, which is now modern day Angola. Although the majority of slaves were African during the mid sixteenth century, the enslavement of indigenous people continued into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the barrens of Brazil. According to Herbert Klein, author of “Slavery In Brazil,” the indigenous people were a lot cheaper than African …show more content…
But, this did not stop slaves from being “smuggled and sold in illegal markets from Angola,” until slavery was entirely outlawed in 1888. Aside from sugar and mining slaves, 1.7 million slaves were imported from Africa to Brazil from 1700 to 1800 to help with “Cattle ranching and food production,” both of which relied heavily on slave labor. Also, the rise of coffee in the 1830s greatly contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Finally, on May 13, 1888, Brazil became the final country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery. By the time it was abolished, in 1888, an “estimated four million slaves had been shipped from Africa to Brazil,” and 40% of the total number of slaves were brought to the
The Portuguese first traveled to Brazil in 1500 “under the excursion of Pedro Álvares Cabral,” and slaves were instantly put to work, imprisoned, and killed ruthlessly. Indigenous slaves were the majority of the slaves during this time, and it was not until the mid sixteenth century, when African slaves began to be shipped to Brazil. The Portuguese “supported the early experimentation with African slaves,” and most enslaved Africans who arrived on the Brazilian shores were forced to embark at West Central African ports, specifically in Luanda, which is now modern day Angola. Although the majority of slaves were African during the mid sixteenth century, the enslavement of indigenous people continued into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the barrens of Brazil. According to Herbert Klein, author of “Slavery In Brazil,” the indigenous people were a lot cheaper than African …show more content…
But, this did not stop slaves from being “smuggled and sold in illegal markets from Angola,” until slavery was entirely outlawed in 1888. Aside from sugar and mining slaves, 1.7 million slaves were imported from Africa to Brazil from 1700 to 1800 to help with “Cattle ranching and food production,” both of which relied heavily on slave labor. Also, the rise of coffee in the 1830s greatly contributed to the expansion of the slave trade. Finally, on May 13, 1888, Brazil became the final country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery. By the time it was abolished, in 1888, an “estimated four million slaves had been shipped from Africa to Brazil,” and 40% of the total number of slaves were brought to the