Slavery In Brazil: The Campista Case

The transatlantic slave trade was a primary structuring force of brazilian society. When Brazil became independent in 1822 from portugal, the slave trade was perceived as a dominant activity in the country's economy because it involved so much formation and investments. Slavery played a significant role in the structure of Brazil considering that the system of involuntary labor was the biggest and most extended of all the slave societies in the Atlantic world. This molded Brazilian ways of life including jobs, transportation, economic concerns, political factors and culture in many ways.

“The new slavery flourishes where old rules, old ways of life break down” (Brazil 121). The old way of life is deteriorating; money is scarce. Now, people will do any type of work. The Brazilian slaves work in dangerous charcoal production plants called batterias. They work with little to no protection; the hot ovens leave the workers’ bodies covered in blistering burns. In the minds of the workers, there is nothing else to do but suffer through. The slavery in Brazil prospers because of the recruitment proccess and the isolated location of the batterias. However, efforts from human rights organizations have had positive effects on the modern day slavery.

Throughout the 16th century, as there was a demographic collapse of the indigenous population, there was now a new demand for slave labor in Latin America. In Brazil, the Portuguese needed a large workforce to cultivate sugar plantations. As a result, numerous slaves from Africa were imported to work on large plantation fields. In various plantations, rural slaves experienced harsh working and living conditions. Few slaves had a high life expectancy. Robert Edgar Conrad in “Children of God’s Fire,” shares some primary sources that dealt with the types of environments and conditions many slaves faced and encountered in Brazil. The sources also gave insight into the regulations and economics/business of the slave trade. Conrad states that rural Brazil was “a hell for blacks” (Conrad 54). Many slaves dealt with extremely harsh conditions just to keep the European market in Latin American growing and profitable. This paper will analyze how rural slaves lived and worked on Brazilian sugar plantations.

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th cent., the Araucanians had long been in control of the land in the southern part of the region; in the north, the inhabitants were ruled by the Inca empire. Diego de Almagro, who was sent by Francisco Pizarro from Peru to explore the southern region, led a party of men through the Andes into the central lowlands of Chile but was unsuccessful (1536) in establishing a foothold there. In 1540, Pedro de Valdivia marched into Chile and, despite stout resistance from the Araucanians, founded Santiago (1541) and later established La Serena, Concepción, and Valdivia. After an initial period of incessant warfare with the natives, the Spanish

Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery in 1888, with a legacy that was built on the backs of African slaves. For over five-hundred years, the Portuguese engaged in the Transatlantic Slave Trade with Brazil as the main recipient, where, between 1502 and 1867, almost half of Africans being imported to the Americas were sent to Brazil. (“Brazil: A Racial Paradise”, Black In Latin America, 2011, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Service, Web) The unfortunate reality of the slave trade to Brazil has led to a prevalent issue in modern-day society there: the influx of Africans during that time period has led to a large population of modern Afro-Brazilians who are disproportionately recognized by the government and society as a whole. Politically, Afro-Brazilians have little control over

Afro Brazilians have had to deal with centuries of oppression. During these times, Afro-Brazilians have had to deal with various methods, and strategies designed to keep entire communities oppressed. Many of these methods have had effects so profound, they are still affecting many Brazilians till this day. Political oppression is one of the oldest methods known to man, along with unleashing a forceful police force mimicking military forces. Authoritarian rule also played a major role in the shaping of the country. Furthermore, an inept biased justice system will fail those who need protections, and justice the most. These four key modes will be objectively examined, as well as the efficacy of each of these repressive strategies, and the impact that they have had or still have in the Afro-Brazilian communities.

When we assess the evils of slavery, we typically think of the North American slaves plight. We think of the beatings, murders, hangings and mistreatment of the Southern slave. But what about the slaves of Latin America? Who hears their cries of woe because of their evil slave masters? Is their treatment the same of their brethren under slave rule in North America? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to look into the lives of both North and Latin American slaves. For our purposes, we will utilize two slave narratives. One account will come from the North American slave, Frederick Douglass, and his

Because certain forms of slavery had existed for centuries on the continent of Africa, Brazilian historians used to say that blacks imported from across the Atlantic were docile and ready to accept their new status as slaves. This assertion is based on the unwarranted assumption that was true of a limited area of Africa was typical of the continent as a whole.

How did American slavery compare and contrast with slavery in Latin America? Was slavery in these two places mainly similar? Were there differences worth noting? Were demographics a large part of the differences? Which place was the most oppressive? Which was more benign in slave conditions? Although, I feel slavery, in any form, is reprehensible, I would like to discuss major differences between these two places pertaining to the work performed, the treatment of slaves, and the rights afforded to each.

During Brazil’s first few decades of colonialism, the Portuguese decided that to control the population they would directly enslave them. Captured native people were the ones that labored on the first sugar mills. Native slavery was abolished in Brazil in the 1570s but exceptions were made if a Native was captured during “just war”. Although a loophole existed that allowed for Natives to still be enslaved, by the 1590s it didn’t matter because they were

After reading the story of Benito Cereno a main idea that is apparent would be natural slavery. In the story, Captain Delano discovers a ship that would appear to be ran by Benito Cereno. However, Cereno was not in charge due to the slave revolt against his ship. With assuming that the Africans on the ship were slaves, Delano was fooled multiply times into believing Cereno was in charge. This exploits the idea of natural slavery. With Delano already assuming the African’s on the ship were slaves, he is justifying the idea that he naturally thought they were slaves.

The purpose of this paper is to recognize, study and analyze the race relations in Brazil. Race relations are relations between two groups of different races; it is how these two different races connect to each other in their environment. Since Brazil is racially diverse, this study is focused on how Brazilians relate to each other. Throughout the essay, it will become clear that there exists a conflict between two race groups. Afro-Brazilians and White-Brazilians are not connected and though these two groups converse with each other, discrimination still lies within the society. This discrimination has created inequality within the society for Afro-Brazilians. Thus, this paper will not only focus on racism and discrimination that

Over the past several decades there has been an increase, in Brazil, of people whom self-identify as being black or Afro-Brazilian. What sparked the rise in these identities in Brazil? Was it possible material and intellectual gains or, sparked from activism, or from other possible factors. The black movement and affirmation of “black” identity came about much later in Brazil than in other countries such as the United States. In my opinion the most important factors for the rise in these identities are the material gains from the Quilombo Clause, the effects of affirmative action and quotas, as well as social activism.

The three ads about the slave runaway are seen most of them happing in the 18 and 19th in the Antebellum south and most of the ads are discussed in my paper basically coming from North Carolina. The slave runaway was considered a big issue back in that time especially for the slave owners who are relied on them to make their income and enhance their life economy. As seen on three ads and in reading different sources are pertained to slaves found that The North Carolina are relied on the slavery in terms of economy and social life style due to needing the workforce to support the cotton grown on that time (Johnson, page 2).

The history of slavery comes from many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. The social, economic, and legal positions of slaves were significantly different in systems of slavery and in different times. However, Portugal started the European slave trade with Africa. Prince Henry sent a trading expedition to Africa, which explored the continent in 1441, and by 1444, a cargo of 235 enslaved Africans had been brought to Lagos in Portugal. The Portuguese used slaves to work on sugar plantations off an island in Africa, by 1460. The Portuguese built the first slave fort in 1481, on the coast of modern Ghana. This was called Elmina Castle, which was the headquarters of the Portuguese slave traders. In the early seventeenth century, Portugal was a major trader in enslaved Africans. By this time, Portugal had permission to supply the Spanish colonies with slaves. This meant that the Portuguese were not only buying slaves for themselves, but for Spanish as well. This added to the total number of slaves that Portuguese ships carried. Records show the number of slaves imported from Africa was 4,650,000 slaves (i.e., footnote 1).