Figure 1.--Here we see three African-Brazilian children in north eastern Sertao during the 2010s. Blacks are the third most important ethnic group in Brazul, although far below the proportion of whites and pardos. African ethnicity is imprtant throughout Brazil, but lowest in the north and south. It was once thought that blacks were the most imprtant part of the mixes with whites known as pardos, We now know that Native Americans were also important. . .

The Portugese word for black is 'preto'. And blacks are the third most important ethnic group in Brazul, although far below the proportion of whites and pardos. The Portuguese did not encounter an advanced Native American civilization. There certainly was no monumntal architecture. There is now some debate about the nature of Native American civilizations. One matter that is not contested is that the Portuguese were unable to enslave the native people in large numbers. Brazilian slavery began with enslaving Native Americans, but as Native americans quickly perished, Brazilian planters turn to captive Africans. They imported large numbers of Africans. Most came from areas south of the Gulf of Guinea Slave Coast. Angola was especially important. Brazil along with the Caribbean sugar islands were the major destinations for African slavers. Some 5 million Africans may have been brought to Brazil. Brazil was the largest single destination. The voyages for the slavers were much shorter than those to the Caribbean and North America which to some extent refuced the mortalities of the Middle Passage. Slavery became a mjor aspect of Brazilian life--the mainstay of plantation labor. The sugar industry was especially important. In fact it was not possible without slave labor. Portugal pushed by the British finally outlawed the Atlantic slave trade (1850). By this time Brazil of coure was independemt. Thanks to the Royal Navy, the Alantic slave trade was greatly reduced. The donestic slave trade in Brazil continud. Brazil did not abloished slavery until the late 19th-century (1888). Except for the Ottomans and their Arab provinces, Brazil and Spain (Cuba and Purto Rico) was the last jurisdictions to do so. Just before the abolition of slavery, people of African ancestry were a substantial portion of the Brazilian population, something like 20 percent (1872). At the same time, the largest number of European immigrants, especially Italians, were flooding into Brazil. This is in part why the African portion of the population declined in the 20th century. The African ethnic population is noe about 8 percent (2010). This seems a rather small population given the dimensiions of the slave trade transporting slaves yo Brazil. Only about 0.5 million captive Africans were transported to what is now the United States and the black population is about 12 percent. The reason for this discrepanct is the the genocidal nature of sugar plantations, the same situation as in the Caribbean. The economic disparities based on ethnicity are another factor.

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Created: 12:25 AM 6/20/2013
Last updated: 12:25 AM 6/20/2013