Brazil History: Slavery in Brazil

Like many countries that went through colonization and the conquest, Brazil's history is scared with some unpleasantries. The biggest issues that continues to shape the course of the country today is slavery. In the 1550s, the Portuguese originally used members of the indigenous population as slaves to cultivate sugarcane fields. However, because many of these people died from European diseases-introduced to South America upon the arrival of the Portuguese, as such the indigenous peoples had no built up resistance-it was believed that African slaves would be better for labor.

In the 17th century, African slaves began to almost universally replace Indian slaves. From 1550 until 1888 about 3.4 million slaves were shipped to Brazil from various parts of Africa. This number accounts for almost 40 percent of all saves brought to the Americas (also known as the New World). However, Africans strongly resisted slavery in Brazil and fought to maintain their traditional cultures. Runaway African slaves formed communities called Quilombos. A small settlement of runaway slaves was called a mocambos. But sometimes, large cities were formed, such as the republic of Palmares, which survived throughout much of the 17th century. Palmares was led by the African king Zumbi, and has 20,000 residents at its peak. In modern day, more than 700 villages that were originally formed as Quilombos still exist today.

African traditions obviously thrived in Quilombos, but it also managed to hold on in the plantations as well. Enslaved Africans sought solace in African religion, culture, song, and dance. Though all the slaves were instructed to become Catholics, and all other religions were outlawed, the slave population cleverly mixed Catholic religions with their own traditional religious beliefs in order to hide that they had not fully given up their own ways. In this way, traditions and religions from several African tribes, such as Yoruba, were preserved and formed the roots for the religions of Candomble and Macumba, when until recently continued to be illegal to practice.

Conditions for slaves in Brazil went from bad to worse in the 1690s when gold was discovered. The discovery of gold brought on an onslaught of immigrants and more slaves. The conditions in the gold mines were even worse than in the sugarcane fields, and thousands of slaves died for the greed of others.

Though this history is sad, the positive part is that eventually slavery was made illegal, and because African traditions had been maintained, today African, indigenous, and Portuguese culture has meshed together to creature a culture that is uniquely Brazilian. During your Brazil vacation package, be sure to take some time to observe the diversity of the people and cultures around you, because it is unlike anywhere else in the world.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6296717

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