African Slavery In Brazil

Evidence of African roots are identifiable throughout Brazil. Brazil is the second most populated country of Blacks. Many different tones from mulatto to caboclo to black are present with culture that has flourished since African slaves first arrived to the country. The slaves that came to South America, brought their religion, gods, and music along with them, giving Brazil a cultural identity and a place among other nations. The profits of African slavery have allowed Brazil to gain capital and build a government based mainly on sugar exports. Although Brazil was the first to claim themselves free of racism, throughout history they often put slaves in even worse conditions than the US. Easy accessibility to import African slaves, meant that

However, out of slavery comes culture which is common for most countries who capitalized on it. Africans brought their religion and music on the slave ships and continued to practice their beliefs in their new locations. African culture can definitely be observed in Brazil, where some people have continued to keep their ancestral culture alive while making integrations of new practices that reflect their reality. Capoeira and candomblé are examples of this. Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines dance and rhythm in a coordinated fashion. It was initially practiced by slaves, as a way to teach others how to defend themselves with martial arts without the slave-owner knowing their actions; fighting was disguised as dancing. Candomblé is a dance to honor the African gods. Capoeira and candomblé both keep African heritage present in Brazil, passing this culture down as their ancestors once

The Brazil government brought many White European immigrants over in effort to “lighten the population”. The intentions were to make Brazilians less Black, hoping that the incoming whites would bear children with the blacks already present there. This would overtime make the population lighter and possibly remove black heritage. Chica da Silva is an example of racial mixing among an affluent individual. Silva was a Brazilian slave who gains her freedom and marries a wealthy white man in diamond mining. She bears children with him and ultimately adopts the role of a white women, in appearance and