The first question that popped in my mind was where did slaves come from and how did they get to Brazil? According to the article Slavery and International Relations on the Southern Border of …show more content…
During this time, Britain, who was a close ally with Brazil, was successful by banning the slave trade with the North in 1815 which expanded until 1830. Since coffee regions began to expand, there was an increase in the demand for slaves so there was a restriction in the banning (Butler, 2011). Butler states “Brazil was rapidly developing an export coffee industry in the Southeastern region through the use of enslaved labor (2011, pg. 970). The efforts in finding sources of labor was difficult because of the current status of the slave trade. Many coffee growers were insistent in finding new sources of labor. Their ongoing actions manipulated the slave trade and new patterns began. It wasn’t long before African slaves were trafficked to come into Rio De Janeiro on ships. The wanting of slaves increased Brazil’s trade to 10,000 per year in the 1870s (Butler, 2011). The expansion of coffee and it’s business in Brazil kept expanding and more slaves came which affected thousands of African …show more content…
As I stated in my introduction paragraph, coffee was found in Ethiopia and made its way to other countries. Juliana Mello, writer of The Brazil Business talks about coffee and its history with Brazil. The plant which originally came from Ethiopia was brought in Brazil by French settlers who founded Pará around the 18th century (Mello, 2012). As coffee fields began to spread, sugar cane plantations were the main economic source in Brazil. Little did we know that coffee would soon step up and become the greatest source in Brazil (Mello, 2012). It was the late 18th century and early 19th century when sugar canes lost their importance in the markets (Mello, 2012). Juliana states “Brazilian coffee was the number one filling up the European and American cups in 1840” (Mello, pg. 1, 2012). A new rule came with the newly and enriched society called ‘coffee barons’ which is wealthy owners of the grain’s plantations. Coffee barons held the economic and political power in Brazil and experienced great progress (Mello, 2012). The coffee production almost collapsed in 1888 after the abolishment of slavery because of the lack of labor. The government in return brought European immigrants to work in the coffee fields. They increased the market and and changed Brazil by helping their nation continue to grow (Mello, 2012). Coffees role remained in Brazil and there were many effects from