African diaspora in Brazil
Slavery in Brazil
DRASTIC MOMENT
Brazil has been the hub of human trafficking in south America says Michelle Park, In the article she states that from 1600 to 1850 around 4.5 million slaves were brought to Brazil, If I am not mistaken that is a lot more then the number of slaves that were transported to the North side. Which is why this makes Brazil the hub, due to the number of the slaves transported the country was flooded with slaves along with portuguese controlling/punishing them. Another site written/posted by Brown university library shows an image on their page (located on the right), Underneath the image on the website there is a description saying “one black man whipping another as white supervisor observes .This shows that white supervisors could force another african slave to punish/torture another fellow slave. It didn't matter if it was you're friends or family they had the power to force you. In conclusion slavery in Brazil was harsh because one of your family members or friends could be forced to turn on you and since Brazil was the hub of human trafficking it was packed with many other slaves so just seeing someone thats in the same position as you in Brazil everywhere just brings negative vibes.
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Resistance to slavery in Brazil
Slaves in Brazil resisted from slavery in many ways, according to Manu Herbstein he talks about how the slaves resisted in Brazil. In the article, he talks about how instead of running away or committing suicide they fought back using the same weapon a Portuguese would use on them. So, in other words, they resorted to violence. With the same weapon a slave could kill the master of the overseer who would always be punishing the slaves (Herbstein). In which case this shows that slaves in Brazil would not only kill themselves and run away but some of them would resort to violence to show that they were strong and that was one of many ways they would resist. Not only that in a different article (understanding slavery initiative) states that some slaves would absent themselves from enslavement for hours possibly days disregarding their punishment when they got back. So they basically did a boycott and didn't show up to work regardless if they were going to get punished or not, which is the most safest way to show resistance, this is because you are getting punished you're not risking your life fighting back or committing suicide. In conclusion slaves in Brazil had several ways of showing resistance, some of them were risky and others were somewhat safe but you can never really be a slave without suffering in Brazil.
How does the African diaspora continue to affect Brazil
You can still see Brazilian culture that was seen back then, flourish Brazil today. In an article written by Lauri Lyons, he states that the famous tradition in Brazil that goes by the name of Carnival was put into play/practice by the Portuguese in 1600(Lyons). So this means that the tradition stayed because they still do this and its held 3 days prior to Ash Wednesday, and the celebration Carnival has some African antics. Not only that based on a Article "Introduction to capoeira", states that the fighting like dance called capoeira originated 500 years before Brazil's slave trade period. In which case they also practiced these dances although the Portuguese didn't let them because it was considered to be their religion/martial arts. The capoeira dance is still being used till this day for celebrations. In conclusion African diaspora affected Brazil because if it wasn't because of the diaspora Brazil wouldn't have all these celebrations and their unique culture.
Bibliography:
“Brazil: Five Centuries of Change.” Brazil Five Centuries of Change, library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-2/african-slavery/.
“Land of the Free, Home of the Slave.” Exodus Cry, 8 Jan. 2019, exoduscry.com/blog/general/history-of-slavery-and-abolition-in-brazil/l.
Lyons, Lauri. “Afro-Brazilian History, Beats and Culture.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/afro-brazilian-history-be_b_452877.