AP® African American Studies review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/african-american-studies/units/2/2-16)
Unit 2 · Topic 2.16
2.16 Diasporic Connections: Slavery and Freedom in Brazil
Brazil received more enslaved Africans than anywhere else in the Americas, about half of all who survived the crossing, and it was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery, in 1888. Comparing Brazil with the United States shows how different laws produced very different patterns of slavery and freedom.
Key terms
- Brazil
- manumission
- capoeira
- congada
- abolition in 1888
Slavery in Brazil
About half of the roughly 10 million Africans who survived the Middle Passage landed in Brazil. That's far more than went to any other place, and over ten times the number taken to the United States. Today Brazil has the largest population of African descent in the Americas.
Enslaved Africans in Brazil did many kinds of work as the economy shifted over the centuries: sugar plantations, gold and diamond mines, coffee plantations, cattle ranching, and producing food and cloth for local markets. Many also worked in cities as vendors, porters and skilled tradespeople.
African cultures that endured
Because so many people arrived directly from Africa, and kept arriving until 1850, African cultures remained especially strong in Brazil. Two practices still alive today:
- Capoeira: a martial art developed by enslaved Africans that looks like a dance and combines music with call-and-response singing.
- Congada: a celebration honoring the king of Kongo and Our Lady of the Rosary, a blend of West Central African and Catholic traditions.
Brazil and the US compared
Why the difference? Brazil's Iberian (Portuguese) laws and the Catholic Church allowed and encouraged manumission more than US laws did, so Brazil's free Black population grew fast. After imports ended in 1850, the number of enslaved people fell steadily. (The course framework says abolition in 1888 freed about 1.5 million people; that matches Brazil's 1872 census, but by 1888 roughly 700,000 people were still enslaved.) In the US, after the 1808 ban on imports, children born to enslaved mothers were enslaved (2.8), so the enslaved population kept growing. By the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, the US held more than half of all enslaved people in the Americas.
| Feature | Brazil | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Africans received | About 5 million | About 388,000 |
| How the enslaved population changed in the 1800s | Fell after imports ended in 1850, as more people gained freedom | Grew, mainly through births |
| Freedom before abolition | Manumission (release from slavery) was common, so by 1888 about 4 million people of African descent were already free | Manumission was rarer; about 4 million people were still enslaved in 1860 |
| End of slavery | 1888, the last country in the Americas, freeing roughly 700,000 people | 1865, with the Thirteenth Amendment |
The required sources
A 1770s drawing by Carlos Julião shows a festival of a Black Catholic brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary in Rio de Janeiro, an Afro-Catholic tradition rooted in West Central Africa (1.9). Two 1864 photographs, Escravo Mina and Escrava Mina, portray an enslaved man and woman from West Africa who were likely brought to Brazil as children in the early 1830s. A photo of capoeira players and musicians on a beach in Salvador, Bahia, shows the tradition today.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Explaining a comparison
Explain why Brazil's enslaved population decreased in the later 1800s while the US enslaved population increased.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Brazil: manumission was common, encouraged by Iberian law and the Catholic Church, so many people became free.
- Step 2: US: after 1808, the enslaved population grew through births because children inherited their mothers' status.
- Step 3: State the contrast clearly.
Answer: Model answer: In Brazil, Portuguese law and the Catholic Church made manumission common, so more and more people of African descent became free; by 1888 about 4 million were already free when abolition freed the last 700,000 or so. In the US, manumission was rarer and children of enslaved mothers were born enslaved, so even after imports ended in 1808 the enslaved population grew to about 4 million.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the US was the center of the slave trade. Brazil received more than ten times as many Africans.
- Thinking Brazilian slavery was mild because manumission was common. It was brutal, with very high death rates.
- Mixing up dates: Brazil ended slavery in 1888, the US in 1865.
On the exam
- This topic is built for comparison questions. Learn two or three clear differences with numbers.
- Use capoeira or the congada as evidence of African cultural survival in the diaspora.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 2.16 Diasporic Connections: Slavery and Freedom in Brazil. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
| Measure | Brazil | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Share of Africans who survived the Middle Passage landing there | About half | About 4–5 percent |
| Year slavery ended | 1888 | 1865 |
| Free people of African descent (last census before abolition) | About 4.2 million (1872) | About 0.5 million (1860) |
| Enslaved people (same census) | About 1.5 million (1872) | About 4 million (1860) |
Rounded figures from Brazil's 1872 census, the U.S. Census of 1860 and the AP African American Studies course framework, prepared for this practice set
Which comparison is best supported by the table?
Brazil's large free Black population is best explained by
The U.S. enslaved population grew to about 4 million even though few Africans arrived after 1808. This is because
Capoeira and the congada, a festival honoring the king of Kongo and Our Lady of the Rosary, are evidence that in Brazil
0 of 4 answered