Slavery In Brazil
The Institution of Slavery and the Labor Market in Brazil
Brazil’s contemporary economic, social, and political structures strongly reflect the colonial institutions implemented in the region during the Portuguese occupation. In particular, the colonial influence has had a long-lasting effect on the labor market and economic development. Today, Brazil’s society suffers from large disparities in income, education, and social opportunities. The origin of the economic issues in Brazil dates back to the colonial period, when the labor market was sustained primarily by slavery.
Slavery started in Brazil in 1538, and persisted for more than three centuries, not being abolished until 1888. Originating with the indigenous population, slave labor …show more content…
During that period, four million Africans were brought into Brazil, of which over half arrived after 1781. The importation of African slaves “enabled brazil’s plantation owners to satisfy their growing demand for labor with relatively little utilization of works from the country’s domestic agricultural sector.” Due to the productivity of Brazil’s slave labor, the export sector became the largest source of economic growth in the region, but the prosperity from exports was not circulated into other industries. When a labor force, such as Brazil’s in 1880’s, is based on slavery, “it is difficult to transfer productivity gains in the export sector to the non export economy.” Therefore, after Brazil gained independence from the Colonial powers, the institution of slavery persisted, keeping productivity high and costs low for plantation owners. By the time Brazil gained independence from colonizing powers, half of the population was …show more content…
Mita was a “particularly crude form of forced labor that was designed to guarantee mine owners an adequate supple of indigenous labor.” With exports being so labor intensive, “labor costs were overwhelmingly the largest single item of expenditure.” Gains for the workers would only lead to lower profits for the employers, and they assumed that “only international migration from Europe could solve the problem of labor shortages.” As a result, Brazil’s next stage of “slavery” took place in the policy of mass
Brazil’s contemporary economic, social, and political structures strongly reflect the colonial institutions implemented in the region during the Portuguese occupation. In particular, the colonial influence has had a long-lasting effect on the labor market and economic development. Today, Brazil’s society suffers from large disparities in income, education, and social opportunities. The origin of the economic issues in Brazil dates back to the colonial period, when the labor market was sustained primarily by slavery.
Slavery started in Brazil in 1538, and persisted for more than three centuries, not being abolished until 1888. Originating with the indigenous population, slave labor …show more content…
During that period, four million Africans were brought into Brazil, of which over half arrived after 1781. The importation of African slaves “enabled brazil’s plantation owners to satisfy their growing demand for labor with relatively little utilization of works from the country’s domestic agricultural sector.” Due to the productivity of Brazil’s slave labor, the export sector became the largest source of economic growth in the region, but the prosperity from exports was not circulated into other industries. When a labor force, such as Brazil’s in 1880’s, is based on slavery, “it is difficult to transfer productivity gains in the export sector to the non export economy.” Therefore, after Brazil gained independence from the Colonial powers, the institution of slavery persisted, keeping productivity high and costs low for plantation owners. By the time Brazil gained independence from colonizing powers, half of the population was …show more content…
Mita was a “particularly crude form of forced labor that was designed to guarantee mine owners an adequate supple of indigenous labor.” With exports being so labor intensive, “labor costs were overwhelmingly the largest single item of expenditure.” Gains for the workers would only lead to lower profits for the employers, and they assumed that “only international migration from Europe could solve the problem of labor shortages.” As a result, Brazil’s next stage of “slavery” took place in the policy of mass