Over the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade, some 12.5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa, and 10.7 million arrived in the Americas. An estimated number of 4.5 million slaves disembarked in Brazil, the largest slave population in the world (Slave Trade Database). Brazil was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery. Slavery lasted so long in Brazil because it became central the economy with the production of sugar, there were racial ideologies about slaves procreating, Europeans believed Africans were constructed for this kind of work, and they believed it was benefitting the colony as a whole in terms of agriculture and industry (Conrad 428). In spite of this, slaves used diverse tactics to resist the oppression they faced by forming communities called quilombos, attempting to seize power in armed uprisings, and resisting European culture. .
Europeans were against slavery for numerous reasons, but the main one being that the country's prosperity would be in danger if slaves were not enforced to work. They argue that without these workers, there would be nothing to export such as sugar, no one to mine the Earth, and commerce would eventually fail because slaves would no longer be entering and working the ports. They believe that they were racially superior to the slaves and were not accustomed to working under those conditions and that they were also made to serve the continent. The Europeans believed that the slaves were violent, animalistic humans and they were a danger to society. In their eyes, liberating them would only result in them not wanting to a productive member of society. They also believed that Europeans would no longer want to immigrate to the Americas if there were no slaves to help them thrive and make their living and no profit would be made (Conrad 430). Although they knew that slavery was immoral and slaves were being dehumanized, they believed it was essential in keeping Brazil afloat.
