Slave resistance and the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to Brazil in 1850

Abstract

Debate exists over the reasons for the demise of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to Brazil in 1850. An “Enlightenment School” of historians highlights the political capacity of Brazilian statesmen. This perspective discounts slave resistance as influencing the decisions of high-ranking ministers in Rio de Janeiro. A “Subaltern School” views slave resistance as a key variable in causing a permanent halt to disembarkations. In the wake of the Revolt of the Malês in 1835 in Salvador, Bahia, the largest urban slave revolt in the history of the Americas, numerous observers called for an end to the slave trade. These individuals emphasized that continued importations boded ill for the empire. This essay posits that the arrival of thousands of African slaves to Brazil in the 1830s and 1840s caused severe social tensions. Elite and popular insecurity were particularly evident in the cities of Recife, Pernambuco, Salvador, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Several events caused a shift in opinion among high-ranking ministers and common folk by the late 1840s. The appearance of the British Squadron in Brazilian ports and along the coast heightened resistance among slaves and freedpersons. Slave revolts, slave conspiracies, fear of Muslim religion and distrust of African freedpersons forced representatives to seek a permanent halt to the slave trade. Key words: trans-Atlantic slave trade, slave resistance, Revolt of the Malês, African freedpersons.