Throughout history up until the late 1800’s slavery remained an important social institution especially in the creation of the Americas. Despite the fact Brazil, the West Indies, and the Southern Colonies are different regions of the Americas, the institutions of slavery within these areas were fairly similar. All three regions shared similar racial ideologies, used slave labor to construct their economies, and experienced resistance. Aside from these similarities the regions of Brazil, the West Indies, and the Southern Colonies exhibited differences, specifically in the way they justified the use of slaves, how they organized slave labor, and in what ways slaves resisted.
To begin, nations present in the West Indies, Brazil, and the Southern Colonies each had specific racial ideologies. In each region the use of African slaves stemmed directly from a need for labor. Likewise, each region varies in its justification of its use of slaves. The Portuguese justified their use of slaves in Brazil as a direct result of the necessity of labor. On the other hand, the French in Haiti felt racially superior to Africans using that as their justification. The French were so absorbed with one’s racial background they tracked heritage …show more content…
Brazil accumulated the most slaves over time, importing over 4 million. They constantly participated in the Atlantic Slave trade up until the 1880’s unlike the American colonies. This constant flow of slaves reinforced African culture within the region and by 1888, the year slavery was band in Brazil, African culture had grounded itself in the area. On the other hand, in the Southern Colonies participation in the Atlantic slave trade ended in 1808, meaning the slave population grew by natural repopulation. This led to an assimilation of both American and African culture. A similar process took place in the West Indies, merging African and European