HIS106Y1 Lecture 36: Labour and Servitude – Masters and Slaves
Document Summary
Even though plantation were spaces of sever discipline and control, african slaves establish both coping mechanism and forms of resistance. Sugar was the white gold that was driving the colonial economy. Portuguese had former experience in the near atlantic islands with sugarcane cultivation. Brazil had the right tropical climates to grow sugar, fertile and wet in the north east. Brazil had effe(cid:272)tive shippi(cid:374)g routes (cid:271)a(cid:272)k to portugal (cid:894)shorter that other e(cid:373)pire"s routes(cid:895), Needed a good profitable endeavour, sugar was perfect, picked up speed quickly. Engenho= sugar mill, and the entire rural state. A world in itself, where the owner is the supreme leader over his family and his slaves. Often the owners where government officials, merchants, and church leaders. Commoners were able to ride up in the ranks and own plantations, living luxuriously, constructing mansion. The average sugar mill have between 60 and 100 slaves, the wealthiest having up to 200 demographic shift, 60-70% of the population are slaves.
