We started class with announcements. We then transitioned into the questions. We discussed two main questions before heading into the primary sources. The first question was “What do we know about the impacts of African slavery in Latin America?” The second question was, “How do historians understand the lived experiences of Africans and their descendants in the New World?” We looked at several maps that depict the movement of Africans to the New World. We also looked at paintings from the era and discussed the meaning behind certain features in the paintings.
We had a book presentation on From Africa to Brazil: Culture, Identity, and an Atlantic Slave Trade, 1600-1830 by Walter Hawthorne. Emma gave the presentation. This book discussed the Guinean identity both before and after the slave trade brought Guineans to Brazil. This tied into the class discussion for the day because it looked at the impact of slavery in Latin America. The readings we had to do for class focused on the working conditions of slaves in Brazil as well as resistance to the slave system.
“But when today I see them so devout and festive before the altars of Our Lady of the Rosary, all brothers together and the children of that same Lady, I am convinced beyond any doubt that the captivity of the first transmigration is ordained by her compassion so that they may be granted freedom in the second….” Antonio Viera’s Sermon
This passage discusses a Jesuit’s view of slavery in Brazil. It relates to the main point because it discusses slavery in Brazil. This passage in particular says that slavery must be ordained by the Lady of the Rosary because it allowed the Africans to get “saved”. This ties in nicely with our discussion about the way Europeans viewed slaves.
Quilombos- Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin.
Slavevoyages.org
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/30/world/uniao-dos-palmares-journal-from-brazil-s-misty-past-a-black-hero-emerges.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/11/12/244563532/photos-reveal-harsh-detail-of-brazils-history-with-slavery
- How did the working conditions of slaves lead to Brazil having to bring in more slaves?
- Looking at “Blacks Dancing”, a painting from 1640, how is colorism present and what does this imply about the way Brazilian society views people of African descent?
- Why is it that there is better data for the arrival of slaves to the New World rather than the departure of slaves from Africa?
