History of the South Atlantic World 1400-1700

Part I.

4. How was Portugal able to monopolize the African slave trade during the late 1400s?

Portugal was able to monopolize the slave trade in many ways. The first way is through the Catholic Church. Infante Henrique received permission from the Papal Bulls to colonize the islands off the African coast. It also allowed for the establishment of trading posts and missionary posts on the African coast. According to Blackburn, “The Infante could claim a monopoly on the African trade, and offer spiritual as well as material incentives to those involved in his ventures” (103).

The ability of the Portuguese to control the coast of Africa also helped immensely with their monopoly of the slave trade. Their effective ships could easily defend off African canoes and other enemies. They also intermixed their crews with allies to make defense and diplomacy easier. Trade over land was seen as far too dangerous and time consuming, so the Portuguese monopolized on their superiority of the seas, where trade was much easier and securer.

Another factor that allowed the Portuguese to monopolize is the business like policies. Portugal relied on commerce and colonial enterprise for its power and income. Without these, Portugal would lose much of its empire and sea power. The crown had a “hand-off” approach when dealing with the slave trade. There was little or no bureaucracy in the trade, leaving the colonies and trade ran by merchants, planters and peasants. This laissez-faire approach surely increased the competiveness among individual merchants, therefore causing a dip in the price of slaves for the Portuguese, but increasing the price if a foreign country sought to purchase slaves.

5. Why did Brazil’s sugar economy take off during the mid sixteenth century?

The sugar economy in Brazil took off in the mid sixteenth century. The first reason for this is the security, good soil, and communications offered in Brazil. The Jesuits were given large amounts of land on which they established schools, churches, ranches, and sugar mills. The sugar industry, by 1580, was profitable enough for expansion and investment. Brazil had all the natural resources to grow sugar while Portugal had all the resources to market it. The Brazilian North East was favored to sugar with its long growing season and more land available than on the islands in the Atlantic.

Coastal Brazil also helped with the boom in sugar. Because of the many small streams and rivers leading to the coast, water powered mills could be built in numerous locations and increase the amount of sugar available on the market. Those who built mills were also exempt from the dizimo and could buy slaves at a reduced price.