Share of Brazil's non-white population living in slavery 1872
According to the Brazilian census of 1872, approximately 26 percent of Brazil's non-white population was living in slavery, while 74 percent of the non-white population were legally free. Rio de Janeiro was the only region where there were more non-white people living in slavery than living in freedom.
Generally speaking, the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil had a smaller share of their non-white populations living in slavery than the southern and eastern regions at this time; this was likely due to the concentration of slave trading activities further from the equator in the second half of the 19th century. The reason for this was the British Navy's anti-slave-trade patrols in the Atlantic between 1808 and 1867, following the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807; this saw Portuguese and Brazilian slave traders take southern routes to the Americas to avoid interception, ultimately resulting in increased traffic to Brazil's southeasterly ports.
Generally speaking, the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil had a smaller share of their non-white populations living in slavery than the southern and eastern regions at this time; this was likely due to the concentration of slave trading activities further from the equator in the second half of the 19th century. The reason for this was the British Navy's anti-slave-trade patrols in the Atlantic between 1808 and 1867, following the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807; this saw Portuguese and Brazilian slave traders take southern routes to the Americas to avoid interception, ultimately resulting in increased traffic to Brazil's southeasterly ports.
