On March 13, 1830, the period of legal trading expired, after which any Brazilian captain who sailed his ship from the African coast with a cargo of slaves was violating an international treaty. Such illegal trading in slaves, moreover, was to be “deemed and treated as piracy.” 2 After years of negotiations Great Britain had won (or extorted) a solemn commitment from a Brazilian government for an unconditional end to the importation of African slaves, in exchange for British recognition of Brazilian independence. On November 23, 1826, a British-Brazilian treaty was signed in Rio de Janeiro which made it illegal for Brazilian subjects to participate in the international slave trade, beginning three years from the date of ratification. This paper gives an account of that illegal traffic to the year 1845, showing how custom and economic forces could render legislation almost totally ineffectual.
By this means hundreds of thousands of Africans were transported to South America and, though legally “free,” were compelled to spend their lives in slavery, passing this condition on to their children and grandchildren.
Many examples could be cited of how laws bearing on slavery were disregarded one of the most conspicuous is the contraband slave trade to Brazil from 1831 to 1852. The processes involved in evading the law sometimes became, in fact, more institutionalized than the structure of the law itself. A s students of Latin American history know, many laws regulating or restricting important economic matters were notoriously violated during both the colonial and national periods.
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