Brazilian Sugarcane Plantation System

Timeline

1. 1530–1560São Vicente and Pernambuco · BrazilThe Portuguese transplanted sugarcane varieties and cultivation techniques from Madeira to Brazil, establishing the first mills (engenhos) at São Vicente around 1532; thereafter Pernambuco and Bahia became core production areas due to their coastal climate and fertile soils, and indigenous labor was used in large forced numbers in the early stage.
2. 1550–1600Atlantic slave trade routes · South AmericaAfter the indigenous population died in large numbers from disease and exploitation, the Portuguese turned to forcibly importing African slaves from Angola, Congo, and the Gulf of Guinea region of West Africa; by the early 17th century Brazil was the largest destination of the Atlantic slave trade, with African slaves constituting the vast majority of plantation labor, forming the core circuit of the transatlantic slave trade.
3. 1621–1630Pernambuco and Bahia · BrazilIn the 1620s Brazil had over 350 sugar mills producing roughly 57,000 tons of refined sugar annually, about 80% of world output, making it the Portuguese Empire's richest colony. Amsterdam became Europe's sugar refining and distribution hub, and Dutch merchants' involvement in Brazilian sugar alarmed the Portuguese.
4. 1630–1654Pernambuco (Recife) · PernambucoIn 1630 the Dutch West India Company (WIC) sent warships to capture Recife, capital of Pernambuco, and thereafter extended over the entire northeastern sugar district; under Prince John Maurice (1637–1644) Dutch Brazil became a prosperous colony, but the Portuguese resisted continuously and in 1654 the Dutch were expelled, an event that triggered a complete reorganization of sugar production in the Caribbean.