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Brazilian Sugar Plantation System
Sugar production system established by Portugal in colonial Brazil, centered on sugarcane cultivation, milling houses (engenho), and African enslaved…
Timeline
- 1561–1564Olinda · PernambucoAfter Governor Mendes de Sousa pacified the coast, large tracts of Pernambuco were cleared for sugarcane; lords of the mill (senhor de engenho) invested in water- or animal-powered mills, forming an integrated estate-mill-port production chain.
- 1563–1567Salvador · BahiaAs sugarcane acreage expanded, indigenous labor proved insufficient; African enslaved workers arriving through the ports of Bahia and Recife became the mainstay of cultivation and milling, with plantations enforcing harsh labor discipline and racial segregation.
- 1566–1570Recife · PernambucoRaw sugar (açúcar mascavo) was shipped from Recife and Olinda to Lisbon and Antwerp; Brazilian sugar's share of the European market rose, and plantation profits attracted continued investment from Portuguese and mixed-ancestry merchant capital.
Sources
- Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624-1713 — Richard S. Dunn (1972)
- A History of Brazil — Boris Fausto (1999)