Expansion of Brazil's Sugar Plantation Economy

Timeline

1. 1560–1569Pernambuco and Bahia · NortheastAround the ports of São Vicente, Olinda, and Salvador, sugar cultivation spread inland along river valleys. Colonists converted land to monoculture and established water- or animal-powered sugar mills (engenhos), forming an export chain serving the Lisbon and Antwerp markets.
2. 1561–1570Coast of northeastern Brazil · BrazilAs sugar profits rose, the number of slaves imported from West Africa (the Gulf of Guinea, Angola, etc.) increased markedly, replacing early reliance on indigenous corvée labor. Plantation owners organized planting, cutting, boiling, and transport along racialized lines, establishing a Brazilian colonial society centered on slavery.
3. 1565–1570Salvador · SalvadorSugar exports drove port tariffs, credit, and merchant shipping trade, and towns such as Salvador became regional political and economic centers. Newly wealthy planters and merchants participated in municipal and ecclesiastical institutions, shifting the Brazilian colony from early exploratory outposts to a settled society anchored in export agriculture.