1581–1856: Rio de Janeiro functioned as the premier destination for the seaborne slave traffic in the world, with almost all captives entering Southeast Braz…

1581–1856: Rio de Janeiro functioned as the premier destination for the seaborne slave traffic in the world, with almost all captives entering Southeast Brazil passing through its port until 1839. The city also served as the second-largest global center for outfitting slaving expeditions, with locally-owned ships typically sailing direct routes to Luanda or Benguela. In the nineteenth century, Southeast Africa emerged as an increasingly important source of captives to meet the rising labor demands of the coffee industry. The scale of this trade was so immense that it shaped every aspect of the region’s demographic and economic development during the plantation era.