1642-1807: Rio de Janeiro emerged as the premier outfitting center in the Americas for slave voyages, particularly as the trade reached its nineteenth-centur…

1642-1807: Rio de Janeiro emerged as the premier outfitting center in the Americas for slave voyages, particularly as the trade reached its nineteenth-century peak. Unlike many northern European voyages, the vessels in Rio were locally owned, financed, and fitted out by resident merchants. The trade goods used to purchase captives were typically produced within Brazil or imported from Asia rather than Europe, highlighting the autonomy of the Luso-Brazilian system. By the early nineteenth century, Rio had become the single largest port of entry for enslaved Africans in the history of the transatlantic trade.