1826-1830: The newly independent nation of Brazil signed its first anti-slave-trade treaty with Great Britain in 1826, which contained an undertaking to abol…

1826-1830: The newly independent nation of Brazil signed its first anti-slave-trade treaty with Great Britain in 1826, which contained an undertaking to abolish the traffic within four years. The treaty formally took effect in 1830, marking the official end of the legal trade to the largest market for enslaved Africans in the Americas. Despite this legal prohibition, the demand for labor on coffee and sugar estates was so high that a massive illegal traffic continued for two more decades. It was not until 1850 that the Brazilian government began to take the serious enforcement actions necessary to finally suppress the illicit trade.