Post Colonization South American History Lecture

Should've added that one scene from the Simpsons in the beginning

This might be a bit too far but could you do the South American Great War? The one where Paraguay was at war with all its neighbours

Today, we talk about the most destructive and costliest war in Latin American History: The War of the Triple Alliance.





Top: Territorial claims of Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil on different nations
Bottom: Francisco Solano López 

The causes of the war are debated, but there are multiple causes that are definitely true.

The first was Paraguayan expansion and isolation. Despite Carlos Antonio López bring Paraguay out of isolation for the first time by extending diplomatic relations to Corrientes and Brazil's recognition of the country in 1844, Paraguay was still fairly isolated from the outside world in terms of diplomatic relations. The Paraguayans did, however, enlist Brazilian and European technicians to build up the nation's infrastructure and for better defenses in the country. Despite their small size, the Paraguayans had the largest military in Latin America by 1864, with ~70,000-100,000 able bodied men in the military at that time. Despite the large size of their army, however, the military was very poorly equipped. Their navy was also smaller than their larger neighbors of Brazil and Argentina, and around the same size as the Bolivian fleet. The Paraguayans had expanded far beyond their original boundaries at independence as well. As stated in the Platine War lecture, they occupied Missiones from the Argentines and they took they also occupied the Chaco region. The Paraguayans were also constantly in the crossfire of Argentina and Brazil, as both powers wished to exert their influence over the country. They also had territorial claims on the country, Argentina claiming Missiones and Chaco, and Brazil claiming Paraguayan Mato Grosso. Bolivia also claimed the entire Chaco region as well. It was due to these reasons that Paraguay was forced to maintain a large military in order to ward off all three of its neighbors. Important to note as well here, Paraguay had ~450,000-545,000 people living there at the start of the war. This populations number will become important at the end, trust me. In 1862, a new Paraguayan dictator, Francisco Solano López was put in power.

The second was Brazilian intervention in Uruguay. You may recall that near the end of the Uruguayan lecture, I mentioned that an agreement was made between the Blancos and Colorados following the civil war that the Colorados would maintain control of Montevideo and the coast while the Blancos would maintain control of the agricultural interior. Well what ended happening was that following the Platine War, the Blancos broke the terms of the agreement and took over the government. The deposed Colorado president of Uruguay, Venancio Flores, fled to Argentina and gained the support of the Unitarian government there. In July of 1863, Flores invaded Uruguay. However, the Blanco government in Uruguay found an important ally: Paraguay. The Paraguayans asked the Argentine government in Buenos Aires as to why they were aiding the Colorados, but the Argentines denied intervention. López then implemented mandatory conscription in Paraguay, adding another 64,000 men to his forces. During this time, a Brazilian ship sailed into Uruguayan waters to discuss the issue of the damage of Brazilian farms by Uruguayan raids into Brazil. The minister on the ship presented his demands to the Uruguayan president, Antanasio Aguirrre, but he rejected the demands. Instead, he presented his own demands and asked Paraguay for backing. López offered to mediate the crisis, but the Brazilians refused. In 1864, Argentina and Brazil signed a co-operation treaty in order to rid the Blancos from Uruguay. The Brazilian minister who had went to Uruguay with the ship, sent an ultimatum to Montevideo with this simple message: Comply with the demands or be invaded. When the Paraguayans were informed of this ultimatum, they sent their own ultimatum to Brazil. This said that Paraguay would attack Brazil if any troops even touched Uruguayan soil. The Brazilians regarded with as more of a scare tactic then anything the Paraguayans could actually enforce, however, and so, in October of 1864, the Brazilians invaded Uruguay to reinstall the Colorados. In November, the Paraguayan Tucuarí captured the Brazilian ship Marqués de Olinda in the Paraguayan River while it was sailing to the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso. Brazil responded soon after.






Top: Uniforms of the War of the Triple Alliance
Middle: A Brazilian Fatherland Volunteer
Bottom: Battle of Avay

Before we talk about the actual action, lets talk about why the Paraguayans lost and why the Allies won.
1. While the Paraguayans had the largest army in Latin America at the outbreak of war, their troops were very poorly equipped and inexperienced, unlike the Brazilians or Argentines who had just fought a major war only a decade prior. 
2. Despite their large numerical advantage, the Paraguayan nation as a whole only had 450,000-545,000 people inside its borders, while, although exact census numbers aren't known, the Brazilians alone had at least 7.5 million people inside their borders. This means that if the Brazilians ever decided to mobilize their reserves, the Paraguayan military would easily be destroyed due to sheer numbers.
3. Later, when Argentina and Uruguay got involved, all Paraguayan connection to the outside world was cut as the only route from the outside world to Paraguay was through Argentina (There was Bolivia, but there were no main waterways from Paraguay to the Pacific Ocean)
4. The Paraguayan navy compared to Brazil's or Argentina's was very small, and the waterways were crucial for success.

In this war, the warfare the South American nations had been accustomed to was for the most part abandoned, as new technology and new military strategy was deployed for the first time. Machine guns saw limited action and steamboats were used during the war. In the territory where the war was fought, troops could not simply be marched from one place to another for multiple reasons. Disease was rampant in the rain forested Mato Grosso province and there were virtually no roads in the province, meaning that it would take months for an army to march through. So ships were used to transport the troops along the major rivers. Thus, whoever controlled the rivers controlled the outcome of the war.

We should also mention disease, at least briefly. The environment where the war was mainly fought in was full of disease. Mosquitos reigned supreme over the temperate climate, and diseases killed tens of thousands of men on both sides. Malaria was the main killer.

The war began with a Paraguayan invasion of the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso. A force led by Colonel Vicente Barrios, totaling ~4,000 men, traveled up the Paraguay River to the town of Concepcion. They were brought my ship. In December of 1864, the first action took place. These Paraguayan soldiers attacked the Brazilian fort Nova Coimbra. Only 154 Brazilians were stationed there, but they held out for three days until all their munitions ran out. Once they ran out of supplies, they abandoned the fort and retreated to Corumbá. After securing the fort, the Paraguayans continued their swift advance, taking the cities of Albuquerque, Tage, and Corumbá in January of 1865. The Paraguayans sent another force, led by Martín Urbieta, to take the military post of Dourados. They encountered very fierce resistance by a Brazilian force of 16 men led by Lt. Antonio João Ribeiro. The Paraguayans ultimately took them out due to sheer numbers, and Ribeiro, as with all of his men, were killed. The Paraguayans force then took Nioaque, Coxim and Miranda, but neither of these forces could push onwards to Cuiabá, the capital of the Mato Grosso province. This was due Brazilian commander Augusto Leverger fortification at Melgaço, just outside of the city. The Paraguayans had still achieved their main objective in the Mato Grosso campaign, however, as they had taken control of the Gold and Diamond mines in the province, cutting the Brazilians off from the valuable resources. Brazil sent an expeditionary force to remove the Paraguayans from their territory in April, totaling ~3,000 men led by Manuel Pedro Drago. His forces arrived in Coxim by December, but the Paraguayans had already retreated upon hearing of his force's arrival. They then moved into Miranda in September of 1866, where the Paraguayans had retreated again. By January 1867, the force had dwindled down to only ~1,600 men due to disease. That same month, Carlos de Morais Comisão took control of the expeditionary forces, and proceeded to invade Paraguay proper, advancing to the town of Laguna before Paraguayan cavalry drove him out. Comisão was able to liberate Corumbá in June, but the Brazilians decided to evacuate their forces out of Mato Grosso by April 1868. 

While this was occurring, Dom Pedro II noticed the failure of the Brazilian military to defeat the Paraguayans, and became angry due to this. He demanded that his cabinet allow for him to go to the front with his armies and for him to see the war upfront. His cabinet refused, as they were worried of what could happen if Pedro II died while visiting the front. Pedro II got even more angry at his cabinet for this, and threatened to resign and instead sign up as a volunteer for the Brazilian army, saying "If they can prevent me from going as an Emperor, they can not prevent me from abdicating and going as a Fatherland Volunteer." His cabinet had very little option after he threatened resignation, and thus let him visit the front. After this famous quote, all future Brazilians who joined the Brazilian army as volunteers would be called 'Fatherland Volunteers', after what Pedro II said.

Next, the Paraguayans aimed to invade Rio Grande do Sul (god damn it Rio Grande do Sul, why must you be in every lesson involving Brazil?!) in order to aid the Blancos in Uruguay, who had by this point been virtually beaten by the Brazilians. The Paraguayans had to cross Argentine territory in order to enter the province, however, so the Paraguayans requested for military access through Corrientes. The Paraguayans initially thought Argentina would aid them due to their hostility towards Brazil and the Colorados, but the overthrow of Rosas changed these policies around, and Argentina now supported the Colorados. The Argentines refused the Paraguayan request, but did allow for Brazilian ships to cross through their territory. The Paraguayans then decided to invade Argentina due to them having policies that the Paraguayans believed were hostile to their interests and favorable to Brazil. Bartolomé Mitre, upon hearing of the Paraguayan declaration of war, stated on May 4th, "...My fellow countrymen, I promise you: in three days we shall be at the barracks. In three weeks, at the frontiers. And in three months in Asunción". Argentina declared war on Paraguay that same day, with the Colorado government in Uruguay soon to follow.

The Paraguayans advanced further into Corrientes and advanced into Rio Grande do Sul and took cites like Sao Borja by the end of April. Lopez wished to gain the support of Argentine Federalist Jose Urquiza by invading the province, but Urquiza instead led Argentine armies against the Paraguayans multiple times throughout the war. In June of 1865, the Brazilian fleet crushed the Paraguayan navy at the Battle of Riachuelo, giving control of the rivers over to the Triple Alliance. After this defeat, Solano Lopez ordered his forces in Corrientes to retreat back to Paraguay before the navies of the Triple Alliance could block off retreat. The forces refused, however, and went from Sao Borja to Itaqui and then Uruguaiana. The Count of Porto Alegre, a Brazilian, sieged the city of Uruguaiana in August of 1865, along with his Argentina and Uruguayan allies. By September, the Paraguayans at the city surrendered. The siege of Uruguaiana and Riachuelo were major turning points in the war. Riachuelo handed control of the rivers in the region to the Triple Alliance Nations, and the Siege of Uruguaiana resulted in a large chunk of the Paraguayan military surrendering to the Triple Alliance. By the end of 1865, the Paraguayans were completely driven out of Argentine land.

The Allies now counterattacked. With a total of 57,000 infantry and cavalry, the Allies invaded Paraguay proper after crossing the Paraná in April of 1866. The Paraguayans won several small scale victories against the allies, but the Paraguayans were able to successfully halt the Allies at the battle of Estero Ballaco in May. Lopez, believing he could successfully shatter the Allied armies by inflicting one major blow, he gathered together a force of 25,000 men to launch an offensive at Tuyutí shortly after his victory at Estero Ballaco. They met fierce resistance by 35,000 Allied men. Lopez was very close to victory at the battle, but Brazilian artillery decisively battered the Paraguayans into defeat. The battle resulted in 12,000 Paraguayan casualties vs 6,000 Allied casualties. In July, the Paraguayans won the battles of Sauce and Boqueron, but then lost to Porto Alegre's forces at the Battle of Curuzu in July. 

Following the Battle of Curuzu, Lopez had a peace conference with the Allied leaders. The peace negotiations detonated, however, because the Allies wanted Lopez's government overthrown, which, obviously, Lopez would not consent to. Following the conference, the Allies advance to the Paraguayan city of Curupayty. Despite naval help, the Paraguayans set up a strong defensive position at the city and inflicted massive casualties on the Allies. There were 8,000 Allied casualties while the Paraguayans suffered no more than 250 losses. The Battle of Curupayty halted the Allied offensive for 10 months.

Following the battle of Curupayty, the Brazilian Count of Caxais took command of the Brazilian armies. Caxais halted all offensive operations so the Allies could regroup in order to deal a fatal blow to the Paraguayans. During Caxais's command, he improved hygiene of his army and upgraded the health corps (Resulting in a severe decrease of death due to disease in the Brazilian armies), trained his soldiers to be more professional, and supplied his forces with better guns. From October of 1866 to July of 1867, action was limited to skirmishes and the bombardment of certain Paraguayan cities and towns. During this 'Phony War', if you will, the Paraguayans resupplied the fortress of Humaitá. After reorganizing his army, Caxais then aimed to take down Humaitá in July. He planned to encircle the fortress and cut it off from supplies. To do this he used observation balloons to gain intelligence. When he was prepared, he sent his forces to surround Humaitá. By November, the fortress was cut off by both land and sea without a single shot fired. Solano Lopez then ordered his forces to try and relieve Humaitá by engaging in the Second Battle of Tuyutï in November. The Paraguayan general Bernardino Cabelloro was able to breach through the Argentine forces in the army, but Porto Alegre was able to save the day by sending his forces to fend off the Paraguayans. The Brazilians and Paraguayans fought in brutal hand to hand combat until the Paraguayans ultimately had to retreat. Both sides lost 2,000 men in this battle. Humaitá fell to the Brazilians after a siege in July of 1868.

The Allies now prepared to finally march on Asuncion itself and, hopefully, end the war once and for all. The Allied army marched 200 Kilometers (~124 miles) en route to Asuncion before they encountered 12,000 Paraguayans at the Piquissiri River. The Paraguayans were dug into defensive positions and it was clear that simply charging at them would mean losing the battle. So Caxais ordered the 'Piquissiri Maneuver'. While a section of his army went to take out the fort at Angostura, a part of the Paraguayan defensive line, he had another section cross the river and flank the Paraguayans. He had a team of engineers build roads across the swamps of Gran Chaco. Once Caxais and is forces crossed the Piquissiri River, he moved against the forces at the Paraguayan defensive line in December of 1868. The Paraguayans dealt a blow to the Brazilians while they were crossing the Itororó River, but the Allies decimated an entire division of the Paraguayan army at the Battle of Avay. The Paraguayan defensive line fell following the Battle of Lomas Valentinas. Following these events in December, Caxais issued a proposal for peace to Lopez, but he refused and fled to Cerro Leon. On January 1st, 1869, Asuncion fell to the Allies, now including a few hundred Paraguayans who wanted to overthrow Lopez as well. For the rest of the Allied occupation, nearly every building in the city was looted by the Allies and several rapes of civilians did occur (Is disgusting, but its history, what can i say).

The war did not end following the fall of Asuncion, however. The Campaign of the Hills continued the war, as the Paraguayans launched guerrilla operations against the Allies. The Paraguayans hid in the jungles or the hills of Paraguay. Most Paraguayan soldiers didn't even have rifles, and many were lucky to even have clothes or shoes. The nephew of Dom Pedro II, Count d'Eu, led an army of 21,000 men into Paraguay in order to put down the final resistance. The Battles of Piribebuy and Acosta Ñu severely weakened the Paraguayan resistance, both battles killing 5,000 Paraguayans each.

Lopez, now faced with defeat, went CRAZYYYYY. He became super paranoid, killing anyone who even spoke of surrender. Lopez's men fought to the bitter end for him, meaning that most would often face death rather than surrender by this point in the war. In order to save ammo, Lopez would often execute his enemies through the use of lances or swords. In January of 1870, Brazilian General José Antonio Correira de Câmara, along with 200 men, launched a surprise attack on the Paraguayan camp of Cerro Corá, the camp where Lopez resided. The ensuing battle resulted in Lopez getting wounded. Due to his wound, his men and his aide had to escort him to the banks of the Aquidaban-nigui River. His men then left Lopez and his aide in order to find reinforcements. Before his men returned, Câmara found Lopez. They offered him the option of surrender and guaranteed not to kill him if he did so, but then Lopez tried to kill Câmara with his sword. When he did this, his men shot him. With Lopez now dead, the war could now be concluded.


Brazilian priest with Paraguayan refugees.

First, lets talk casualties. And oh boy, there's a lot of those...

Lets start with Allied numbers. Total numbers indicate that ~123,000 Brazilians served during the war, ~5,600 Uruguayans served, and, while exact estimates aren't available, it is likely that at least ~90,000-110,000 Argentines served in the war, making a total of either ~218,600-238,600 men actually served in the Allied armies (Someone please correct me if I'm doing this math wrong please). Of these numbers, ~50,000 Brazilians died, ~3,100 Uruguayans died, and ~30,000 Argentines died. The total numbers of Allied dead, therefore, are ~83,100 dead compared ~218,600-238,000 men who served.

Next off, the Paraguayan casualties. The Paraguayans lost a total of 60% of their total population, making this war one of the most destructive wars for a nation state EVER. Total estimates as to how many actually died vary due to varying accounts and varying population statistics, but it is likely that, out of ~500,000 people living in Paraguay at the time, ~300,000 died during the war. A census report in 1871, following the war showed the total Paraguayan population to be 221,079 people. The demographics included 106,254 adult women, 28,746 adult males, and 86,079 children (No gender specified). Causes of the high Paraguayan casualties are for two main reasons: Disease and Solano Lopez. Disease decimated the civilian population as well as those in the military. Solano Lopez, the dictator, was the main cause, however. During the war, he conscripted virtually every able-bodied man in the country, and forced boys as young as 10 to serve in the military. His Campaign of the Hills also further killed more and more of the males under his command.

Disease was a large cause for many of the deaths. For the Brazilians alone, outbreaks of cholera destroyed entire armies of the Brazilians following drinking tainted water. 

Following the war, the Argentines annexed a large portion of Gran Chaco and Brazil annexed Paraguayan Mato Grosso. Paraguay was also occupied for several years following the war.

Women played a very important role in the war, specifically for the Paraguayans. As Lopez forced all the men to enter the military, he also forced all women to go and work in factories in order to provide supplies for his armies. This had a similar effect upon Paraguayan women as it did on American women following World War I and II. It made them feel as if they should be given the same rights as males, and following the war, women became government officials and were a large reason as to why the country didn't just collapse after the war.

In Brazil, the Brazilians were forced to take many loans in order to pay for the expenses of the war, mostly from Britain. The loans, and thus the war, would be a reason for Pedro II's downfall in 1890. In Argentina, federalist revolts continued following the war, as most revolts laid down their arms to fight the Paraguayans instead. 

Next time, Slavery or Pedro II? Im thinking slavery, but id like to hear your input.

You know, i've never really thought of this because of the fact that Paraguay had virtually no chance to actually win (For reasons i will soon mention), but here is my take on it based on what happened prior in South America.

I have two different theories, both of which i will share:

1.The Allied armies completely underestimate the size of the Paraguayans and they get overrun at all times due to the sheer size of the Paraguayan forces. The Paraguayan navy also holds its own in the naval battles and gains control of all major rivers. Eventually, by late 1865, Paraguay has occupied most of Mato Grosso, Rio de la Plata and Rio Grande do Sul, and prepares to move into Uruguay. Knowing they will lose, the Allies sue for peace. López, knowing he is in a position to negotiate very favorable terms, presents the following treaty:
Treaty of Ascunsión:
1.Brazil will cede the provinces of Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso to Paraguay.
2.Argentina will cede the provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes to Paraguay, as with the entire Paraná River region.
3.The Blancos, under Bernado Berro, will be put in charge of the Uruguayan state, and will virtually become a Paraguayan puppet state.
4.Argentina and Brazil must never intervene in Uruguayan or Paraguayan affairs again.
5.War reparations must be paid to Paraguay.

Following the war, Dom Pedro II will resign due to massive unrest following Brazilian defeat. Brazil falls into chaos for a short time until Pedro's daughter, Isabel, is coronated shortly after her father's resignation and becomes the first Queen of Brazil. Isabel swears that territory lost to Paraguay will be regained by the end of her reign.

In Argentina, the governor of Buenos Aires, Bartolomé Mitre, launches an offensive against the government and reunifies Argentina. Similar to Isabel, he pledges to regain lost Argentine lands by the end of the century. Brazil and Argentina sign an alliance with each other.

In Paraguay, Solano López becomes a national hero and nationalist pride sweeps over the country. In Brazil and Argentina, nationalism also arises in response to lost territory. 

In Uruguay, they become a Paraguayan puppet state.

In WWI, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all wait to see who joins what side. The British strongly urges Queen Isabel I to invade Paraguay as Paraguay allows for German U-Boats to dock in Rio Grande do Sul and for telegraph communication to go through their land. The Brazilians mobilize their forces and urges Argentina to join them in Operation Paraná, the plan to invade Paraguay. In 1916, the Brazilians and Argentines invade Paraguay. The campaign is long and arduous, and the Brazilians and Argentines only liberate their former territory by early 1918. By November, the Germans surrender, but Paraguay holds out, now having well equipped soldiers along with the numbers. By early 1919, the Americans bring General Patton to Argentina with tanks. There, they send the tanks into the lowlands of Uruguay, Entre Rios and Corrientes. Modern British dreadnoughts also go up the Paraná and take Ascunsion in mid 1919. When the capital was taken, Paraguay surrendered. I could go further in either a private message with you Jean Lannes or i could make another thread. 

I would say they would because the US and UK would probably support the Brazilians and Argentines.

Now, we talk about a very dark period of the history of the Western Hemisphere in general: Slavery. The slaves in the western hemisphere predominantly came from the West African coast. While slaves from areas like modern day Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana were imported to areas like the USA and Mexico, slaves from areas like modern day Congo and Angola were mainly sent to South America. We will look at Brazil specifically.


Mullato capturing an escaped slave.

In Brazil, slavery was not simply an instituition; it was a social necessity. Virtually everyone in the country owned slaves, from people at the bottom of the Socio-Economic Scale to the top. Obviously, if you were wealthier, you could afford more land, and thus probably owned more slaves to work the land. Slavery was incredibly entrenched into Brazilian society. An 1819 census report showed that there were 3.6 million people living in the Portuguese colony of Brazil; a third of the population were slaves (1.2 million slaves!!!). There were many reasons why Brazil had so many slaves within its borders by independence. The first being that Brazil was the largest sugar producing region in the world during the 1600's. As a result, many Portuguese settlers jumped to start growing sugar and to get rich off the sugar market. To grow the most sugar, you need as many farmhands as physically possible. So, the Portuguese began practicing slavery. Initially, they enslaved the natives, but later they began importing African slaves to work in the sugar plantations in areas like Bahia. Sugar plantations were exceptionally brutal, and the death rate for slaves in Brazil was typically higher than the reproductive rate, meaning that slaves had to be continuously imported into the country as slaves were literally dying before they could reproduce. The discovery of diamonds and other precious metals in the province of Minas Gerais in the 1690's also required even more slaves to be brought in to work in the mines. As cities such as Rio de Janeiro grew in the colony, urban slavery also became popular, requiring, you guessed it, more slaves. Between 1700 and 1800, 1.7 million slaves were brought into Brazil.

After independence, these practices remained virtually the same, and more and more slaves were being imported into the country. By 1825, it is possible that as high as 56% of the Brazilian population was enslaved. Due to the continued reliance on the African Slave Trade for slaves, as more were still dying than reproducing by this time, many were shocked when a convention in Rio de Janeiro stated that it was "not lawful for the subjects of the Emperor of Brazil to be concerned in the carrying on of the African slave trade, under any pretext or in any manner whatever, and the carrying on of such after that period, by any person, subject of His Imperial Majesty, shall be deemed and treated as piracy.”
While this convention tried to put an end to the African Slave Trade, the coffee crop began to boom in the 1830's, meaning that more slaves had to be imported to aid in the economic growth of the nation. Thus, the African Slave Trade did not officially end until the British forcibly put an end to it by the 1850's by forcing all ships carrying slaves to return them to Africa. The British couldn't permanently stamp out the trade, but they reduced the amount of slaves being imported by a lot. The slaves who had to be returned to the African continent were called the Agudás. While the Americans and British had freed slave colonies in Liberia and Sierra Leone respectively, the Brazilians established no such type of freed slave colony, meaning that the slaves being returned to the African continent were still treated as slaves when they came back.

There were multiple revolts by slaves against the Brazilians, but not as many as in places like America. The vast interior of Brazil was a bastion to many slaves, who decided to escape into the Brazilian interior instead of revolting against their white masters. in 1835, the Muslim Uprising occurred in Salvador. Lead by the Máles, a group of Muslim, African-born slaves, in the province of Bahia. Both muslim and non-muslim slaves participated in the rebellion, but it was eventually squashed. The Brazilians often used Mulattoes as military men to keep down the slaves. Most slaveowners preferred not to own Mulattoes as they were perceived to be treacherous and most were fearful that if the Mulattoes and African-Born slaves joined forces, they might be successful. So, most mulattoes were hired by slave owners to either capture slaves or put down slave rebellions. Most slave revolts were also unsuccessful because of ethnic tensions between the different African-born slaves, the rivalry between Afro-Brazilian slaves and African-born slaves, and the hatred of
Mulattoes by the slaves.

If you did not want to revolt, there was also another option: Escape! Most fled to either the interior of Brazil, or to other areas in South America or the caribbean such as Suriname, Cuba, Jamaica, or Puerto Rico. 

The road to abolition finally began after hundreds of year of slavery. First, a french painter named Jean-Baptiste Debret worked in Brazil for the first half of the 1800's. At first, he painted the royal family of Brazil, but soon became concerned with the treatment of Brazilian slaves as well as the Native Americans in the country. He often painted scenes of court rituals and the everyday life of slaves as well. His paintings helped raise awareness of the brutal treatment of slaves in Brazil both at home and in Europe. Another important factor was the United Kingdom. Two mains factors made the U.K put pressure on Brazil to end slavery. First, the Clapham Sect was a group of evangelical reformers in Latin and South America, and they used their influence to try and convince the United Kingdom to end the African Slave Trade (Which they were successful in doing). Another factor was that Brazilian sugar was much cheaper than the sugar in British colonies, and the British weren't a fan of such cheap Brazilian sugar. So, the British put pressure on the Brazilian government to outlaw slavery. Next, the increase of immigrants into the country resulted in more immigrants taking the job of slaves. Finally, the emperor, Dom Pedro II, was personally against slavery. He was one of the few Brazilians in government who did not own slaves. Ever since his coronation, he tried to convince members of the government to start voting for acts against slavery. By the time Pedro II came into power, Brazil was a constitutional monarchy, so Pedro himself couldn't outright ban slavery. He was able to convince many in the Brazilian government to impose laws against slavery. In 1867, he made his abolitionist views public by delivering a speech against it. This was a very unpopular move, and many considered it to be political suicide. Despite his actions being unpopular, Pedro consistently delivered speeches against slavery, and it worked. In September of 1871, José Paranhos, the Brazilian PM who was also against slavery, pushed a bill through the legislature that stated that all children born to slave women after that date would be considered free men. By the end of 1872, there were 10 million Brazilians, but now only 15% were slaves. More and more slave owners willingly freed their slaves as well, resulting in a large increase of free men of color in the country. Slavery was officially declared illegal in 1888 by the Golden Act. This Act was heavily supported by Isabel I, daughter of Dom Pedro II. Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to declare slavery illegal. The abolition of slavery would be a key reason as to why Pedro II would be overthrown a mere two years later.

Slavery was so entrenched into Brazilian culture that many Confederates following their defeat in the American Civil War took their families and slaves and moved to Brazil to continue the practice of slavery. We will go more into this when we talk about immigration.

So that's the main thing for slavery. Of course, there were slaves in other countries in South America, but none were treated as badly as in Brazil.