Afro-Brazilians and Afro-Mexicans

Before discussing Black in Latin America it is important to address the issue of slaves in other parts of the world, since most discussion on slavery emphasizes the U.S. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, 11.2 million Africans were transported to various parts of the world between 1502 and 1866. From those 11.2 million, only 450,000 arrived in the U.S., 4.8 million arrived in Brazil, and the rest arrived to other countries south of the border. In his book, Henry Louis Gates Jr. approached a different historical standpointof Africans in the new world and showcased the history of Afro-Latinos.

In Brazil, being black was more culturally accepted than other Latin American countries, but despite its declaration of being free of anti-Black racism we know this to be less than 100% accurate. During the slave trade, Brazil was known for producing half of the world’s sugar and enslaved conditions in Brazil were far worse than the U.S. For example, the enslaved Africans had to deal with harsh conditions when mining in the caves and harvesting sugar in the plantation field; often slavers were raised in less than humane and tolerable conditions because it was cheaper to replace a dead slave than to take care of a current one.  Around the mid-19^th century, Bahia (one of the crueler cities) was known to be one of the largest slave cities with about 100,000 slaves. The population of the enslaved in Brazil was extensive. As a result, when an enslaved African died in harsh conditions no Brazilian master was troubled at the death of their property since they could be easily replaced. Also, in Brazil there was a mixing of populations between Brazilians, Europeans (who resided in Brazil) and African women through rape. For example, a relationship between an African enslaved woman and a slave master resulted in children. Sometimes those children were freed since they were not of full African origin. To continue with burning out true African heritage, Brazil even enacted a process called “branqueamento” which translates to whitening. The purpose of this process was to eradicate African culture, and African features, from Brazil. The Brazilian elite claimed they were a civilized race despite waiting to end slavery, and had European and Japanese immigrants work as indentured servants in Brazil. Alongside eradicating ‘true blackness’ from Brazil, some Brazilians stopped celebrating or acknowledging the true extent of art forms and ceremonies with African backgrounds (Capoeira, Carnaval, Yoruba, etc.)

In Mexico, many families with African lineage keep their history to themselves, and there was no mention of their “black grandma in the closet.” The slave trade began early on in Mexico’s history; in fact, Mexico was known to have “had one of the biggest slave populations in Latin America” (Gates, 61). Most slaves arrived to Mexico through the seaport of Veracruz, and were checked for their salt intake and water retainment (known as the “salt thesis,” possible connection to hypertension in African-Americans). Africans who endured the middle passage were considered less than human and were placed in the same level of importance as property. An enslaved African cost anywhere from 150 pesos, to 400 pesos (Gates, 63). Mexico’s roots, as Gates mentioned, were buried in brownness and many Mexicans chose to hide behind mixed-heritage as a defense mechanism because they were afraid of being black (Gates, 66). Since Mexico claims itself as a mixed-race society, a class system was created based off of color and black was at the bottom of the chain (Gates, 67). More people claim to be Moreno, Mulatto but very rarely do they claim to be Negro (Gates, 72). The mixed aspect of Mexico could be attributed to the Catholic Church, and its recognition of mixed marriages of white masters, indigenous and African slaves (Gates, 73). Similar to Brazil, Mexico went through the process of trying to eradicate blackness to eliminate the idea of race (Gates, 78). However, in its place a system to attempt to whiten “its image” and genetics was crated (Gates, 78).

The sad reality for Brazil and Mexico is that neither country can fully accept its black history. To some extent, there have been positive changes in each society and its perception of their black heritage, but overall neither one is proud of its African lineage.