What role did enslaved Africans and Indigenous people play in colonial Rio de Janeiro?

In colonial Rio de Janeiro, enslaved Africans and Indigenous people were fundamental to the region's economic and social development, though they were subjected to systemic exploitation and forced labor.

Enslaved Africans

As the colonial economy shifted toward sugarcane production and later mining, the Portuguese relied heavily on the transatlantic slave trade to meet labor demands. By the second half of the 17th century, enslaved Africans and Indigenous people together comprised approximately two-thirds of the population in the captaincy of Rio de Janeiro. Enslaved Africans worked primarily as laborers and domestic servants, forming the backbone of the sugar industry and later supporting the infrastructure of the gold and diamond mines.12

Indigenous People

Initially, Portuguese settlers attempted to use Indigenous labor through trade and forced servitude, but this proved insufficient due to population decline from disease and resistance. While some Indigenous people were settled in Jesuit-run aldeias (missions) intended to protect them, they remained a target for enslavement by colonists, particularly through raids. Over time, their role in the coastal economy diminished as they were replaced by the growing population of enslaved Africans.3456