Slave arrivals from Africa to Brazil by region and century 1561-1856

Throughout the transatlantic slave trade, Portuguese slave traders transported the highest number of African slaves across the Atlantic Ocean, and had a near-monopoly on the slave trade until the mid-1600s. From the 16th to 19th centuries, it is estimated that almost five million slaves were transported from Africa and disembarked in Brazil. The most common disembarking region was in the Southeast, around the region of Rio de Janeiro, with almost 2.3 million slaves arriving here, with the overall numbers generally decreasing further to the north and around the coast. The region of Bahia (around present-day Salvador) was the most common arrival point for slaves in earlier centuries. However, southern routes became more favorable in the 19^th century as Portuguese and Brazilian slave traders tried to avoid the British Royal Navy, who policed the oceans and suppressed the transatlantic slave trade from 1808 onwards.