Page "Capoeira" Paragraph 5

In its first century the main economic activity in the colony was the production and processing of sugarcane.

Portuguese colonists used to create large sugarcane farms called engenhos, farms which extensively used enslaved workers.

Slaves, living in inhumane and humiliating conditions, were forced to work hard and often suffered physical punishment for any small misbehaviour.

Even though slaves outnumbered the Portuguese colonists, the lack of weapons, the colonial law, the disagreement between slaves coming from different African cultures and their complete lack of knowledge about the land and its surroundings would usually discourage the idea of a rebellion.