To be read as a direct continuation of Part 10; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2025/11/lets-all-go-to-movies-pt10.html
Ever since the US Democrat Party faced the prospect of defeat at the 2014 Mid-Term Elections the US has been suffering with the intellectual poison of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. As is so often the case the US has not been content with containing this poison within its own borders, instead exporting it and inflicting it on the World.
Central to the Black Lives Matter movement is Critical Race Theory. This dictates that all social and political issues have to be viewed in the context of Race. It is particularly obsessed with the issue of Slavery. Or, to be truthful, it is obsessed with The African Slave Trade. It does not permit you to know that Slavery is something which has been practiced by pretty much all Cultures and Races throughout all of the World and Human history. Really from the moment when one strong Human discovered they were able to force a slightly weaker Human to do things for them.
Critical Race Theory certainly forbids you from knowing that the etymological root of the word; "Slave" is; "Slav." A White ethnic group from the Caucasus Region of Eastern Europe. An ethnic group which, literally, could not be more; "Caucasian." Acknowledging that would force Critical Race Theory to also acknowledge that in most examples of Slavery there has been no Racial element whatsoever. Demonstrating that you can't even discuss the issue of Slavery exclusively in terms of Race utterly destroys Critical Race Theory central tenet that all issues must be considered in terms of Race.
The history of Brazil is the history of The Atlantic Slave Trade. So this is another big topic which "I'm Still Here" (2024) allows us to discuss.
Around 1420 explorers from The Portuguese Empire discovered a small group of uninhabited islands in the Atlantic Ocean, around 800km (500miles) South-West of Portugal and around 500km (300miles) West of Morocco. Naming these islands; "Madeira" (Wood) The Portuguese Empire claimed them as its own and began to settle them. It did this by dividing the islands into Captaincies, granting Donatário status to three Knights; João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vax Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo. Shortly afterwards Portuguese Peasants, former prisoners and members of the lower Nobility were allowed to move to Madeira to try and start new lives.
The early settlers discovered that Madeira’s climate wasn't particularly good for growing things like Wheat. However it was very good for growing Sugarcane. So Madeira’s Donatário switched from Subsistence Farming, growing food to eat, to Cash-Cropping, growing Sugar for sale across the known World (Europe and Asia) and using the proceeds to import food to eat. To help grow, harvest and process Sugarcane into Sugar for export Madeira’s Donatário did use some Slave Labour. However its role was much smaller than during The African Slave Trade which came later.
Further dispelling the myth that Slavery was only something White Christians did to Black people during The African Slave Trade the Slaves used by Madeira’s Donatário were predominately Barbary/Berber Pirates. North-African Muslims of The Ottoman Empire (1299-1922) who used to raid ships in the Mediterranean and settlements along Europe's Southern coast in order to seize White Christians as Slaves for sale within The Ottoman Empire.
The US actually went on to fight two wars against The Ottoman Empire to protect Europe from Babary Pirates; The First Barbary War (1801-1805) and the Second Barbary War (two whole days in 1815). According to some the US Marine Corp went on to use many of the same Humvees during their 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
With Barbary Pirates being Slavers no-one had any problem with using captured Barbary Pirates as Slaves. Madeira’s Donatário also didn't have much problem using the Slaves the Barbary Pirates were holding when they were captured as Slaves. They also added to the small number of Slaves they used on their Sugar Plantations by capturing members of the "Gaunche" population of the near-by Canary Islands, around 200km (120 miles) East of Madeira. The name; "Gaunche" or; "Gaunchinet" literally means; "Person of Tenerife" with Tenerife being the largest of the Canary Islands. Although recognised as a distinct Ethnic group in its own right the Gaunche are considered the decedents of and closely related to Barber Settlers from North-Africa. So can't properly be considered an Indigenous or Aboriginal population.
As a result the Slaves used on Sugar Plantations by Madeira’s Donatário were a mix of White Europeans and what we would now consider to be North-African Arabs. There's nothing to indicate any Slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa, what we would now consider to be Black.
In 1453 The Byzantine Empire (330-1453) fell to The Ottoman Empire (1299-1922). This blocked Christian Europe's access to Asia via The Silk Road. In 1484 an Italian explorer by the name of Christopher Columbus had the idea of sailing West to Asia, opening up a faster, alternative to The Silk Road. Initially he pitched his idea to The Portuguese Empire which turned him down, twice. His calculations were clearly wrong. In April 1492 Christopher Columbus got The Kingdom of Spain to sponsor his exploration and he set sail. In August 1492 Christopher Columbus' exploration hit a bit of a problem. In the form of a massive, yet previously unknown, landmass we now call The Americas.
In April 1500 the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral became the first European to discover what we now consider to be Brazil. Although it had an abundance of interesting trees you could make a red dye out of; "Pau-brasilia (Wood-with an ember-like glow)" The Portuguese Empire couldn't see much use for this newly (to them) discovered landmass. Thinking of it more as an annoying speedbump on a new trade route to Asia. However, from the experience of The Silk Road The Portuguese Empire knew it had to establish some sort of physical presence there in order to keep the trade route to Asia open.
In order to establish that physical presence The Portuguese Empire just did what it had done in Madeira. Divided the area up into Captaincies and give each of The 15 Captaincies of Brazil to a Donatário to run as they saw fit. As with their counterparts in Madeira Brazil's Donatário discovered the local climate was pretty good for growing things like Sugarcane, which could then be sold as the very profitable Cash-Crop, Sugar. Again as in Madeira Brazil's Donatário made some use of Slave Labour, in the form of members of the Indigenous or Aboriginal population.
With Madeira emerging as a major trading hub due to the Sugar trade The Portuguese Empire was able to use it to explore further along Africa's Atlantic Coast during this time. In around 1471 they arrived in what is now considered the nation of Ghana. Finding the area to be rich in Gold they colonised it by dividing it up into Captaincies and appointing Donatário to run it. The area became known as; "The Portuguese Gold Coast." In 1642 The Portuguese Empire lost a war for control of the area with what was then The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (The Dutch Republic). The area then became known as; "The Dutch Gold Coast."
In 1621 the Dutch West India Company (GWC) was established. The Dutch Republic gave this Private Corporation a monopoly on all trade from The Dutch Gold Coast across to Dutch Colonies in The Americas. Places such as "New Netherland" in what is now considered the US States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island and the modern nations of Suriname which borders Brazil to the North. Here the Dutch West India Company linked up with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) - the World's first Multinational Corporation.
Like The Portuguese Empire the Dutch West India Company discovered that the local climate in The Americas was pretty good for growing Sugarcane, which could then be sold as the very profitable Cash-Crop Sugar. The Dutch West India Company's operations in The Dutch Gold Coast brought it into contact with The Ashanti Empire. A Colonial Power itself The Ashanti Empire established itself by militarily conquering its neighbours and seizing them as Slaves. Slavery being something which has been practiced by, really, all Races and Cultures against all other Races and Cultures across the World throughout of all of Human history. One of the first things The Ashanti Empire did when it encountered Portuguese and then Dutch traders was try and sell them Sub-Saharan or Black Slaves. Assuring the White Europeans that it was perfectly acceptable to keep and sell Black people as Slaves.
The Dutch West India Company quickly noticed how the Donatário in Madeira and Brazil's use of small numbers of locally captured Slaves helped boost the profits from their Sugar plantations. They then realised that if they used large numbers of Black Slaves provided to them by The Ashanti Empire in their Sugar plantations in The Americas it would boost their profits by large amounts. Thus The Atlantic Slave Trade began.
With The Atlantic Slave Trade boosting its profits massively the Dutch West India Company soon became far richer than the Donatário of The 15 Captaincies of Brazil. So declared war on them to seize more territory - The Dutch Invasion of Brazil (1624-1654) sometimes known as; "The Sugar Wars." This forced The Portuguese Empire to take The 15 Captaincies of Brazil back under its control. Taking them out of what we would now consider the Private Sector into the Public Sector (Nationalisation). In order to survive The Portuguese Empire was forced to adopt the business model of the Dutch East India Company and start participating in The Atlantic Slave. Soon every plantation in The Americas growing things like Coffee, Cotton and Bananas, not just Sugar, had to start participating in The Atlantic Slave Trade in order to not be forced out of business by competitors who were participating in The Atlantic Slave Trade.
Christopher Columbus' accidental collision with The Americas came right at the end of a period of European history known as; "The Dark Ages." During this time the rule of the Roman Catholic Christian Church was absolute. Anything which challenged the total authority of the Catholic Church, such as art, science or philosophy was illegal. This was the era of The Spanish Inquisition. It was also the era in which Galileo Galilei observed, correctly, that the Earth orbits the Sun. Not the other way around, as the Catholic Church dictated. Something which saw Galileo imprisoned, tortured and banished for 350 years.
So Christopher Columbus was actually being quite brave. Approaching the Catholic King who an expelled all of the Jews from Spain for help in proving that the Earth was globe-shaped, rather than flat. Apparently he promised them riches.
In 1517 a group of White Anglo-Saxon Catholic Christians began protesting (Protestant) against the total authority of the Catholic Church when Martin Luther wrote his; "Ninety-Five Theses: Disruption on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences." Eventually this ended the total authority of the Catholic Church in Europe and ushered in; "The Age of Enlightenment." With science and philosophy being legal again many began to question whether it was morally right to own other Humans, of any Race or Culture, as Slaves.
By the early 19th Century those who thought owning other Humans as Slaves was morally wrong had become the majority. So for the very first time in Human history the selling of other Humans as Slaves became illegal. Notably through the UK's Foreign Slave Trade Act (1806) which specifically targeted The Atlantic Slave Trade.
When Brazil officially left The Portuguese Empire and became The Empire of Brazil in 1822 the price Britain demanded to recognise it, alongside trade concessions, was for Brazil to end its participation in The Atlantic Slave Trade. Having expelled British rule in 1776 the US didn't end its participation in The Atlantic Slave Trade until 1865, following a civil war over the issue; The US Civil War (1861-1865). Although the US State of Virginia ended its participation in The Atlantic Slave Trade in 1778, under Thomas Jefferson. One of many details Black Lives Matter and Critical Race Theory seem unware of.
At around 18:00 on 7/1/26 (UK date) I'm still thinking complete thoughts are worth more than manic, scattered paragraphs.
