Story perspectives

British Complicity in Brazilian Slavery Exposed by Historian

3/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

In 1845, British citizens rented enslaved people to a Brazilian mining company, bypassing anti-slavery laws amid the United Kingdom's campaign against slavery.
Historian Joseph Mulhern calls this case a significant example of British complicity in Brazilian slavery, which persisted for decades after the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act.
Mulhern's research shows British banks treated enslaved people as collateral and profited from their exploitation, a scandal linked to Brazil's eventual 1888 abolition.

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Story summary

In 1845, British citizens rented enslaved people to a Brazilian mining company, bypassing anti-slavery laws amid the United Kingdom's campaign against slavery.
Historian Joseph Mulhern calls this case a significant example of British complicity in Brazilian slavery, which persisted for decades after the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act.
Mulhern's research shows British banks treated enslaved people as collateral and profited from their exploitation, a scandal linked to Brazil's eventual 1888 abolition.