Provides information on how the enforced diaspora of the slave trade shaped Brazil as a nation. Information about the coming of the first African slaves in 1538; Burgeoning of Brazil's African descended population in the sixteenth century; Reasons for the survival of African cultural traditions in Brazil; Distinctive African stocks in Brazil; Abolishment of the slave trade in Brazil in 1850; Percentage of the 1997 Brazilian population that is of African descent.