In the 1500s and 1700s, there were extravagant amounts of ships exporting to the African continent. Ships carrying goods so precious and vital that they shaped the world forever. Millions and millions of slaves from all over the African continent were being shipped to Brazil and Cuba. There are many similarities and differences in slavery between Brazil and Cuba, primarily in agricultural production. Sugar production was very important at that time, Brazil and Cuba were involved in this production. The two countries shared more similarities in terms of agricultural production and the use of slaves. They had more differences when it came to the history of their slave production. Five hundred years ago, the Portuguese established a sugar cane empire in land surrounding Saints Bay. This region made production easy because it was very fertile ground for growing sugar, the most profitable product on the planet at that time. At first, the Indians were used to working in the sugar fields, but the Portuguese soon realized that the Indians were not going to support themselves. The Portuguese therefore turned to slavery in the 1500s to meet the high demand for human labor. As the demand for sugar exploded, so did the number of slaves in Brazil, making Brazil one of the largest slave populations in the world. For another three centuries, Europeans transported the Africans they had captured to Brazil to work in the sugar production industry. No place in the hemisphere had received more slaves than Brazil. This slave trade process was called the Atlantic slave trade, which marked the beginning of a long and tragic period in world history. Only about 10 to 12 Africans were captured... middle of paper ... A hundred years ago, the Portuguese established a sugar cane empire in Brazil, one of the largest plantations on the planet. Around the same time, Diego Velasquez conquered the islands of Cuba, creating Havana, one of the largest plantations in the world. Both countries, Brazil and Cuba, brought the first Africans to their countries as specialized workers in sugar cane production. The establishment of sugarcane production caused a high demand for workers who were not needed at the time to keep the economy booming. This is why they are called specialized workers, who became known as African slaves. Millions and millions of African slaves were shipped through the Middle Passage to work in the fields and plantations of Brazil and Cuba. An estimated 10 to 20 million slaves were brought to Cuba and Brazil during this time, which forever shaped their countries' economies..