The Abolition of Slavery in Brazil

Process Paper Rumer Ajifu Individual Website Senior Division

I knew that I wanted to do my project on something that involved slavery because that was the topic that we focused on in class for most of the first semester. My teacher recommended doing something about slavery in Brazil and so I looked into it and decided to focus on what happened there after slavery was abolished. Most of my research was done using Questia School, which was introduced to me early on in the school year by the IB coordinator. One of my friends knew what I was focusing on and was perusing the Internet and found a helpful documentary on PBS and shared it with me. For some of the things mentioned in either what I read in the databases or saw in the video, that I was unfamiliar with, I had to research further. Eventually, I got hits on other database sites and retrieved pictures to help support my project. In my opinion, the website was the easiest way to present the information that I gathered. I assumed it would be simple to plug and chug the information into a web format. Using the handwritten and typed notes that I took while researching, I compiled it all into a word document and copy-pasted sections into the Weebly website maker. The pictures that I saved for the project were divided into the three categories covered in my thesis: 1) social, 2) economic, and 3) political. After that, it was generally a very easy process to manipulate the information into a format that looked the most aesthetically pleasing to me. My project relates to this years theme of Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events because slavery lasted for centuries in Brazils history. This South American country was the last country in the modern world to abolish slavery and the first to brag about its racial democracy. The abolishment of slavery in any country is a powerful and life changing event.