An adequate comprehension of Brazilian institutions, history, economics, and other aspects of national life could be but with great difficulty acquired without a consideration of the role played by the Negro in the development of the Brazilian nation. His influence has been far-reaching, encompassing the major social institutions; and his impress is to be found in virtually every phase of the culture. Although originating from a wide diversity of African nations with distinctive cultural backgrounds, he has received as well as given culturally, and is distinctively Brazilian.

In this paper the Negro in Brazil will be discussed from three different points of view: the demographic; the historical; and the social.