History

Brazil has been heavily influenced by the African continent in every aspect of its society. Beginning in the 16th century and lasting 300 years, over 3 million slaves were transported from Africa to Brazil. Many slaves in Brazil retained strong connections with their ethnic and regional groupings. The largest and most prominent of these were the Kongo-Angola and Yorubá nations. It is from this cultural background that capoeira can be traced today. In addition to the blending of African ethnic groups in Brazil, there was already considerable mixing of cultural practices between these groups before they arrived in Brazil, therefore, attempts to isolate direct connections between Afro-Brazilian cultural expressions and distinct ethnic groups are often unrealistic.

The origins of capoeira are often disputed but it is generally agreed that Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form with roots in the kicking games of the Kongo-Angola region, but adapted to the conditions of slavery in Brazil to become a less (visibly) threatening activity with the inclusion of more dance-like movements played within a sphere of music. Capoeira has evolved over the centuries with European and indigenous influences. It has been regarded as an activity that was considered threatening by authorities because of its connection to black lower-class Brazilians who were viewed as being violent and often involved in criminal gangs where capoeira was used as a weapon. However, by the 1930s this attitude began to change as capoeira was introduced as a sport that was taught in the politically safe confines of the sport academy making it more acceptable to policing authorities. During the last 30 years capoeira has been exported to many countries throughout the world and because of this, it has gained more recognition within Brazil as an important expression of Brazilian cultural heritage.