This lecture presents how the search for gold and trade of other key commodities motivated the enslavement of Amazonian populations, both Indigenous and of African descent. It highlights the presence of free societies established by runaway slaves across the region, and how this history affects the Amazon today through modern forms of colonialism, disenfranchisement, and exploitation. Despite the ongoing impacts of slavery and violence in the region, Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and other local communities continue to drive the socioecological and political change needed to achieve a truly sustainable Amazon.

Lecture source language: English

Available subtitles & translations: Portuguese and Spanish