Jogar Capoeira ou Danse de la guerre de Johann Moritz Rugendas, 1835. Capoeria an African South American Martial Art & Kwa Asilia Avita Sanaa an African North American Martial Art, the same history.

As in the USA, there was also slavery in Brazil. The slaves were put to work in the plantations where sugar and tobacco were the main crops and the demand for slave labor was great. During the history of the slave trade, it is estimated that more than two million slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa. They were distributed in three main ports: Bahia, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. In Rio and Recife, the slaves were from different ethnic groups and sometimes from enemy tribes as well, which made it difficult for these slaves to organize a revolt. More slaves in Rio were from Bantu peoples, while in other areas, such as Bahia, slaves came primarily from West Africa. As the slaves became aware that their condition was irreversible, that they were intended to be an involuntary work force forever, they began to revolt. In Recife, Brazil as in 1831 in Virginia, USA with Nat Turner's Rebellion, a group of 40 slaves rebelled against their master, killed all the employees, and burned the plantation house. They then set themselves free and decided to find a place where they could be hidden from the slave hunters. They headed to the mountains, a trip that took many months to complete. Had it not been for the help they received from the Indians, this journey would have been practically impossible to accomplish. Eventually they reached what they thought was a safe place, which because of its abundance of palm trees they named Palmares. Over the course of years, scattered settlements were established in the mountains. The largest of these Quilombos, Quilombos a portuguese (Brazilian) term for a community of escaped slaves, was Palmares with more than 20,000 inhabitants, including some Indians and whites. Here tribes that were strangers or enemies in Africa united to fight for a common goal. A new community was formed with a very rich cultural mixture. In this new environment they shared and learned from each other their dance, rituals, religion, and games. One result of this rich cultural fusion was Capoeira in its earliest form. Palmares was growing rapidly as more refugees arrived in this little African nation (Little Angola). In twenty-five years the colonies suffered eleven rebellions that culminated with the abolition of slavery on May 13, 1888.
The earliest known historical record of Capoeira as a martial art is approximately 1770, long after early years of slavery. No further accounts of Capoeira are found until the early 1800's in the form of various police records from Rio de Janeiro.
To make things worse for the Portuguese, Holland invaded Brazil in 1630. The slaves took advantage of this situation and with assistance from Palmares left the plantations and fought the Portuguese Army. The army at this point was fighting two enemies. The Dutch won the war, but the Africans never stopped fighting. In the 1640's the Dutch organized 2 expeditions to go to Palmares, but were defeated. It is important to point out that these expeditions were formed by very experienced and well-armed soldiers. But the Africans developed a system of fighting called "jungle war" or ambush. Capoeira was the key element in the unexpected attacks. Capoeira, like "The Underground Railroad (Kwa Asilia Avita Sanaa)" for the Africans in the USA, became their weapon, their symbol of freedom. When an expedition was successful, the slaves who were returned to the plantations taught Capoeira to others there. Sunday was their one day of rest and that was when they practiced Capoeira. But there, in the quarters, the practice soon was altered. Music, singing, dance and ritual were added to Capoeira, disguising the fact that the slaves were practicing a deadly martial art.
Read: Encyclopedia of slave resistance and rebellion, Volume 2 By Junius P. Rodriguez