1850

Before freeing people, Brazil closed off the land.

This business of dividing up land into small bits is not feasible.Senator Costa Ferreira (Maranhão), in the debate on the Land Law, according to Agência Senado. See the source

In September 1850 Brazil banned the arrival of new ships carrying enslaved people. Two weeks later, the emperor signed the Land Law (Lei de Terras).

The new rule: from then on, public land could only be had by buying it. Occupying it became a crime that meant jail. Those who already occupied land were granted amnesty and stayed where they were.

With high fees and prices, small farmers, poor immigrants and people leaving slavery were left out.