In the 1850s Royal Navy raided into Brazilian ports in order to capture slave trading vessels. This was a blatant violation of international law daring the Brazilians to fight them. The Brazilians had a choice to make. They could continue give up the Atlantic Slave Trade, or they could go to war with the most powerful of the Great Powers. An annotated script and the sources for this talk are available on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricanSquadronRaidParanaguaBrazil