There are many arguments regarding the origin of capoeira. Some say that it came from Africa, while others say that it originates in Brazil. There is validity in each stance, but often times the topic becomes over politicized. There is no doubt that capoeira is a cultural phenomenon in Brazil like no other country. Capoeira has spread all over the world and it has been the masters from Brazil that have done this missionary work. On the other hand, no one denies that capoeira was created by Africans, based on African traditions, and using African instruments. Additionally, the oral tradition of capoeira states that capoeira has its roots in N'golo, a ritual from Angola. So is capoeira African, African-Brazilian, or Brazilian? Invariably, you will answer this question based upon your political affiliation.

Recorded history shows that capoeira is rooted in the Ma'afa or the horrendous event known as the western slave trade. Africa was raped by the Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, English, and other Europeans for her finest young men and women who were forcibly taken west to live in slavery. The Portuguese Colonized Brazil and consequently this is where they took their African captives to work. The Africans were primarily taken to the port cities of Salvador and Recife in the northeast, and to Rio de Janeiro in the south of Brazil. From here there are countless arguments as to the next step in the development of capoeira, but we know for sure that the Africans practiced capoeira in secret once in Brazil. One popular belief as to how the art received its name comes from a method used by the Africans to conceal capoeira. It's believed they would sneak out into the bush, or the capoeira, to practice in secret. Consequently, the art became named after the bush which concealed their training. Training in the bush was not the only method used by the Africans to disguise their martial practice. The roda, or circle, of capoeira is controlled by the berimabau which is a one string bow instrument from Africa. Capoeiristas, or capoeira practitioners, play capoeira based upon the rhythm played on the berimbau. When the overseers or slave masters would come around, the rhythm played on the berimbau would change and this would advise the capoeiristas to play a game that was less martial, and to play one that looked more like they were dancing. Consequently, the overseers thought the Africans were just dancing and weren't alarmed.

There are records of their being capoeira in Rio de Janeiro during slavery, but the northeast became known as the home of capoeira, and Salvador, Bahia in particular. Capoeira served as a motivating force for the Africans to continue fighting their oppression. Sometimes this fight took place mentally, physically, spiritually or any combination thereof. Due to the resilient spirit of the Africans, capoeira survived slavery. After abolition in Brazil, the now African-Brazilians left the plantations and went to live in the cities. Assumedly, they were on the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder. Consequently, the culture that they carried with them was looked down upon, but none more than capoeira. It was the most dangerous cultural practice of all. Capoeiristas have long been feared for their fighting prowess. As a result, there then existed a population of skilled fighters with no money, no jobs, and no where to go who were living off of their wits on the streets. It is during this time period that capoeira became associated with ladraos or criminals. Capoeiristas were regularly imprisoned and some accounts state that they were killed simply for playing capoeira or being a known capoeirista. It literally was against the law to practice capoeira! Fortunately, when the authorities would stamp capoeira out in one place, it would pop again in another.  Capoeira endured this existence until the mid 1930's. It was at this time that Manoel dos Reis Machado, the infamous Mestre Bimba, created Capoeira Regional and opened the first capoeira academy of any kind. It was the work of Mestre Bimba that brought capoeira from the underground to the forefront of Brazilian society.

Mestre Bimba's objective was to gain respect for the art of Capoeira which had become demonized and outlawed. Mestre Bimba developed a system of teaching capoeira and named it Regional, pronounced hey-gee-o-nal, meaning from the region of Salvador, Bahia. Bimba's approach to capoeira was more martial-arts oriented because he felt that capoeira had become too folkloric and had lost its martial application. Before this, there was one name and style of capoeira. But once Bimba created Regional, traditional capoeira became known as Capoeira Angola differentiating itself from Regional and showing respect to the oral tradition that capoeira originated in N'golo from Angola. Bimba's approach gained respect quickly because of its effectiveness as a martial art. Bimba issued a challenge to all of the different martial artists around Bahia to try their skills against his. Some accepted the challenge, but none were victorious. There became a political push to promote capoeira as a Brazilian sport and consequently Mestre Bimba received official licensing for his academy in 1937, which had been opened since 1932, and in effect capoeira became legal. A few years later Mestre Pastinha, one of the great masters in the history of capoeira, opened the first Capoeira Angola academy. Capoeira then began to be taught in formal settings allowing a master to take on more students than before. Before the opening of academies, a master would have 1 or 2, maybe 3 students at a time who would be his apprentices. With the advent of the academy, a master could now teach 20, 30, or maybe even 50 students at a time by offering several classes a day.

At this point, capoeira spread like wildfire through Brazilian popular culture beyond Salvador, Bahia, beyond the northeast of Brazil, and did not stop until it had enveloped most of the country. It was not long until the beauty of this great art couldn't be contained by Brazil's borders and began to spread to other countries around the world. Capoeira arrived here in the United States in the 1970's. The first master to come to the US was Mestre Jelon Viera who began teaching in New York. Capoeira has since spread to countless cities in the United States and all over the world. Capoeira can be found on every inhabited continent. Mestre Joao Grande once said that capoeira is like the sun and it belongs to whoever receives its sunrays.