2. Colonial History
• Colonia Brazil settlement started from
1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese,
until 1815 when Brazil was appointed to
United Kingdom with Portugal. For 300
years of Brazilian colonial history, the
economic exploitation was first based on
brazil wood extraction, sugar productions,
and gold mining in the 18th century. Most
of the labor was done by slaves shipped
from Africa. The Portuguese colony kept its
territorial and linguistic integrity after the
independence, making it the largest
country in the region. In 1500 navigator
Pedro Alvares Cabral landed in Brazil and
claimed it to the King Manuel I in Portugal.
3. Geography
• The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, divided
the world between the 2 kingdoms of Portugal
and Castile. All land discovered east of the
meridian was property of Portugal, west of Spain.
When Cabral landed in Brazil, he named the land
to his king, but it is debated if previous Portuguese
explorers had already been there. Cabral led a
fleet of 13 ships and more than 1000 men.
• Since the search of gold and silver failed, the
Portuguese adopted to the production of
agriculture goods that were to be exported to
Europe. Some items were Tobacco, cotton,
cachaca, and the most important product was
sugar. The first sugarcane farms were created in
the mid 16th century and were the main successful
product in Brazil. The Portuguese relied on slaves
to work on the farms, and were part of the cruel
treatment of African slaves when they were
imported in ships.
