Portugal Expansion
Last Updated    12/29/2007     12/28/2007

1512, the Portuguese had claimed all of Brazil.
They had trading posts in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the Moluccas (Spice Islands).
They took Asian coastal cities by force.
First the bombarded the coast.
Then soldiers went ashore.
It was dfficult for Portugal to rule their territories.
They did not have enough people to send settlers to all of its territories.
Most of the territories had large populations.
The climate was to uncomfortable for most Portuguese.
Portugal depended on its sea power and the cooperation of defeated leaders.

Natives gather brazilwood
Brazil
1500, Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal.
Portugal paid little attention to Brazil until other countries started to take brazilwood.
Brazilwood was used to make red dye.
1531, Five ships and 400 colonists arrived.
1532, Portugal established their first permanent settlement Saint Vincent.
The king of Portugal, King John III, divided the land into 15 sections called captaincies.
Each strip of land was given to a different Portuguese family.
They could establish towns, give land out, and raise armies.

Immigrants
Portugal sent alot of settlers to Brazil.
Sailors landed and stayed.
Criminals were senteced to Brazil.
Soldiers and officials came to protect royal interests.
Ranchers arrived with cattle.
Missionaries came looking to convert people to Christianity.

Plantations
Plantations grew sugar cane.
Sugar cane was used to make sugar, molasses, and rum.
European sugar was made from sugar beets.
White sugar was highly sought.
The Portuguese enslaved the 2 million natives that were living in Brazil.
Most ran away or died from disease brought by the Europeans.

Slavery
1532, Portuguese settlers began bringing African slaves.
The Africans were resistant to disease.
Soon there was 20 slaves for every Portuguese settler.
The Africans brought their religions.
They brought their music and dance.
They brought folktales about their history.
They carved wooden figures.
They added new words to the Portuguese language.
1574, Jesuits were granted control of Indians in their villages.
Colonists could enslave Indians captured in war.
Between 1600 and 1700, the number of slaves increased from 30,000 to 150,000.

Bandeirantes
They were fortune-hunters looking for precious stones. and escaped slaves.
Bandeirantes were the frontiersmen of Brazil.
They traveled in bands of fifty to several thousand men.
They established Portugal's claim to the western and southern areas of Brazil.

Royal Interest
1690s, gold was discoverd.
Gold brought more people to Brazil.
Portugal became wealthy.
In the early 1700s, coffee was introduced.

A Tolerant Society
It welcomed people from different countries.
It welcomed different religions.
Mixed race people became officials in the church and the government.
Women were allowed little freedom.
Very few people knew how to read and write.


The Loss of Empire
By the middle 1550s Portugal began to lose its empire.
The government was disorganized
The economy was in poor shape.
People did not like Christianity forced on them.
1580, the king of Portugal died.
The throne was claimed by Philip II of Spain.
1640, Portugal became independent.
The English and the Dutch had taken over most of the Portuguese trading centers.

Bibliography
"Colonial Brazil." Wikipedia On Line Encyclopedia. 10 Dec. 2007.  29 Dec. 2007.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Brazil.

Greenblatt, Miriam, and Lemmo, Peter. Human Heritage A World History. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill, 2001.