Colonization The Portuguese Colonization of Brazil

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Colonialism

By Morgan Jablonski

Blog Two

The Portuguese colonization of Brazil has left a lasting impact. Here is a photo gallery of five modern photos to illustrate that.

Christ the Reedemer in Rio de Janiero Brazil. Religious influence.
Ouro Preto, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a well-preserved town that had money from gold mining during Portuguese colonial rule.
Pátio de Colégio, a Jesuit church, marks the spot where São Paulo, Brazil was founded in 1554. Source: Wikipedia
Rio Carnival is considered the biggest festival in the world. It is held before Lent (which is a religious observation brought by the Portuguese) and has many influences from African culture including samba.
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus Matozinhos in Congonhas, with the Twelve Prophet Statues created by Brazilian artist Aleijadinho, who was of half Portuguese, half African descent. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Here is a video made by the United Nations about the history of slavery in Brazil:

Economy

The colonization of Brazil began in 1500 when Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, accidentally arrived on the shores. The first export from the colony was brazilwood, a tree that could used to produce a red dye. The economy soon transitioned to the production of sugarcane, and eventually the mining of gold. During this time, of the 12 million people stolen, enslaved, and brought to the Americas from Africa, 5.5 million people were brought to Brazil, which is more than any other place. Additionally, indigenous peoples were forced into slavery. Therefore, the Brazilian economy was built upon the institution of slavery.

Politics

Initially, Portugal thought of Brazil as more of a tradepost than a place to settle. However, in order to maintain their claimed territory they had to settle it. Lower nobility (high nobility didn’t risk their land and wealth) were given the title of captain-general of portions of the colony and a tax system was implemented. Only two of the thirteen captain-generals succeeded economically, the rest of the land was sold back to the Portuguese Crown in the 1700s.

Ideology

Jesuit missionaries began going to the Brazilian colony in 1549 to convert the indigenous peoples. The Jesuits organized villages for religious conversion called aldeias, where they controlled the labor of the natives. However, eventually, their control was dissolved by the Crown, who wanted the power (indigenous peoples were no longer in a state of legal “dependency” on Jesuit missions, and the Jesuits were expelled from the empire).

Sources:

https://library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/: Colonialism https://brazillab.princeton.edu/research/racialized_frontiers#:~:text=Brazil%20was%20built%20on%20the,1540%20and%20until%20the%201860s.: Colonialism https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/new-spain/colonial-brazil/a/an-introduction-to-colonial-brazil: Colonialism
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