As soon as they arrived in Brazilian territory in 1500, Portuguese travelers were faced with a land that was initially an island for them. After other expeditions and territorial reconnaissance, the Portuguese realized that they were facing an area of continental proportion. Then began a symbolic and important discussion about the name to be given to the newly discovered land.
This uncertainty regarding the size of the territory generated the first name of the region, which was “Vera Cruz Island”. This first name was given by Pedro Álvares Cabral when he arrived in the newfound land, however, the discussion around choosing a name for this region of America was just beginning. It was on the expedition of Gonçalo Coelho – at the behest of King D. Emanuel – that the Portuguese, having better knowledge of the size of the territory, created other names for the region, such as "Land of parrots" and "land of Santa Cruz”, this last nomenclature being created by the Portuguese king D. Immanuel
The search for the ideal name to represent the land generated some confusion, so much so that Pedro Vaz de Caminha in his letter sent to the king of Portugal used two different terms about the same territory, Land of Vera Cruz and Island of Vera Cruz. This confusion highlighted the issue surrounding the creation of a name for a land hitherto unknown by the Europeans, but that drew attention for its diverse landscape and different from the scenery of European cities.
Another name soon emerged from the first extractions of pau-brasil from the forests. Mariners began to name the territory the Brazil because of this tree, which during the first three decades was the main reason for the Portuguese to travel to the region found by Cabral. Therefore, the name Brazil was fixed in the imagination of travelers and colonizers and prevailed over other nomenclatures.
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However, the controversy regarding the name of the territory that is now called Brazil resurfaced in the writings of some scholars after the colonization process of Portuguese America. At the beginning of the 20th century, authors such as Adolfo Varnhagen and Capistrano de Abreu contested the original version that the name Brazil had emerged as a result of the extraction of pau-brasil. In Capistrano's conception, the origin of the term is related to the existence of an imaginary island off the coast of Ireland. This Irish island was a place surrounded by mysticism and its real existence has not been proven.
This island was called “Brazil” and, during the Middle Ages, it was even represented on maps that induced proof of its materiality. This place was surrounded by mysteries and the Celtic traditions stated that the king “Brasal” settled in it after his death. Thus, poets reported that this mist-covered island was not easily accessible, and the symbolism around it was still alive. As the Portuguese had the representation of this curious island on their maps, some 20th century writers, such as Gustavo Barroso, defended the thesis that the name of Brazil was originally related to this island, and not to the extraction of brazilwood as if believed.
By Fabricio Santos
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Fabrício Barroso dos. "Origin of the name Brazil"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/origem-nome-brasil.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
