O discovery of Brazil is how we know the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil, in April 22, 1500. The arrival of the Portuguese here was due to the expedition of Pedro Alvares Cabral, Portuguese who headed the crossing whose final destination was India. Historians are still debating, nowadays, if there was intentionality in the arrival of the Portuguese here.
The arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil was part of the process of Great Navigations and began the continued presence of the Portuguese in Brazilian territory. From this event, the colonization of Brazil, although the Portuguese only took effective colonization measures from the 1530s.
historical background
The discovery of Brazil is the result of a very specific historical context and related to Portuguese history and the Grandes Navegações. First, it is important to consider that the arrival of the Portuguese here was the result of ocean exploration, carried out during the Great Navigations, throughout the 15th century.
Portugal was the pioneer country in the exploration of the Atlantic Ocean, and this was only possible thanks to the fact that Portugal accumulated all the necessary conditions that allowed it to invest in nautical development. Politically, technologically, commercially and even geographically, Portugal had the conditions to emerge in maritime exploration.
Politically, Portugal was a stable nation (compared to other European nations) because it had a consolidated dynasty and unified territory. At the end of the 14th century, conflicts related to Avis Revolution led to Avis dynasty to the Portuguese throne. In the long term, the Avis dynasty stabilized Portugal and allowed conditions for commercial and technological development in the country.
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In addition, the country did not go through territorial wars, since the Moors had been expelled from Portuguese territory in the 13th century. Other neighboring countries, such as Spain and France, were facing moments of instability that made investment in ocean exploration impossible.
Furthermore, Portugal was in a very favorable geographic position for navigation, close to the sea currents that led to the African continent. This position made Lisbon, its capital, a shopping center important, even counting on the encouragement of Italian merchants. Trade issues were also related to the importance of goods obtained in the West.
From 1453, the road through Constantinople was closed when the Byzantine city was conquered by the ottomans. It was necessary to find a new route to the East, and the solution was skirt the coast of the African continent. However, this route would only be possible if the vessels were able to find a passage along the African coast that would take them towards India.
The route to India mattered to the Portuguese through obtaining ofspices, goods such as nutmeg and cinnamon, which had considerable appreciation in Europe. This was the main incentive for Europeans, but not the only one. Historians also speak of the interest of many in navigating with the purpose to evangelize populations they encountered.
In this scenario, the Portuguese began to explore the Atlantic Ocean and, little by little, reached places, until then, unknown to Europeans. places like wood, Azores, CableGreen and They areThomas were discovered and occupied by the Portuguese throughout the 15th century. Navigations also resulted in the creation of factories on the African coast and, finally, on the contour of this coast towards India, in 1487.
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The Portuguese explorations attracted the attention of the great crowns of the European continent and mobilized the Spanish crown to finance an expedition towards India. The Spaniards financed the trip of Christopher Columbus, that ended coming to america, in 1492.
News of this arrival soon spread and generated a reaction from the Portuguese, who joined the dispute. This dispute took place in the diplomatic field and resulted in the TreatedinTordesillas, an agreement signed by the two nations in 1494. In this arrangement, an imaginary line was stipulated in which the lands, to the west, would be Spanish, and to the east, Portuguese.
Accessalso: Dutch invasions: why did the Dutch invade Brazil in the 17th century?
The Portuguese arrive in Brazil
News from the Spaniards in lands so far to the west naturally aroused the curiosity and interest of the Portuguese, but by 1500 Portugal had not yet reached them. Thus, a new expedition was organized, and its leadership was given to the command of Pedro Alvares Cabral, a nobleman on the rise.
This expedition had final destination inCalicut, and Cabral had as an initial payment the sum of 10 thousand cruzados, which was equivalent to 35 kilos of gold. He also received the right to buy, in order to resell, a certain amount of spices|1|. The captains of each vessel, as well as the sailors, had their respective salaries, but, naturally, they were lower than that received by the leader.
The expedition led by Cabral had 13 vessels, being 10 ships and three caravels, each with a captain. According to historian Jorge Couto, the expedition had to 1200 to 1500 men, who sailed from Lisbon on March 9, 1500|2|. Here begins a debate about the intention of the expedition to come to Brazil.
This is because Cabral's expedition followed a path that went directly to Cape Verde, which suggests a certain precision in the route taken, and followed a different path than when traveling to India. Traditionally, the Portuguese sailed close to the African coast, and the route to Cape Verde prevented vessels from following it.
Anyway, the expedition continued crossing unknown waters until, on April 21, the sailors saw signs of land: algae. On the morning of April 22, one more sign was seen: birds. Finally, in the late afternoon of that same day, the crew sighted land.
The Portuguese had sighted the mount paschal, in the region close to Porto Seguro, Bahia. The next day, a small Portuguese expedition, under the command of NicholasBunny, was sent to explore the land. The Portuguese found a group of 18 indigenous, this being the first contact between them and Brazilian natives, which was peaceful and marked by the exchange of gifts.
On May 2, the Portuguese left Brazil for India. The Portuguese king was informed, as early as 1500, of the finding of the new land, and the main account of this was made by the scribe of the trip, butemptyinwalk. Despite the discovery in 1500, it was only after the 1530s that the Portuguese took consistent initiatives for colonization.
Read more:How the Portuguese introduced slavery in Brazil during colonization
Illustrated Summary for Children
Grades
|1| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloísa Murgel. Brazil: a biography. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2015. P. 25.
|2| COUTO, Jorge. The genesis of Brazil. In.: MOTA, Carlos Guilherme (org.). trip incomplete: the Brazilian experience. São Paulo: Editora Senac, 1999. P. 48.
Image credits
[1] Lefteris Papaulakis and Shutterstock
[2] commons
