O brazilwood it is a very present tree on the coast and was extensively explored by the Portuguese throughout the 16th century. The tree has a wood that was considered noble and was used to produce a valuable dye in the European market. To do so, Europeans exploited the labor of the Indians, paying them with common objects.
Accessalso: What was the colonization of Brazil?
What is redwood?
The brazilwood is a native tree of Atlantic forestand that it was found in great abundance on the Brazilian coast, in the regions where this biome extended. The area where brazilwood was found went from Rio de Janeiro to Rio Grande do Norte. The presence of this tree was quite high, and it is estimated that there were millions of it in Brazil.
Brazil wood was known by Brazilian Indians as ibirapitanga, a term in Tupi that means “treered”. This name refers to one of the most important characteristics of the tree: its reddish wood. The wood of pau-brasil was considered noble, and the red resin present in it was used in the preparation of a
dye of the same color.In the 16th century, Europeans were aware of an Asian tree very similar to the brazilwood. Known as Biancaeasappan, it was also used in the production of a reddish dye. This made brazilwood an important economic item for Europeans, who called the Asian variant of this wood by various names, such as bersil.
Accessalso: Discovery of Brazil: the arrival of the Portuguese in America
How was the exploration of pau-brasil?
As mentioned, pau-brasil was the first economic item that the Portuguese decided to explore here. The exploitation of this wood happened because, in the beginning of the 16th century, this was the only profitable activity that could be implemented in the colony by the Portuguese. At that time, the colonizers prioritized trade with the Indies, and the occupation of Brazilian territory in large volume was not yet seen as an option.
Although the Portuguese were not very interested in moving to Brazil, it was necessary to do the enjoymentofterritory, as the French represented a threat, as they constantly sought to invade “Portuguese lands” (according to what was established in the Treaty of Tordesillas).
So, to protect its lands, Portugal decided to implement an economic activity in the colony. The aim was that the Portuguese presence could avert the French threat. The choice of pau-brasil was because it was the only viable profitable article at the time. The wood of brazilwood was good for the manufacture of items such as furniture.
However, the greatest economic usefulness of this tree was because the resin present in its wood made it possible to manufacture a dye used to dye fabrics. This dye was valuable in Europe and, as said, was already manufactured using the Asian variant of pau-brasil.
Thus, the Portuguese Crown granted authorization for interested parties to explore pau-brasil. They were required to guarantee the defense of the coast against invaders, to return part of the profits in taxes, and were prohibited from importing the Asian variant of Brazilwood.
The first to receive this grant was the Portuguese FerdinandinLoronha. The concession for him worked under the regime of monopoly, therefore, he was the only one who had the right to carry out this exploration in the name of the Portuguese Crown.
All the heavy work, which included felling the trees and transporting them to the coast, was done by the indians. The Portuguese, then, exploited the work of the indigenous people, who, as payment, received items that were useful to them, such as chests, knives, pocketknives and similar objects. The natives were instructed to take this wood to the factories that the Portuguese built.
These trading posts were strategically built on the coast, as this facilitated the loading of Portuguese ships, and there were three of them in Portuguese America, located in the region of the current states of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Pernambuco. Factories, in addition to storage, served as strongholds, as they were used to guarantee the security of the colony and to scare off invaders.
The first large shipment of brazilwood that is recorded took place in 1511 and occurred when the shipBretoa left Brazil with about five thousand logs on board. This loading was done only when the ship's departure was already scheduled, as storing the brazilwood on the ships for a long time would damage the logs, which rotted with moisture.
Which origin of the tree name?
We saw that the Europeans already knew an Asian tree that was very similar to the brazilwood and that their merchants had been in contact with this variant since the 12th century. This Asian tree was known in the Europe by different names, such as:
- brecilis
- bersil
- brezil
- Brazil
- brazil
All these names were pronounced in different parts of Europe and derived from a Latin word: brasilia. This term means "ember” or “reddish”, therefore, the name of pau-brasil was a mention of one of its characteristics: the red color. We have also seen that the term used by Tupi (ibirapitanga) was also related to this color of the wood.
Accessalso: What were the hereditary captaincies?
How long did the brazilwood exploration last?
The exploration of pau-brasil continued until the 19th century, and the large amount of felled trees it almost drove that tree to extinction. It was only after the 20th century that there was a certain recovery of the species. From the 1530s onwards, pau-brasil lost its status as the most important economic article in Portuguese America for the sugar.
