Portugal's Conquests in America (advanced concepts)

• The division of the world between the Spanish and the Portuguese
• Portuguese colonization of Brazil
• Brazil in the 17th century

Portuguese colonial history in America is not as well developed as that of Spain. However, it is important to say a few words about the division of the world between the Spanish and Portuguese, Portuguese colonization and the colonists, and the state of the colony in the 17th century.

In 1494, the Spanish and Portuguese signed a treaty on the division of the land, the Treaty of Tordesillas. This treaty stipulated that one section of the land belonged to Portugal and the other to Spain. The dividing line was fixed along a meridian.

Everything to the east of the division belonged to Portugal and everything to the west belonged to Spain. The Spanish section contained almost the entire American continent and represented a large part of the world to be evangelized. This division of the world explains why the only area colonised by the Portuguese in America was Brazil, since everything else belonged to Spain.

Portuguese ships established trading posts or outposts in Brazil as early as 1500. Explorations of the Brazilian coast began in 1501 and 1502. These expeditions explored the coasts practically from north to south. The explorers also drew numerous topographical maps of the coast and coastal landscapes.

Permanent settlement in Brazil began in 1532. Two centres of colonization were opened: Bahia and Rio. This permanent settlement marked the beginning of sugar cane cultivation and led to better administration of the territory. It was for this reason that a Governor General was appointed and Bahia was made the capital of the colony.

Until the end of the 16th century, the colonies remained close to the coast. It was not until the 17th century that expeditions were launched inland. Basically, the aim of these expeditions was to find native slaves to work on the sugar cane plantations. However, the Portuguese colonists found gold in the area, which led to the first wave of mass immigration to the colony. Meanwhile, the French, English and Dutch tried to take over the territory.

In the 17th century, the two main cities were mainly seaports: Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Until 1763, the capital of Brazil was Bahia. In the 17th century, the majority of the population made their living from sugar mills. In addition to the Portuguese settlers, the city was home to no fewer than 3,000 slaves from Guinea and 8,000 Christianised natives. Some of these natives were free, while others were slaves.

Rio de Janeiro has the advantage of being a deep-water port. Large ships can easily dock on the city's shores. What's more, the city was very well defended thanks to its fortress. At the time, Rio was home to 150 Portuguese households.