Who ruled Brazil before Portuguese?

Early Years. The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories of modern Brazil and Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II.

Which European power originally colonized Brazil?

Portuguese
Colonial Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.

What was life like in Brazil before colonization?

The pre-colonial Brazilian society consisted of many tribes. Because the Brazilian Indians (5) developed a highly advanced, centralized civilization like the Incas or Mayas, they left little for archaeologists to discover; chiefly pottery, trash mounds and some skeletons.

What was Brazil called before the Portuguese?

The region sighted by Cabral lay well within the Portuguese zone, and the crown promptly claimed it. Portugal’s new possession was initially called Vera Cruz (“True Cross”), but it was soon renamed Brazil because of the copious amounts of brazilwood (pau-brasil) found there that yielded a valuable red dye.

Who originally lived in Brazil before it was colonized?

As with many South American countries, the history of Brazil begins with indigenous people, and dates back over 10,000 years. The first inhabitants of Brazil were native indigenous “Indians” (“indios” in Portuguese) who lived mainly on the coast and alongside rivers in tribes.

How did the Portuguese get to Brazil?

Brazil was officially “discovered” in 1500, when a fleet commanded by Portuguese diplomat Pedro Álvares Cabral, on its way to India, landed in Porto Seguro, between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. (There is, however, strong evidence that other Portuguese adventurers preceded him.

Why did the Portuguese decide to colonize Brazil?

The Portuguese were more invested in evangelization and trade in Asia and Africa, which included trafficking in enslaved humans, and viewed Brazil as a trade post instead of a place to send larger numbers of settlers.