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Colonialism is a practice of domination which involves a powerful nation extending it powers to another country (Kohn, Margaret and Reddy, Kavita, 2017). This is considered a form of globalisation as in order to dominate one country it requires the powerful nation to sustain an economy in the country that they are taking control of. In order to do so, the powerful nation has to acquire the countries natural resources and materials so that they are able to trade with other countries in an effort to compete in the international economy of the time.
Very little was known about Brazil prior to colonisation by the Portuguese in 1500. Due to the semi-nomadic lifestyle of the indigenous tribes, there were no permanent structures and no physical written records. In 1500, Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral disembarked in Brazil with 1200 others. Their initial intention was to go to South Africa however, they found themselves in Brazil.
The coast of today’s Brazil was initially disregarded by the Portuguese royalty, however the discovery of the deep red dye that can be made from Brazilwood started to attract the attention of other European nations, leading Portugal to set up their first permanent settlement, São Vicente in 1532.
The Portuguese also brought with them Christianity and European diseases. Their attempts to set up missions and convert the people was met with strong resistance, however with multiple settlements soon built, they pushed the Indigenous coastal tribes towards the West. This was made easier by the epidemics of diseases including smallpox, that wiped out most of the Indigenous population (Crosby, 1972). Such a dramatic drop in population meant the Europeans could spread throughout Brazil with far less resistance however, they also lost a possible slave workforce, which led them to introduce slaves from Africa.
Although the Portuguese colonised Brazil in 1500, it took them approximately half a decade for them to establish an economy. African slaves were brought into Brazil during 1530. Slaves were brought to Bahia which is where sugar plantations initially rose to prominence. However, in the 1690s gold became the main commodity in Brazil as the price of sugar declined. This was due to the Dutch’s involvement in the production of sugar in the Caribbean. This would eventually lead to the downfall of the Portuguese economy in Brazil.
Overall, colonialism has impacted the indigenous community immensely. Not only did the Portuguese expand sugar cane plantations into the Indigenous territory, they also brought with them diseases that decimated the population.
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