AP World 19.4

Pedro Alvares Cabral

 Portuguese leader of an expedition to India; blown off course in 1500 and landed in Brazil; thus, leader of the first official Portuguese landfall on the South American coast

Captaincies

Strips of land along Brazilian coast granted to minor Portuguese nobles for development; enjoyed limited success in developing the colony. 

Sugar Plantations

Established using Native American and African slaves, they became key to Brazil's economy.

Jesuit Missionaries

Arrived in Brazil in 1549 to support conversion of indigenous peoples and development of the colony.

Miscegenation

Mixing of different racial or ethnic groups, particularly between whites, Indians, and Africans in Brazil.

Colonial Bureaucracy

System of officials that governed Brazil, integrating it within the Portuguese empire.

Gold Rush in Minas Gerais

The period starting in 1695 when gold strikes led to a mass influx of people and economic boom in Brazil.

Bureaucratic Structure

Refers to the organized system of governance established in Portuguese Brazil, with roles for royal officials.

White Planter Families

Dominant social class in Brazil, often linked by marriage to merchants and Portuguese officials.

Economic Dependency

Brazil's reliance on Portugal for manufactured goods, which limited industrial development in Brazil.

Gold Discovery Effects

Led to increased settlement and expansion of slavery, but also spurred mining and ranching industries.

Brazil's Social Hierarchy

Reflects plantation origins with distinctions based on race and status as property.

European Competition

Led to challenges for Brazil's sugar industry, contributing to a decline in its global market dominance.

Slavery in Brazil

Was fundamental to the labor force, with about 150,000 slaves by the end of the 17th century.

Plantation Colony

Brazil became the first great plantation colony, influencing European colonial models in the Caribbean.

Economic Policies Post-Gold Discovery

Allowed Portugal to rely on gold for manufactured goods, leading to a trade imbalance.

Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian port; close to mines of Minas Gerais; importance grew with gold strikes; became colonial capital in 1763

Paulistas

Backwoodsmen from São Paulo in Brazil; penetrated Brazilian interior in search of precious metals and slaves during 17th century.

Minas Gerais

Region of Brazil located in mountainous interior where gold strikes were discovered in 1695; became location for gold rush.