1624-1661 1750-1807







Brazil, 1661-1750



In 1649, the General Brazilian Trading Company was founded, equipped with a monopoly for the Brazil trade, but taking on the task of securing the Brazil trade by arming warships to protect the merchant ships from pirates (the Dutch held on to Recife until 1654, and the French had tried to settle at Guanabara bay twice). Portugal itself undermined the company's monopoly, however, by granting permission to the Dutch and English to directly trade with Brazil. The company more and more turned into an instrument of the Portuguese government.
In the mid 1600s, runaway slaves founded maroon communitis in the interior, which were at war with the colonies of Brazil and Maranhao. Palmares, the largest maroon community, was only destroyed by Paulistas in the 1690es.

Toward the end of the century, the Portuguese crown looked at Brazil as a possible source for new revenue. She encouraged the search for mineral wealth, especially gold and silver; it reduced the large-size land grants previously handed out, disposing over the confiscated land. In 1699, all lands not under cultivation were declared forfeit to the crown. In 1707, the Inquisition was permitted to confiscate the property of Marranos (New Christians, descendants of Jews) if they were found to continuously hold Jewish faith and practice Jewish rites; this resulted in large-scale persecution. Arrested victims were transported to Portugal for trial.
In 1676, the Diocesis of Salvador was elevated to the rank of an Archdiocesis, suffragan dioceses established at Olinda, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Luis do Maranhao that year; in 1719, another diocesis was erected at Belem do Para.
Recife (Pernambuco) was the site of the peculiar Mascate War; the city of Recife (where merchants dominated) had obtained the status of a cabildo (city) which entitled her to form a senate of her own. The neighbouring city of Olinda, the senate of which was dominated by plantation owners (indebted to the merchants of Recife) were unwilling to accept this change and proceeded to occupy Recife; the Portuguese crown failed to enforce her authority and accepted the fait d'accompli.
In 1712, Rio de Janeiro was briefly occupied by the French, regained by the payment of ransom. In 1737, the capital of Maranhao was moved from Sao Luis to Belem.
The city of Rio Grande do Sul was founded in 1737, Porto Alegre in 1740.
In 1727, Francisco de Melo Palheta introduced coffee to Brazil, obtained from French Guiana. In the 1760es, coffee began to become a major plantation crop, soon to cover a considerable share in Brazil's exports, and again an incentive for the import of more African slaves. During the 18th century, the penetration of the vast rain forest region intensified. The Treaty of Tordesillas by now was history, the Portuguese penetrating beyond the limit established by it, and clashing with the Spanish in Uruguay (1680/1724).
Among the incentives for forest penetration was the quest for gold, silver and other valuable ores. In 1693, gold was found, in 1695 the first coins were minted in Brazil. In 1721 diamonds were found, both in the hinterland of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; mining became a major industry in the now separate inland province of Minas Gerais (est. 1721), where the city of Vila Rica (later renamed Ouro Preto) in 1750 reached a population of 100.000 (a boomtown, by 1804 the population had decreased to 7.000). Another reason for the revision of the border was the quest for Amerindians, prospective slaves, which were hunted by the Paulistas (from Sao Paulo). Here, Portuguese Brazil came in conflict with the Jesuit missions which offered protection to the Guarani and other Amerindians.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles from infoplease : Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Article from Catholic Encyclopedia : Brazil
Articles from Wikipedia : History of Brazil, Pernambuco, History of, Salvador, Maranhao, Rio de Janeiro, History of, Minas Gerais, History of
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil, Cambridge Concise Histories, 1999, 362 pp.
David Birmingham, A Concise History of Portugal, Cambridge Concise Histories, 1993, 203 pp.
Donald E. Worcester, Brazil, from Colony to World Power, NY : Scribner 1973



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on October 21st 2005

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