BRAZIL

Portuguese colonization of Brazil in the early sixteenth century was part of a long history of overseas expansion initiated in the early fifteenth century along the western coast of Africa. Portuguese merchants, often with ties to the crown, had established extensive seagoing commercial connections with the Islamic cultures of the North African Mediterranean dating from the thirteenth century. The Portuguese were skilled shipbuilders and ocean navigators, and through international trade they were well acquainted with a vast array of products from Asian spices such as cloves, peppers, and sugar to sub-Saharan gold and ivory. The techniques of sailing and navigating the comparatively difficult waters of the Atlantic were very different from those required to sail the Mediterranean. But during the fifteenth century, Portuguese sailors gradually became acquainted with the wind patterns and nuances of sailing into the Atlantic world.

In 1415, the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta, an Islamic commercial center on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, opened sailing routes southward along the West African coast. Exploration was gradual, and it was not until 1487 that the Portuguese reached the Cape of Good Hope and opened routes to Asia through the Indian Ocean. Although they had little success, or even interest, in penetrating the African interior, the Portuguese established a series of trading depots (feitorias or factories) on key points along the coast. The purpose was to engage in trade for gold, ivory, slaves, and other products.