Replica of Pedro Álvares Cabral’s ship Anunciação, in the city of Campinas, state of São Paulo, Brazil.

When the Portuguese explorer Cabral discovered Brazil in 1500, it was fortuitous that this landmass was dedicated to Portuguese ownership. In 1494, at the direction of the pope, the Spanish and Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, in which the world was divided in half for the two signatories to exploit. Spain colonized most of the Western Hemisphere  without competition, and the Portuguese dominated trade and exploration along the coasts of Africa and Asia. The only part of the Western Hemisphere ceded to Portugal by the treaty was an area several degrees of longitude from South America’s east coast into the interior.

Unlike Central America and Peru, Brazil had little to offer in the way of resources or labor. However, the Portuguese produced agricultural surplus when they introduced sugar cane from the Caribbean and slaves from Africa. With these assets, Brazil grew rich and, as more colonists explored the interior, they discovered valuable metals. Portugal focused its colonization efforts on Brazil because the populations of Africa and Asia resisted Portuguese attempts at settlement, though they gladly engaged in trade. As Portugal’s military and economic power ebbed in the African and Asian markets, its interest in the continuing success of Brazil grew.

Portuguese colonists dominated the economic and political life of Brazil, but socially they were open-minded. While it was virtually impossible for a nonwhite to attain high political office, whites, natives, and blacks mingled freely in society and culture. The Brazilian Portuguese were as brutal in their treatment of slaves as any owners anywhere, but they treated free blacks with openness. Mixed-race marriages were common, and children of these unions were accepted without social prejudice. Of all the imperial experiences, only the British in New Zealand approached the racial openness of Brazil. Perhaps this was why Brazil did not chafe at Portuguese control; either they enjoyed the public equality or, by being denied education, had little knowledge of nationalism. Even though large sums left the country for tribute and taxes, the Brazilian upper classes remained loyal.

Brazil gained independence almost by accident. The royal family fled Lisbon for Rio de Janeiro in 1808 when threatened by Napoleon’s forces. Not only did they find a country richer and more populous than the one they had left, but they also discovered many of the comforts of home and a society that spoke their language, worshipped in the Catholic Church, and held many of their values. Because of the presence of royalty, Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the Portuguese Empire. In 1815, Brazil was declared a full sister kingdom, which opened the country to foreign trade previously restricted to Portugal. Brazil grew even more wealthy as it established further contacts with the outside world. This wealth, along with the spectacle of lavish royal spending, the stronger authority of Portuguese courts and officials, and the more direct exploitation of resources (little of which benefited the native population), caused a rebellious attitude. Rio grew more powerful at the expense of outlying provinces, which began rebelling in 1817.

When Britain’s Duke of Wellington dislodged French forces in 1811, the royal family was free to return to Lisbon. King Juan VI liked Rio, however, and he stayed until 1820. By then Portugal was chafing at being a virtual colony of Brazil. The Portuguese at home resented the extended presence of the British, the diminution of the international trade they once enjoyed, and the lack of Brazilian income, which stayed with the royal family in Rio. Demands for a liberal constitutional government brought King Juan back to Portugal in 1821, leaving his son Dom Pedro as regent. The Portuguese government demanded a return to the old ways, with Portugal as the center of the empire and Brazil the colony, but the Brazilians had little desire to part with their newly acquired rights and privileges. When Dom Pedro agreed to become king of Brazil and adopt a liberal constitution, the nation declared its independence.

Brazil became officially independent in 1825 when Lisbon recognized its status through the diplomatic efforts of Great Britain. In return, Brazil assumed a large debt that Portugal owed Britain and bought King Juan’s estates. Brazil also received British recognition and trade treaties, but at the cost of abolishing the slave trade. Dom Pedro, now Emperor Pedro, tried to maintain family control of both Portugal and Brazil by having his daughter (from Brazil) marry his brother (in Portugal), but he was unable to do so. Brazil remained a constitutional monarchy until the establishment of a republic in 1889.