Portuguese Empire in the Americas

Brooke SotoHistory 140

António de GouveiaBrazil

• Born in Tereira

• Azorean Priest of Lisbon in 16th Century

• Knowledgeable in astrology, alchemy, & practicing medicine

• Seen as a renaissance adventurer & a carefree rascal

• Arrested on charges of divination, commerce with the devil, & witchcraft

• In & out of jail multiple times

• “Lived and inconsistent and adventurous life”

Catarina de Monte SinayBrazil

• Symbolically dedicated her life to being a “bride of Christ”

• Member of the Destêrro Convent

• Raised to be a nun along with her three sisters

• Didn’t look at negative burdens of drought and depression in Bahia

• Focused on her own expectations of prayer, sewing, and preparing goods

• Lived a wealthy life when she started to create and sell sweets

• Very generous in loaning money

• Lived a rich & full existence

FranciscaBrazil

• Lived in 18th Century, in Amazonia

• Petitioned for her freedom and was denied

• Was later captured by the Manoa people

• Served in Anna de Fonte’s house for 20 years

• Finally, she appeared at a hearing, she was awarded her freedom

Trade in Colonial Brazil

• 1500-1815

• Economy was based on Brazilwood extraction, sugar-cane production, and gold and diamond mining

• “Sugar-cane cycle” = period of sugar-based economy

• Portuguese restricted trade, Brazil only allowed imports/exports from Portuguese colonies

• Imports: wine, olive oil, textiles

• Exports: sugar, tobacco, cotton

History of Portugal

• Europe’s “Age of Discovery” build up empire including possessions in South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia

• Military Decline through two disastrous battles: Battle of Alcácer Quipir in Morocco (1578) and the attempt to conquer England (1588)

• 1755 Earthquake further weakened country

• After deposition of monarchy in 1974, a new government instituted democratic reforms and granted independence of all European colonies the next year

• Portugal are members of: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Org.), OECD (Org. Economic Cooperation & Development), & EFTA (European Free Trade Association)

Portuguese Empire

• The longest lived modern colonial empires

• Lasting almost 6 centuries

• Sailors began exploring coast of Africa in 1419 which influenced developments in nagivation, cartography, and maritime technology

• The long and bloody anti-colonialist war ended in 1974 with the overthrow of the regime

• This marked the end of the Portuguese empire