Question

What was discovered in Brazil in 1698?

Answer 1

Colonial Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil Colônia) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. During the early 300 years of Brazilian colonial history, the economic exploitation of the territory was based first on brazilwood extraction (16th century), sugar production (16th–18th centuries), and finally on gold and diamond mining (18th century). Slaves, especially those brought from Africa, provided most of the working force of the Brazilian economy.

In contrast to the neighboring fragmented Spanish possessions, the Portuguese colony, built up by the Portuguese in Latin America, kept its territorial unity and linguistic integrity after independence, giving rise to the largest country in the region.

Answer 2

The history of Brazil starts with indigenous people in Brazil. Europeans arrived in Brazil at the opening of the 16th century.

The first European to colonize Brazil was Pedro Álvares Cabral on April 22, 1500 under the sponsorship of Portugal. From the 16th to the early 18th centuries, Brazil was a colony of Portugal. The country expanded south along the coast and west along the Amazon and other inland rivers from the original 15 donatary captaincy colonies established on the northeast Atlantic coast east of the Tordesillas Line of 1494 (approximately the 46th meridian west) that divided the Portuguese domain to the east from the Spanish domain to the west. Most of the country's borders were set by the end of the colonial period early in the 19th century.

On September 7, 1822, the country declared its independence from Portugal and became its own country. A military coup in 1889 established a republican government. The country has seen a dictatorship (1930–1934 and 1937–1945) and a period of military rule (1964–1985).