Portugal Expands

            Brazil, unlike most Latin American countries, was not conquered by Spain, but was rather conquered by Portugal.  In the conquering by the Portuguese, there are a few similarities, but it was mostly a completely different experience. 

            For the numerous other Latin American countries they were violently taken over by the Spanish, with their ways forced upon them, but with the Portuguese it was much simpler, even though they did kill many natives through the accidental introduction of deadly diseases they did not use weapons to take over.  Made evident by Simon Collier when he stated,” The high (if brutal) drama which accompanied Spain’s colonization of Mexico and Peru was almost wholly absent from the Portuguese settlement of Brazil.”(3)  They instead, when first arriving, began settling in Brazil along with the natives, who gave little rebellion. Their intended purpose was to trade vast amounts of Brazil wood, until the trade became redundant.  The Portuguese culture was also very strong and made sense to many natives further ingraining the Colonists into their new found colony. (4)

            These are a few reasons for the difference between the Portuguese colonization and the Spanish colonization.  The special circumstances that surround the conquest set the stage for the rest of Brazil’s future, but more immediately the life of the natives in the colonies and their freedom.