At first, it’s believed that the Portuguese settlers and the natives may have worked in harmony to harvest and trade the pau-brasil, but this was predictably short-lived as the situation evolved. As the redwoods were increasingly cut down and used for trade, more and more of Brazil’s coast was being flattened, and there became a need to push farther and farther inland to find the pau-brasil. As one consequence of this, many of the colonists began to consider alternative forms of resource production for trade, such as the establishment of plantations. Thus ended the collaboration between the Portuguese and the natives, as the former decided that the best way to work their plantations, was by enslaving the latter. 

The result of this was the death and fleeing of dozens upon dozens of indigenous who either hoped to escape slavery, had fallen ill to newly introduced European diseases, or would later die in slavery due to the extreme labor conditions. Those who did flee were not guaranteed safety either, as Jesuit missionaries and Portuguese Bandeirantes would push inland, exposing the escaped natives to disease nonetheless and at the hands of the Bandeirantes, enslaving even more… By the mid-1530s, Brazil had been divvied up into over a dozen individual colonies to be owned and governed by the affluent Portuguese nobles, though all but one of these settlements would eventually be returned to the Portuguese crown in 1549 as they had failed to truly succeed. 

A new governor-general was subsequently sent to manage the territory and a capital was established in Salvador. The Portuguese were not the only European power that wanted in on the action in Brazil, however. Aside from the occasional border dispute with Spain, Portugal didn’t have to worry much about their Iberian neighbor thanks to the Treaty of Tordesillas from the century prior. It was this agreement that clearly placed Brazil into Portugal’s realm of expansion, not Spain’s, although outside of Iberia and the Pope himself who had passed the Papal decree solidifying the treaty, no one really accepted these boundaries. As a result, France, England, and other colonial powers were eager to reach Brazil themselves and take what land they could.

The French in particular tried to wedge themselves onto the map but were consequently beaten back by the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. The Dutch as well would later take a shot at seizing part of Brazil, but they too would eventually give in to the possessive Portuguese. And while the Portuguese did manage to hold strong against their outside rivals, within Brazil, some issues began to arise that required fast solutions… Facing a growing need for slaves and a declining local population, Portugal looked to Africa to boost its Brazilian colony. The indigenous population in Brazil had been greatly reduced due to disease, fleeing, and fatal labor loads for those enslaved, but at the same time, the settlers in Brazil had an increasing need for workers at their plantations and elsewhere. It was at this time that the Portuguese looked to Africa. 

Having already kick-started the Atlantic Slave Trade the century prior, they now looked to bring slaves from Africa over to Brazil, instead of Europe. Doing so would open the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade which would go on to have its own dark history over the centuries, but for now, it served as Portugal’s solution to the dying-off native population. And the Portuguese didn’t do this in small numbers either. In fact, roughly 40% of African slaves involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade would end up in Brazil - over 8 times the amount that ended up in the United States. Nevertheless, despite the grotesqueness of their method of choice, the Portuguese in Brazil managed to find great success in trade and developing the colony altogether. New minerals and resources were found in Brazil that could be exported at high rates while additional trade markets would also be opened up as the Portuguese had more to give. By now, Brazil was beginning to resemble its modern form as its culture diversified and the capital was moved to Rio de Janeiro. 

This preceded another period of considerable change and movement toward contemporary Brazil, now in the early 19th century, when Napoleon decided to shake things up back in Europe… The Portuguese royal family would be forced to flee their homeland and opted to stay in Brazil while they were away. Upon their arrival, there sprouted a newfound motivation to put more effort into Brazil’s local economy and development than had been done prior. This helped to shift Brazil from just a tool of Portugal to its own functioning entity and ultimately primed it for independence. Schools, banks, and other important structures were built, more ports were opened, and Brazil began to flourish. It was at this time that the royals could finally return home to Portugal, but Pedro I, the son of Dom Joao VI, was left behind to govern Brazil on behalf of Portugal…although he had other ideas… Once left to his own devices, Pedro decided that Brazil deserved more than Portugal could give and was worth more than it had ever been given credit for…so he declared its independence. 

Previously, in 1815, Dom Joao had declared Brazil to be its own kingdom, although it would remain under the watchful eye and heavy hand of Portugal until September 7, 1822. "Independence or Death," Pedro is said to have shouted from the banks of the Ipiranga River upon announcing the newfound sovereignty of his adopted nation. He was soon crowned as Emperor of Brazil, just in time for a building threat from the Portuguese - a threat that would lead both sides into a bloody war… The Brazilian army and their local militia allies would clash with the Portuguese forces until the end of 1823 as they grappled for control over the former colonies. Fought by land and sea, the war would ultimately end in Brazil’s favor when the final Portuguese garrison backed down, leaving the newly independent state in shame. 

The following period for Brazil was far from easy nonetheless, and internal struggles would eventually lead Pedro to abdicate his throne to his five-year-old son, Pedro II, and subsequently handed the empire over to a line of regents who would rule in the young boy’s place until 1840. Clashes with Brazil’s South American neighbors would furthermore test the sovereignty of the young nation, but, nothing seemed to dampen the spirits of Brazilian trade, nor immigration into the country. Nevertheless, Brazil’s time as an empire would shortly come to a close in 1889, a year after slavery was abolished by the monarchy. In its place was founded the Brazilian Republic, known now as the Old Republic.