Portugal in Brazil

-At the time of the initial settlement of Brazil, Portugal was under control of the Hasburg kings of Spain.

-Competition from Caribbean sugar plantations cut sugar’s value and the Brazilian colonies were depressed.

-1695 gold strikes made Brazil bloom again as many immigrated to find riches.

-The Portuguese has the largest influx with about 5,000 every year.

-Portugal then enslaved many and mined for gold and diamonds.

-After 1760, gold supplies ran dry and Portugal lost its dominance.

above is a picture of colonial Brazil

I mostly used my book for my information but here is a link to the wikipedia entry on "colonial brazil" which includes its Portuguese rule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Brazil