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Colonization and Slavery
Most of the hundreds of Amerindian tribes living in eastern South America
before the arrival of Europeans were members of the Tupí-Guaraní cultures.
They generally survived by hunting and gathering. Those who farmed mainly
raised manioc, also known as cassava. These
indigenous
peoples had no metal
tools; no written language; no horses, llamas, or donkeys; and no knowledge of
the wheel. Best estimates place the native population of eastern South America
in 1500 at somewhere between 1 and 6 million. Today there may be as few as
350,000, most of them in the remote jungles of the Brazilian interior.
In 1499 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived back in Lisbon,
Portugal, having made the first successful voyage from western Europe
around the southern tip of Africa to India—a center for the profitable trade in
spices, pearls, and precious stones. The Portuguese quickly outfitted a second
expedition, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, a young nobleman. In 1500 Cabral
set sail from Lisbon with 13 ships and a crew of 1,200.
Brazil
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abolitionist—
one who advocates the ending of slavery.
indigenous
—native or original to a particular place.
inflation—
a steady increase in consumer prices.
mulatto—
a person of mixed white and black ancestry.
republic—
a government in which a body of citizens entitled to vote elects
representatives to exercise power under the law.
revenue—
income derived from sales.
Words to Understand in this Chapter