BRAZIL 1719

Brazil needs no introduction. The 5th largest country in the world area-wise and the largest in South America, Brazil has a rich and unique history dating as old as early 16th century. It was the only (and largest) Portuguese colony in the entire Americas and was one of the earliest lands to be colonized by any European power. During the late 15th century when the Spanish and Portuguese set sail to the lands unknown to them, they arrived at Latin America (the Spanish) in late 1490s and at the Brazilian coast (the Portuguese) in early 1500s. On 23rd April 1500, the eastern coast of today's Brazil was claimed by the Portuguese under the name of Ilha de Santa Cruz which was later renamed as Terra de Vera Cruz. The first name was an error as it translates to the 'Island of the True Cross', which [Brazil] was incorrectly assumed by the navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral as an island. Post 30 years in 1530, the Portuguese declared their colony under the name of Brasil (the Portuguese name for Brazil). 

An interesting French chapter occurred between 1555 to 1560 when the French settled at Fort Coligny (near today's Rio de Janeiro) and called the area surrounding as France Antarctique. A short-lived French colony in Brazil (and the only French colony south of equator in South America) which was destroyed by the Portuguese later. Similar temporary colonization attempt was made by the Dutch between 1630 to 1654 (Kolonie Brazilie) also known as Nieuw Holland (different from the Australian one). Towns such as Mauritsstad (Recife), Frederikstadt (João Pessoa), Nieuw Amsterdam (Natal), Saint Louis (São Luis), Fort Schoonenborch (Fortaleza) etc. were some of the Dutch settlements.

Another interesting anecdote of Brazilian history is the Treaty of Tordesillas that was signed between Spain and Portugal (at Tordesillas, Spain) in June 1494 that divided eastern portion of Brazil into various 'captaincies' (administrative divisions) of whose maps would be straight lines running vertically and horizontally all along the eastern coast. The original 'straight lined' captaincies existed till 1549 after which the boundaries started to change. Some of the original names survived, others got either annexed or ceded into another. The map here shows such Captaincies in 1719, 5 years after the formation of the Viceroyalty of Brazil. The captaincies are as follows: 

1. Para
2. Maragnan (today's Maranhão)
   
3. Siara (today's Ceará)
   
4. Rio Grande
5. Paraiba
   
6. Tamaraca (today's Ilha de Itamaracá)
   
7. Fernambouc (today's Pernambuco)
   
8. Seregippe (today's Sergipe)
   
9. La Baye de Tous les Saints (today's Bay of All Saints, Bahia)
   
10. Rio dos Ilheos (today's Ilhéus, in Bahia)
    
11. Porto Seguro
12. St. Espirit (today's Espírito Santo)
    
13. Rio Janeiro (today's Rio de Janeiro)
    
14. St. Vincent (today's São Vicente, in São Paulo)

Similar to North America and Africa, the genocide of native tribes also took place in Brazil (and South America) ever since the Europeans set foot on the continent. The Pataxo Hã Hã Hãe and Tupinambá were the earliest indigenous tribes to come in contact with the Portuguese in Brazil. Today, tribes such as Yanomami, Tikuna and Guarani are one of the largest in the country. The Amazon rain-forest still has  some of the un-contacted humans in areas bordering Peru. The map here shows some of the tribes of that time mentioned by the 17th century French geographer Nicolas de Fer. These are as follows: 

1. Amixocores
2. Carajes
3. Peries
4. Tupinimbes
5. Auguarrari
6. Wayanas
7. Tupinas
8. Maribuces
9. Tucanucos
10. Tiguares

Brazil started to expand in the 18th century and it was 1815 when the Kingdom of Brazil was made part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve. A decade later the Brazilian war of independence was fought which led to the establishment of Empire of Brazil in 1822. Late 1880s was the time when the Brazilian constitution was being drafted and the Republic of the United States of Brazil was established on 15th November 1889. With the annexation of Acre in 1904, today's map of Brazil was finally achieved. The Federative  Republic of Brazil status was acquired on 15th March 1967. The map here shows the 'Capitancies' of Portuguese Brazil in 1719 when the country was yet to expand westwards.