1984-05-27 — Page 38

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Brazil Discovered

In the history of Brazil it becomes difficult to determine who its exact discoverer was. Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese navigator, is generally accorded this honor. In any event it is con- ceded that he was the first claimant.

w It is said that in the spring of the year 1500; Cabral, in charge of a fleet of ships presumably in route to India, first sighted land in what is now the Brazilian state of Bahaia, Some specula- tion and mystery surround Cabral's voyage since his sighting necessitated his being off course to India by several hundred miles. This would seem to be a somewhat unreasonable assumption in view of the commonly recognized high degree of competence possessed by the Portuguese navigators and astronomers of that time. The assumption has been made that his goal was, in fact, Brazil rather than India. The strong probability exists, then, that: this was the beginning of an effort by King Manuel 1 of Portugal to counteract increasingly widespread further north in the new.continent by aggressive Spanish

Brazil. Named:

The mountain first sighted by Cabral was named Monte. Pascoal (Easter Mountain) since the event occurred shortly after Easter. The land itself was named Terra de Vera Cruz (Land.oft

the True Cross). The name given to the land arose from the cir- cumstance of Cabral's being a Knight of the Order of Christ, the emblem of which, a red cross, was borne conspicuously on. the sails of the fleet's ships. Additionally, for some time; the stars of the Southern Cross had been a prominent feature in the night skies and had much impressed the voyagers. S.

The name of the land, however, was changed by the King of Portugal to Terra de Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross). Thus it

remained for half a century until finally and logically it became known as Brazil:

Mystical Brazil", had been known in Europe for at least: five centuries as the source of bresilium, an East Indian redwood which had come to be-much prized for its qualities as a dye for cloth. A similar wood was discovered in the new world and was in- cluded in the first cargoes of the heavily laden ships on their return voyages to Europe. Thus, the new Portuguese acquisition soon. came to be knwon by the name of one of its first products..

Brazil Becomes a Republic

Brazil finally severed her bonds with Portugal and attained the status of a republic only as recently as November 1Sth;1889.. The history of the Nation's long trek towards autonomy is in itself.. unique in the hemisphere and well demonstrates the temperament of the people which it reflects. The peaceful occurrence of the in- dependence of half a continent in an uneasy and volatile 19th cen- tury would itself be noteworthy. Additionally, this vast and varied land remained intact. Whereas the remainder of the continent had also become independent of Spain, it had been sundered into va multitude of minor and sometimes fractious entities.

Brazilian Empire.

Had not Napoleon I come upon the scene in. Europe so forcefully in the early 19th Century, Brazilian history would un- doubtedly not contain some of its most interesting pages. It was out of fear of France's approaching armies in 1807 that the Por- tuguese regent, Dom Joao, hastily boarded the royal family and into the entie court – a party consisting of some 15,000 people

a fleet of ships and set sail under the protection of British war.

·vessels for Brazil. After an uncomfortable and trying voyage of almost two months duration, the expedition reached Brazil...

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