Portugal colonized Brazil in 1534 when King John III divided the land into 15 sections for Portuguese noblemen. Sugarcane became a major export and mills were built across Brazil in 1542. In 1549, King John III established the first central government in Brazil. From 1550 to the 1590s, Jesuit missionaries converted indigenous peoples to Catholicism and protected them from slavery by colonists.

1. Portugal

2. Colonization In 1534 king John III of Portugal found and colonized Brazil. He turned the land into 15 sections selling them to Portuguese noblemen. Portugal prospered off of Brazil’s sugar cane and made sugarcane mills all over Brazil in 1542 because it was a very popular item in Europe In 1549 King John III started the first central government in Brazil under his rule

3. Jesuit Mission In 1550 the first Portuguese general of Brazil fought over Jesuits to join the colony In 1565 the Jesuits founded the city Rio de Janeiro From the 1560’s to the 1590’s the Jesuits converted the indigenous people into Catholics The Jesuits saved the natives from being slaves to the colonists