Learning about Brazil history part 1

The Brazil beginnings

The history begins in the CENTURY XVI, more precisely in the year 1500.

Reigning in Portugal the king D. Manoel, departs of Lisbon a squadron under the command of Pedro Alvares Cabral with destiny to India, whose sea route for the Cabo Tormentorio or of Good-hope it had been discovered by Bartholomeo Dias and Vasco of Gama; however forced to slide for the new continent. Similar of deviating of the coast, it is pursued by the winds and driven each time more for this direction. Give like this to thanks to it Provides her, it sights lands of Southern America in Abril 22. (A lot the diverge Historians on the day of the discovery of Brazil; however the opinion more usually following, at least even certain time, was the one of Ozorio, Barros, and others brazilian historians that indicate this event the day 24 of Abril- , founded maybe in a pilot's relationship that participated in this expedition and for that eyewitness.

Portuguese discoveries (1487-1497)

In the 15th and 16th centuries Portugal, an Iberian Kingdom with barely a million inhabitants, was

hemmed in by the Atlantic and a hostile Castile. After years of struggle against the

Moorish occupation, the Portuguese turned their attention and energy to the sea and what lay beyond.

While the Spaniards set out in search of a route to the Orient by voyaging to the West, the Portuguese opted for the so-called Southern Cycle down the African coast.

Reaching the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, they were led by the navigator Vasco da Gama across the Indian Ocean to discover the sea route to the Far East in 1497.

They knew of the existence of lands across the Atlantic and they had made several expeditions to the West before

Columbus discovered the Antilles in 1492, but they had kept the knowledge to themselves in order to forestall the ambitions of Spain, England and France.

For a small nation, secrecy was the only available method of safeguarding the rewards of bold and successful exploration against exploitation by more powerful maritime rivals.

Check with a travel agent or visit the TAM web site for more information about the Brazil Air Pass. Side dishes include farofa, cabbage, orange slices, and white rice.