How Has The History Of Brazil Transformed By Colonialism

Religion in Brazil-(chapter review: A Brief History of Brazil by Teresa A. Meade)

Question: Brazil’s history has been transformed due to European Colonialism with their economicsystems and slavery.
European Colonialism with its “discover and acquire” mentality (p.19), managed to exploit most of Brazil, once they became aware of the riches of this country theywanted to get full control over it, and start the import as well as export of goods and services from their homeland and back. The main economic system was mercantilism which as explainedin the chapter is “ To accumulate gold, or wealth” (p.23) and this is exactly what they did they introduced a new economic system to brazil that did not help much the indigenous peoplealready there since their way of life was not to acquire goods but to use what they needed.
During colonialism Brazil’s economic structure had a “boom and bust cycle”(p.42), theEuropeans were interested in making profits for their colonies and their homeland than to perfect the different type of economic system they used such as sugar plantations, mining of goldand diamonds and cattle raising due to their set goal of getting more wealth.
Slavery had a great effect on Brazil’s cultural and religious identity, since with colonization camemissionaries, Jesuits and Indigenous people and African Slave Trade, Due to this Catholic, African and Indigenous identities mixed and merged. Forming various religious and culturalidentities throughout Brazil.
This reading was truly and eye opening for me, since I did not know in to what extend European colonization affected Brazil’s economic, religious and culturalsystem. This gave me some guidance and clarity of the different branches I can mix and explore such as colonialism and African animosity or Colonialism and its effect on religion in Brazil.