Brazil

Question 1

Who are the Tupi peoples?

Answer 1

Tupi = related languages and cultures. Not a united society. Villages along the coast of Brazil, live off of cassava, maize, fish and game. Have leaders, but egalitarian societies, oratory tradition, shamans…

Question 2

how can we describe Tupi warfare?

Answer 2

Use of bow and arrow, club, ritualized cobat, motive is revenge. Captives treated well, then executed, cooked and eaten.

Question 3

Describe portuguese ‘discovery’

Answer 3

1500: Cabral’s fleet encounters Brazil on voyage to India. Casual visits follow. Trade for Brazilwood (dye), pineapples, feathers. Generally friendly relations.

Question 4

Describe the french presence in Brazil

Answer 4

• coastal trade: “truchements” from Normandy (similar to Coureurs des bois)
• Colony at Rio de Janeiro 1555-1565
• the french and portugese ally with rival Tupi tribes
• eventually portugal sends troops to regain ctrl. works in 1565

Question 5

Describe portuguese patterns of colonization

Answer 5

• 1549: arrival of a governor (military command) + jesuit missionaries
• all-out war on resisten Tupis and French
• “protection” under jesuit settlements
• sugar plantations; enslavement, transforms Tupi warfare into destructive slave raids

Question 6

compare portuguese colonization of Brazil to Spanish in Mex and peru

Answer 6

1) piecemeal domination vs decisive conquest
2) slavery vs temporary labour service
- tension between economic motives and religious impulse. (interplay of religious Christian ideals vs economic impulse to enslave for profit )