Ever wonder why Brazil’s natives are called “indios”? History answers that.   History is a non-material element because you can’t touch it, it’s an idea. Not like the ball which you play soccer with, or your best friend, history is something humans created to honor who or what actually changes something in our earth. If you’re still wondering what history actually is, no more worries. History really is the who, what, where, when, and why of important events that will change something in the world. Now I bet you are kind of curious about history so let me tell you a little more. History can be everything that already happened and made a difference somewhere in the world. Any events that will influence the future are history. History can be made by anyone. 

Why are the Brazilian natives called “Indios”? Why did coffee become one of the important parts it Brazilian history? I’ll make that clear for you right now.

First I’m going to tell a really uncommon story about how the Brazilian natives “Indios” got their name. In 1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral set sail for India but ended up in Brazil by mistake. When he reached land he discovered that there were natives in the new land. He named them “Indios” because he thought they all were in India. The Indian population had ferocious decrease because many Indians were made slaves. These include the Awá, who live in the eastern parts of the Amazon forests, and the Matsés who also live in the Brazilian Amazon. There once was 6 million Indians living in Brazil and now there are only about 200,000.

Now moving on, I’ll tell you about how sugar cane, gold, and coffee really became a part of Brazilian history.When the first explorers arrived in Brazil they discovered the land and climate where perfect to grow sugar cane. In the 16th and the 17th century the demand was bigger and the colonists started making Indian slaves who were captured and had to work in the plantations. Most of them had short lives because they were very venerable to European diseases and because they weren’t used to work in large groups. Later gold was discovered in the 1690s in Minas Gerais, and the gold rush was on. Not to much after that the colonists where bringing African slaves who weren’t venerable to the European diseases but still ended up digging and dying in the mines. Brazil was becoming economically powerful, and it was not long until it became the most important of all Portugal’s colonies. In 1822 Brazil became independent and a new age began. Now coffee was beginning to be a strong part of Brazilian economy. Lots of immigrants were going to Brazil because of better jobs. They mostly came from Italy and Japan. Well, that’s it. I wish I did a good job explaining some of your Brazilian history curiosities.

--FR