A royal license recognizes “rescue” provisions for enslaved people in Brazil

On 22 January 1532, Martim Afonso de Sousa established São Vicente, generally identified as the first Portuguese town in Brazil. Colonial settlement tied land occupation to plantation development...

On 29 March 1549, Tomé de Sousa arrived at Porto da Barra with the Crown’s instructions to establish Salvador and the government-general. A centralized colonial administration helped organize...

On 25 March 1559, a royal license authorized mill owners in Brazil to import up to 120 enslaved Africans per mill, subject to duties. This policy made the Crown an active regulator and beneficiary...

On 20 March 1570, the Portuguese Crown issued a law that nominally protected Indigenous freedom while allowing captivity in “just wars” and certain other exceptions. Those exceptions gave colonists...

On 24 February 1587, the Crown issued legislation describing which Indigenous people could be held captive and under what purported legal conditions. Such rules did not establish meaningful consent or...

On 21 August 1587, a royal order addressed the location of Indigenous communities near mills and estates. Mission settlements and proximity to colonial enterprises could make Indigenous labor,...

On 11 November 1595, a new law said Indigenous people could be captured only in wars specifically authorized by the Crown, while those captured by other means were to be free. The 1609 law later...

On 26 July 1596, the Crown transferred administration of Indigenous peoples in Brazil to the Jesuits. This measure limited settlers’ direct control in some settings while expanding missionary...

On 30 July 1609, the Crown issued a law declaring Indigenous people in Portuguese America free and condemning unlawful captivity. The law’s language responded to documented abuses, yet colonial...

On 10 September 1611, the Crown enacted a law defining conditions under which Indigenous people could be captured in “just wars” and setting rules for their treatment and service. In practice,...