Portuguese forces establish Belém at the mouth of the Amazon

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,...

A Dutch military expedition entered Palmares in March 1645. A chapter built around the dated report of 21 March follows the killing of an unnamed Palmarista woman by a Dutch bugler. The surviving...

On 10 March 1649, João IV established the Companhia Geral do Comércio do Brasil by royal charter. It organized protected commerce and shipping between Portugal and Brazil and served military aims...

On 26 January 1654, Dutch authorities signed the capitulation ending their control of Recife and surrounding territories. The transfer changed the European power governing a major sugar-producing...

On 9 April 1655, the Crown issued a law governing Indigenous “rescue” and labor in Maranhão. It retained categories through which captives could be transferred into colonial service, despite earlier...

On 1 April 1680, a royal law prohibited the captivity of Indigenous people in the State of Maranhão, including cases previously treated as exceptions. It ordered officials to free people held...