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1500s: Discovery.
Even before Columbus discovered the Antilles in 1492, the Portuguese had been aware of lands across the Atlantic and had made several expeditions to the West, but they had kept this knowledge secret from their ambitious neighbors. The official discovery of Brazil was made on April 22, 1500 by the Portuguese explorer, Pedro Álvares Cabral. read more...

1600s: Colonization and Slave Trade.
The first shipment of Africans into the British settlements in Virginia was in 1619. Eventually 400,000 slaves were brought to North America. In the North, slavery existed prior to the American Revolution but it was not central to the economy. However, in the agrarian South, the raising of staple crops on plantations - tobacco, sugar, rice, and much later, cotton - was performed by slaves. In both the U.S. and Brazil, plantations were located in the warmer climates - nearer the equator. Thus, in the U.S., the Southern states were agrarian; the plantation system in Brazil developed north of Rio de Janeiro. read more...

1700s: Fighting for Independence.
The thirteen British colonies of the Atlantic seaboard won their independence from Great Britain by fighting the American War of Independence from 1775 to 1781. This event had repercussions throughout Europe and its colonies. read more...

1800s: Wars, Emancipation and Visitors.
The United States entered the 19th century as an independent nation, while Brazil, still a colony, was on its way to gaining independence. In 1808, as Napoleon's armies began the invasion of Portugal, the King transferred his court to Rio de Janeiro thus transforming the city into the capital of a European empire. In 1815 the status of Brazil was elevated from colony to United Kingdom with Portugal. King João VI returned to Portugal six years later, leaving his son behind as Regent. read more...

1900-40: Mutual Curiosity.
With the admission of Arizona and New Mexico to the Union in 1912, the continental United States attained an area of 3,022,341 sq. Miles, 8 percent smaller than Brazil’s 3,286,470 sq. Miles. The admission of Alaska and Hawaii to statehood in 1959 increased the area of the United States to 3,615,191 sq. Miles, 10 percent larger than Brazil. read more...

1940-50: World War II and the Forging of New Political and Cultural Links.
The 1940s were a turning point in the political and cultural links between Brazil and the U.S. The catalyst was World War II. Beginning in 1941, U.S. military bases were built in Northeastern Brazil to support the mounting Allied pressure on the Axis forces in North Africa. The Brazilian delegation took the lead at the American Foreign Ministers Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro in January 1942, in which the collective breaking of diplomatic relations with the Axis countries was negotiated. A succession of torpedo attacks on Brazil's merchant fleet by German submarines culminated in Brazil's declaring war against Germany and Italy in August 1942. Returning from the 1943 Casablanca Conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stopped in the Northeastern city of Natal, Brazil, to discuss Brazil's participation in the war with Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas. read more...

1950-70: Music, and Much More.
The discovery of Brazilian literature and social studies by American readers revealed the complexities of Brazilian society and its regional differences. Brazilian authors Jorge Amado (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands), João Guimarães Rosa (The Devil to Pay in the Backlands), and sociologist Gilberto Freyre (The Masters and the Slaves) began to be read in the United States. Freyre was a graduate student at Columbia University in the early 1920s and his book, published ten years later, is based on his Master's thesis. read more...

1970-90: Cross-cultural Exchanges Intensify.
America's culture invaded Brazil, like so many countries, through movies, television, and music. U.S. creations, such as blue jeans, were enthusiastically received in Brazil and affect Brazilian style and taste from fashion to food. Many packaged products (such as toothpaste, sodas, and canned goods) used by Brazilians in their daily life are the same as those used by Americans because they are produced by American subsidiaries located in Brazil. read more...

1990 to Today: New Opportunities.
At the end of the twentieth century, the relationship between Brazil and the U.S. is increasingly weighted toward business. Major U.S. companies continue to establish subsidiaries in Brazil. Since the early 1990s Brazil opened its economy to foreign goods by progressively removing trade barriers. The exchange of gods between the two countries is increasing and citizens of each country invest in the other's stock market. Today economic integration plays a prominent role in both countries' economic policy. the U.S. belongs to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), established to facilitate trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Brazil belongs to MERCOSUL, the Customs Union between Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. With its unified import tariffs allowing participants to freely move capital, labor, and services, MERCOSUL has substantially increased regional trade.  read more...