The occupation of the Brazilian territory began with small festivals scattered in different locations. Such occupations happened due to the European need to expand their commercial activities, which made them look for new products and new areas to be explored.
The Brazilian settlement, in the 16th century, was limited to coastal territories close to the Atlantic Ocean, where numerous sugarcane plantations were developed in the Recôncavo Baiano and in the Northeast, which resulted in the transfer of livestock, which previously developed in the Zona da Mata northeast, to the northeastern hinterland. In this period begins the indigenous extermination that was both physical (genocide) and cultural (ethnocide).
In the 17th century, the first expeditions called bandeiras took place, which populated the Brazilian territory on a large scale, mainly at the ends of the Amazon River, the São Francisco River and the northeastern hinterland. The Portuguese, in greater numbers than the natives, dominated the region and began to capture the natives to search for gold and precious stones together. In 1616, they founded Belém do Pará.
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In the 18th century, there was a large increase in the population of the territory, a fact that was caused by the discovery of gold and precious stones in regions today called Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Bahia. This population settled in scattered settlements in the interior of the territory, but these soon began to empty. As the gems ran out, the people dispersed.
The settlement that took place in the interior of the territory had the intention of exploring and extracting wealth from there, but this also brought some benefits, such as the opening of roads that gave access to coastal regions and the strengthening of links between cattle ranchers.
In the 19th century, there was the great territorial expansion where the territories to the south became fully populated. The demand for cotton and coffee intensified, but the prosperity originated by cotton ended along with the North American war of independence and, on the other hand, that of coffee intensified with its appreciation in Europe. The cultivation of coffee encouraged salaried work and capital accumulation, which boosted industrial development. This period still marks the beginning of mechanization with the installation of railroads, telegraphs and shipping companies.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were clearing movements and settlement of new locations within the territory, which became known as the pioneer fronts starting in São Paulo. This process was based on the economy that revolved around coffee where it needed more places for its cultivation. The increase in exports, the depletion of soils and the ease of bank loans were the causes of this great movement that began in the Paraíba Valley, passed through Campinas, Ribeirão Preto, São José do Rio Preto and ended in Paraná. This trailblazing is known as the Coffee March.
Other important reasons for the pioneering spirit were the railway expansion, colonization by immigrants in the south of the territory, the Marcha para o Oeste (which was an occupation movement in the Midwest) and the agricultural use of areas of the cerrado for the cultivation of soy. and for raising livestock.
By Gabriela Cabral