where did the first portuguese colonist settle in brazil
Colonial Brazil At first, Brazil was set up as fifteen private, hereditary captaincies. Pernambuco succeeded by growing sugarcane. São Vicente prospered by dealing in indigenous slaves. The other thirteen captaincies failed, leading the king to make colonization a royal effort rather than a private one.[citation needed] In 1549, Tomé de Sousa sailed to Brazil to establish a central government. De Sousa brought along Jesuits, who set up missions, saved many natives from slavery, studied native languages, and converted many natives to Roman Catholicism. The Jesuits' work to pacify a hostile tribe helped the Portuguese expel the French from a colony they had established at present-day Rio de Janeiro.[citation needed]