TREES AND TRADERS

When Cabral's men made their first Brazilian landfall on 22 April 1500 they were confronted by a seemingly endless profusion of forest. Just how awesomely tree-rich the ‘new’ land appeared to be is made abundantly clear, both in Caminha's letter and on the famous Cantino Map. The latter shows the entire coast of Brazil from the equator southwards covered in great arboreal stands. Such an overwhelming image is understandable, for Brazil possessed the largest forests in the world with a far more extensive range of species than Europeans had ever imagined possible. Not surprisingly it was Brazilian forests that were soon providing the Portuguese with their first commercial exports from the New World.

To the Portuguese, Brazil's trees were a most welcome discovery. At the start of the sixteenth century Portugal itself was chronically short of timber, while accessible woodlands in Madeira and the Azores, which had been much exploited during the previous century, were now heavily depleted. Potential demand in Portugal for Brazilian timber and timber products – especially for ship-building, house-construction and cabinet-making – was therefore considerable. However, it was brazilwood (caesalpina echinata), the source of a deep red or purple dye much sought after in the textile industry, that became the early focus of attention. Probably it was this association that gave to ‘Brazil’ its name.

The Portuguese began extracting brazilwood from coastal forests shortly after Cabral's voyage of discovery, and the French were soon doing likewise.