When the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500, the population of indigenous peoples was approximately three million; more than Portugal itself. Accounts tell of indigenous tribes being curious and open to trade with the new arrivals. Initially, the Portuguese bartered with the natives to bring brazilwood and other forest items to the coast. However, when the natives had accumulated all the tools and pots that they needed, they showed a lack of interest in continuing the arrangement. Consequently, the Portuguese turned to violent persuasion. The enslavement of the natives shaped much of the history of Brazil that would follow.
How did the country of Portugal, with a population of around one million, conquer a country with over 3 million? There were many tribes, nearly all with different languages and some with histories of war and distrust. The Europeans took advantage of the cultural differences among the Indian peoples to pit one against the other. They used historical vendettas to keep the Indians from uniting against them and subsequently to obtain slaves. The conquest of Brazil was not a simple toppling of an organized empire, but a drawn out process that spread slowly over huge distances, different peoples, and centuries.
Since the arrival of the Portuguese, sugar has been the most important commodity of Brazil.
They realized that some of the most moist and fertile soil in the world is located on the seaboard of what is now the State of Pernambuco. It's climate is very suitable for growing sugar and it is also conveniently located as a port of call for sailing ships traveling from Portugal to West Africa and the Orient. A triangular trade soon flourished, in which slave labor was imported from West Africa to work on sugar plantations. The sugar was exported to markets in Europe where rising demand was beginning to outrun supplies.
While a desire to stay independent of the need to import oil and the abundance of sugar cane make for a great start to ethanol production, the government's commitment to the program is what advanced it to a global powerhouse. First, the government offered credit guarantees and low-interest loans for construction of new refineries. Second, a state trading enterprise began purchasing ethanol at favorable prices. Third, gasoline prices were set to give ethanol a competitive advantage. Fourth, a marketing program was launched, with the slogan “Let’s unite, make alcohol.” Finally, the state-owned oil company, Petrobras, began making investments for distribution of ethanol throughout the country. Without these measures the oil industry might have been able to muscle ethanol out of the market.
Brazil is leading the world in efficient ethanol production because of their history of oppression, their subsequent desire for independence, their bounty of sugar cane, and the support of the government. Lessons can be learned from analyzing how Brazil became successful. While it might not be able to be translated to every country, some might have the opportunity to become more energy independent thanks to the pioneering steps taken by Brazil.
References: 1. Sandalow, David. (2006) ETHANOL: LESSONS FROM BRAZIL
2. Country Studies. Brazil. The Indigenous Population. http://countrystudies.us/brazil/4.htm
I would first like to comment that I don’t understand why you don’t have any prior comments on your research update, because I think your project is fascinating! I am not trying to be silly here, but I truthfully think most of us can only cite a few run-of-the-mill tidbits of info about Brazil, whether it be that Brazil is a very large country, or the land of supermodels, a minority in Latin American as a country that does not have Spanish as its official language, and that it is home to Carnival and tourist destination such as Rio de Janeiro.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, your research captured my interest from the outset because I feel that an idea you are conveying is that Brazil had a lot of foresight; an important theme in global engineering has been an effort toward sustainability and “green”. So to find out that Brazil, for reasons very relevant to many aspects of this course, has been involved in ethanol production as a means of energy since the 1970s is incredibly remarkable.
I appreciate that you convey Brazil’s foresight in ethanol production as tied to their colonial history, where the desire to cut ties to forms of dependence on other countries helped fuel, so to speak, the drive toward self-sufficient energy production. I think that another key point that you touch on, and I really feel that this is not a successful trend in post-colonial Latin American countries, is that you see the government supporting this energy initiative. From what I can gather, it seems that many post-colonial Latin American countries have perpetuated some means of dependence, especially because their governments are filled with people who represent the upper tiers of society due to their more-European- than-Indigenous ancestry. I feel that for many reasons, your project is exciting not only due to the fact that it speaks to current movements in global engineering, but that it also has to do with a country’s determination to re-define its identity through an initiative that carries the weight of their colonial past.