Brazil

The land now called Brazil was claimed by Portugal in April 1500, on the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Alvarez Cabral. The Portuguese encountered stone age natives divided into several tribes, most of whom shared the same Tupi Guarani linguistic family, and fought among themselves. Colonization was effectively begun in 1534—though the first settlement was founded in 1532—, when Dom Joao the 3rd divided the territory into twelve hereditary captaincies, but this arrangement proved problematic and in 1549 the king assigned a Governor General to administer the entire colony.