Cabral's landfall of 1500 grew from a string of coastal sugar captaincies into a continent-spanning Portuguese dominion that swallowed half of South America.
Elevated to a kingdom within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in 1815 and made independent as the Empire of Brazil on 7 September 1822 under Pedro I; the Portuguese colony thus ceased to exist.
The atlas holds 4 border frames for Colonial Brazil (State of Brazil) — the shape you scrub through changes in 1500 · 1549 · 1624 · 1750.
A concise history of Brazil from Cabral's 1500 landfall through the colonial captaincies to independence.
A standard narrative history of Brazil covering the whole colonial period (broad context).