Colonization of Brazil

On April 22nd 1500 Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on the Bahian coast. The entirely naked and dark-skinned(according to Cabral) were assembled on the beach and put down there bows and arrows as a sign of peace while the Portuguese gave a parrot-feathered headdress and a long string of white seed pearls. This started the cultural exchange between the natives the Portuguese which in 5 centuries would mold into the Brazilian culture. In the nine days the Portuguese were there the natives were shocked by the Catholic Mass, the iron tools, and alcoholic drink. The natives also helped the Portuguese by filling the ship with fine-grained timber, dyewood, and presumably some of the buranhém wood, or bark, that gave the river its name.