to a report written by Nóbrega, 500 natives had been baptized within the first five months of the arrival of the Jesuits, and many more were catechumens. Portuguese colonies in Brazil, like many other colonies in the Americas, had problems of slavery and concubinage being common among the new settlers. Nóbrega was concerned that the Portuguese settlers were not good examples. Nóbrega was unable to limit slavery among the Portuguese, so he chose separation instead. He moved toward the physical separation of the natives and the Portuguese to limit their contact with corrupt surroundings and focused on reducing the Jesuits’ reliance on support from the Portuguese crown. Nóbrega was encouraged that many natives had converted to Christianity despite being mistreated by the Europeans. The Brazilian sugar plantation colony, for example, was founded on the extensive use of Indian labor. Although this stage in the development of the Brazilian economy was temporary, the Portuguese eventually began using African slave labor, it had long-lasting effects on the morale of the native people. The Portuguese had created a society in which the natives had to live by Portuguese rules and conform to new modes of behavior, defined by European social and racial categories. Descriptions of natives Nobrega’s Diálogo sobre a Conversão do Gentio uses the point of view of two Portuguese settlers to describe the native people of Brazil. The dialogue between the men provides insight into some of the characterizations of the native population. Gonçalo Álvares, a lay person preaching to the natives, describes them in the opening lines as "those beasts." He dehumanizes the natives and, at the same time, questions their capacity to understand and accept Christianity. Mateus Nogueira, his companion, agrees and upholds that characterization by stating that those natives are worse than all others in the sense that they do not grasp Christianity. That description is a reflection of Nóbrega’s frustration with the native population. Later, the two characters discuss the role of a Christian among a native population. Gonçalo questions their goal, and Nogueira clearly states that it is charity and love of God and of neighbor. That last statement places the native peoples, as human beings, among the neighbors whom Christians, including the Portuguese settlers, must love. Nóbrega questions the importance of converting the natives. On one hand, he is unsure whether they are capable of fully grasping the concept of Christianity, especially with the language