until the discovery of gold in minas gerais, most of the inhabitants of brazil spoke a tupi language, similar to how paraguayans speak guarani; they became portuguese speakers in the 1700s. it was called the general language. until the mid-1800s, the majority of the brazilian population was composed of black slaves. if it were not for miscegenation, the prohibition of transatlantic trade/abolition of slavery, and european immigration, brazil would have become a giga haiti like the south of the united states was on its way to becoming before the civil war, which even after reconstruction, remains the least developed region of the united states.
Brazil