<P> Colonial Brazil ( Portuguese : Brasil Colonial ) comprises the period from 1500 , with the arrival of the Portuguese , until 1815 , when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal , Brazil and the Algarves . During the early 300 years of Brazilian colonial history , the economic exploitation of the territory was based first on brazilwood ( pau brazil ) extraction ( 16th century ) , which gave the territory its name ; sugar production ( 16th -- 18th centuries ) ; and finally on gold and diamond mining ( 18th century ) . Slaves , especially those brought from Africa , provided most of the work force of the Brazilian export economy after a brief period of Indian slavery to cut brazilwood . </P>
<P> Colonial Brazil ( Portuguese : Brasil Colonial ) comprises the period from 1500 , with the arrival of the Portuguese , until 1815 , when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal , Brazil and the Algarves . During the early 300 years of Brazilian colonial history , the economic exploitation of the territory was based first on brazilwood ( pau brazil ) extraction ( 16th century ) , which gave the territory its name ; sugar production ( 16th -- 18th centuries ) ; and finally on gold and diamond mining ( 18th century ) . Slaves , especially those brought from Africa , provided most of the work force of the Brazilian export economy after a brief period of Indian slavery to cut brazilwood . </P>
what was the main source of labor in the portuguese colony
what was the main source of labor in the portuguese colony
Slaves
Slaves