The purpose of this paper is to discuss Hispanic influences on Brazilian culture. It may be noted from the outset that Brazil differs from all other Latin American countries in that its predominant cultural influences have been Portuguese as opposed to Spanish. At the same time, Brazil may be characterized as a culturally diverse nation whose influences are as much Indian and African as they are Portuguese. These unique characteristics of Brazilian culture can be seen in the nation's historical development.
Prior to the arrival of Portuguese sailors in the early sixteenth century, Brazil's population consisted entirely of Amerindians who were "concentrated along major rivers and a few strips of fertile coastal land" (Nyrop, 1983, p. 102). In the year 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, arrived on the shores of Brazil and claimed the territory in the name of Portugal. At the time, Spain and Portugal were in competition over the seizure of land in the New World. However, whereas Spain was able to conquer most of the lands of Central and South America, Portugal's acquisitions were limited to the region which has since become Brazil. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Portuguese established colonies in the region. In doing so, they imposed their own culture on the land while at the same time attempting to crush the culture of the indigenous Indians. During that period, the Portuguese rulers in Brazil also began importing African slaves (Thompson, 1988, p. 3). Thus, the culture of the new nation soon became a mixture of Portuguese, Indian, and African influences.
Of all these, the Hispanic influence of the Portuguese has been the strongest. For example, the official language of Brazil today is Portuguese. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the Portuguese spoken in Brazil differs slightly from that in the homeland, just as modern American English differs from that spoken in Great...