Brazilian Economic Booms through History The beginning phase of the economic boom in Brazil was in 1500. The first exported item that brought outside interest was Brazilian wood. Mainly, it was logged and exported to Northern Europe for the purpose of creating red dye for textiles. As a result of the logging industry’s rise, metal products for cutting and logging purposes were also high in demand and often traded. This attracted both Portuguese and French ships in hopes of trading metal products. This era lasted until 1550. As the logging industry was in high demand, another agricultural boom was taking place. Sugarcane became the next major export within Brazil. In 1530, as the Portuguese continued their efforts to control the coast of Brazil, the sugarcane industry grew as a result of European trade with Brazil. The industry grew so fast that enslaved natives could not provide enough man power to keep up with demand. Imported African slaves were brought in to maintain the high levels of outgoing sugarcane to European ships. Sugar tied Brazil to the European capitalism and prompted Dutch attacks on the Portuguese dominance on sugar. The Hollanders withdrew from Brazil in 1654, and moved a major portion of the sugarcane industry to the Caribbean and controlled distribution to Europe and decrease Portuguese access. Brazilian dominance in the sugarcane industry ended as a result of this move. The next boom for the Brazilian economy was in the form of mining for gold and diamonds. In the 1690s the Portuguese occupation of land inland to Rio das Velhas and then central Minas Gerais. The mining industry was very successful for the Portuguese crown. Gold production declined in the 18th century. The mining boom ended in roughly 1750. In the 1820s began the coffee period in Brazil’s economic history. The mountains of Rio de Janeiro in the west of Sao Paulo state and into Parana was the setting for the coffee industry, another agricultural boom for Brazil. Coffee growers created one of the largest industries that Brazil has ever seen, which led to the rise of Sao Paulo as a major economic capital of the world. During the time of the coffee boom, another industry was beginning to rise. By the late 1930s, agricultural industries began to take a back seat to industrialization of the cities. Even as times were changing however, Brazil remained one of the world’s top
