BRAZIL

but  no  definite  attempt  was  made  to  settle  it,
or  assume  governing  power  by  the  Portuguese
until  1549,  fifty-seven  years  after  Columbus
had  been  to  America,  when  Portugal  awoke  to
the  great  possibilities  of  the  country  and  dispatched ­
  her  first  Governor  General  in  the
personage  of  Thome  de  Souza.
During  the  century  following  the  arrival
of  its  first  constituted  governor,  Brazil  became
the  scene  of  numerous  attacks  and  invasions  on
the  part  of  the  French,  Dutch  and  British,
each  one  desirous  of  acquiring  portions  of  its
territory,  having  been  attracted  by  the  current
stories  of  its  great  wealth  and  latent  resources.
For  a  time  both  France  and  Holland  established ­
  themselves  in  a  small  way  witjfin  its
boundary,  but  ultimately  abandoned  their  outposts. ­

From  1640  to  1808  Brazil  was  governed  by
a  Viceroy,  who  resided  in  Rio  de  Janeiro.
The  victorious  armies  of  Napoleon  and  their
progress  across  the  Spanish  Peninsula  ultimately ­
  caused  King  John  to  abandon  his  capital ­
  in  Portugal  and  flee  to  Brazil,  where  he