Why Portuguese is Brazil's official language

Every one of us shares a common dream and that dream is to travel around the world. The world is full of beautiful scenic marvels, marvellous countries, exquisite cultures and whatnot. When I think of the countries I would like to travel to, Brazil definitely steals a spot. Brazil is a beautiful country in South America which is blessed by nature with breath catching panoramic views. It  is the largest country in the South American continent and is the fifth-largest country in the world. It is famous for its Amazon rainforest, beautiful beaches, football (soccer), and vibrant culture. The capital of Brazil is  Brasília, but the country’s largest and probably the most famous city among tourists is  São Paulo. Brazil covers almost half of South America and is bordered by 10 countries, more than any other nation in the continent. Brazil is home to the Amazon River and Amazon Rainforest, which holds incredible biodiversity. Brazil is a country which has a mixed culture that has Indigenous, Portuguese, African, and European influences. Brazilians are  fun loving, vibrant and expressive people and that makes Brazil  famous for its Carnival festival, Samba music,etc. Brazil is also known around the world for its football legends like Pelé and Neymar. Furthermore, The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

The currency used in Brazil is  Brazilian Real (R$), and the official language spoken in Brazil is Portuguese.  Now, if you have an interest in Geography you might know that Portugal is a beautiful and one of the oldest country in Europe, located on the Iberian Peninsula, in southern Europe. Portugal shares its border with Spain and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and south. The official language of Portugal is Portuguese and so is the official language of Brazil. So, how come two countries separated by barrier of ocean, located on two different continents have same language and that too since the era when there was no world wide web or what we commonly call as internet. This is a question that might be bugging your mind, so let’s find out. 

During the Age of Discoveries  i.e. in 15th–16th centuries, Portugal built a vast overseas empire. Many famous explorers like Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, and Ferdinand Magellan sailed from Portugal to explore new lands. Does the name Vasco da Gama rang a bell? Yes, you are right. He is the explorer who is credited with the discovery of India for the Europe. And yes, Portuguese had colonies in India too, and they tried to expand their territory in India, but the English East India Company was more clever and offensive in their strategies and they one the quest. Several explorers from Portugal set all over the world to settle new colonies, and one of those colonies was Brazil. This is the reason why the official language of Brazil is Portuguese and the people from Brazil speak Portuguese. In fact, Brazil is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, while most of their neighbouring countries speak Spanish? The answer lies in history and colonization.

In the 15th century, Spain and Portugal were two major European powers exploring new lands. When two powers seek the same goal, conflicts are bound to happen. Portugal and Spain had this foresightedness and they signed the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between them. According to the treaty, the eastern part (which included present-day Brazil) went to Portugal and the western part went to Spain.

The Portuguese colonisation of Brazil was set into motion in 1500, when Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil, which later on became a Portuguese colony. Over the next few centuries, Portugal ruled Brazil as a colony. During this period when Brazil existed as a colony of Portugal on the world map, many important things happened. Some of them are listed below:

1. The Portuguese language became the main language for government, trade, and religion.

2. It was easier and more effective to communicate in Portuguese as it was the language of administration and authorities. So, the indigenous people and African slaves brought to Brazil learned Portuguese for communication.

3. Over the time, other local languages faded, and Portuguese became dominant.

This continued for a long time but finally, Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822.  Even after independence Brazil kept Portuguese as its official language because it was woven very deeply into the cultural fabric of Brazil over the period of time. Today, Portuguese is used in education, media, law, and daily communication all over Brazil. Though, the Portuguese used in Portugal and the Brazilian version of Portuguese have some differences. Brazilian version has unique accents, words, and expressions, making it different from European Portuguese. Sounds familiar, right? Yes, it is somewhat similar in case of British English and Indian English. India was a colony of Britain for a very long period that it became a necessity to learn English. Same as Brazil learned to speak Portuguese. Still, English used in India and the English used in Britain has differences in accents, words and expressions.

So, if we need to summarise then the gist will be that Brazilians speak Portuguese because Portugal colonized Brazil in the 1500s, and the Portuguese language has remained the country’s official and most widely spoken language ever since. This must have been something interesting to learn today. Stay connected and keep coming back to get access to a lot more of such engaging content. Happy learning.

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