La explotación y comercio de palo Brasil en la América portuguesa en tiempos de Felipe III: un quebradero de cabeza para las autoridades reales

Abstract

[EN] The territory of Portuguese America became increasingly important to the Portuguese empire as a whole during the reign of Philip III (II of Portugal) between 1598 and 1621. Growing sugar production and an increasing trade in enslaved Africans led royal authorities to set their sights on the South Atlantic colony in search of higher income. Although this period has traditionally been seen as the period of consolidation of the sugar industry, in this article we show that brazilwood, the main export product during the 16th century, continued to play a fundamental role in the early years of the 17th century, which is why the crown established various economic and legislative measures to control its production, trade and distribution, in an attempt to reinforce the royal monopoly that regulated it