Portugal Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa). In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India and brought economic prosperity to Portugal and its population of 1.7 million residents, helping to start the Portuguese Renaissance. In 1500, the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real reached what is now Canada and founded the town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Newfoundland and Labrador, long before the French and English in the 17th century, and being just one of many Portuguese Colonizations of the Americas. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. Ten years later, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa in
Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil the court’s arrival, Rio de Janeiro saw an immediate increase in its population. This, coupled with increases in trade and subsequent immigration, transformed the city into a major economic center in the New World. In 1815, this resulted in Brazil being declared a co-kingdom with Portugal, raising it from its former colonial status. This was an embodiment of Brazil’s growing independence from Portugal, a growth that led to the creation of a written constitution for Brazil in 1820, and intensified after the royal family’s return to Europe a year later. The relocation of the Portuguese nobility and administrative core to