American Portuguese American Portuguese Portuguese is the largest language of South America. It is the sole official language of Brazil and is a co-official language of several regional organizations, notably Mercosul, UNASUL, ACTO, CELAC, the Rio Group, and ALADI. The main varieties of Portuguese spoken in South America are Brazilian Portuguese (spoken by the vast majority), Uruguayan Portuguese and a mixed variety known as Portunhol. Brazil is the largest country in which Portuguese is spoken in all of the Americas, with a population of approximately 200 million people, almost all of whom are native speakers of Portuguese. The size of this population
Spanish missions in the Americas that might be available, explorers fostered relationships with the native people. This led to the colonization of the Americas. The Catholic Church was an essential part of both the Spanish and Portuguese Empires so as the empires spread to new lands, it was the duty of the King to be sure Christianity was spread into the New World. Often these empires used missions to teach indigenous people about Christian values that were practised in Europe at this time. These values did not only include religious teachings but cultural aspects of life such as dress and behavior. Missions were formed in