Equinoxial France was the contemporary name given to the colonization efforts of France in the 17th century in South America, around the line of Equator, before "tropical" had fully gained its modern meaning: Equinoctial means in Latin "of equal nights", i.e., on the Equator, where the duration of days and nights is the same year round. The history of Brazil begins with the arrival of the first Native Americans, over 8,000 years ago, into the present territory of that nation. ... The indigenous people of Brazil (povos indígenas in Portuguese) comprise a large number of distict ethnic groups who inhabited the countrys present territory prior its discovery by Europeans around 1500. ... The Age of Exploration The discovery of Brazil was preceded by a series of treaties between the kings of Spain and Portugal, the last of them is the Treaty of Tordesilhas, signed in 1494, creating the Tordesilhas Meridian, that divided the world between that two kingdoms. ... After its independence from the Portuguese on September 7, 1822, Brazil became a monarchy, the Brazilian Empire, which lasted until the establishment of the Republican government on November 15, 1889. ... The Constitutionalist Revolution From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. ... Depression, coffee oligarchs, and the Revolution of 1930 The Great Depression The tenente rebellion (See History of Brazil (1889-1930)) did not mark the revolutionary breakthrough of Brazils bourgeois social reformers. ... Second Vargas presidency Vargas returned to politics in 1950, and through the free and secret ballot he was re-elected President of the Republic. ... Military rule The military held power from 1964 until March 1985 not by design but because of political struggles within the new regime. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... In geography, the equator is an imaginary line drawn around a planet, halfway between the poles, where the surface of the roughly spherical planet is parallel to the axis of rotation. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... In astronomy, an equinox is defined as the moment when the sun reaches one of two intersections between the ecliptic and the celestial equator. ... Latin - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

The French colonial empire in the New World also included New France (Nouvelle France) in North America, particularly in what is today the province of Québec, Canada, and Antarctic France (France Antarctique, in French), in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All of these settlements were in violation of the papal bull of 1493, which divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. This division was later defined more exactly by the Treaty of Tordesillas.-1... The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. ... New France (French: la Nouvelle-France) describes the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 to the cession of New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... This article describes the Canadian province. ... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... France Antarctique was the failed French colony south of the Equator, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 1555 and 1567. ... Ipanema beach A NASA satellite image of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (meaning River of January in Portuguese) is the name of both a state and a city in southeastern Brazil. ... The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... Events January 4 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey. ... The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ... The Republic of Portugal (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a democratic republic located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, the westernmost country in continental Europe. ... The Treaty of Tordesillas (signed at Tordesillas (Castile), June 7, 1494) divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Spanish and the Portuguese along a north-south meridian 370 leagues (1770 km; 1100 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands (off the coast of Senegal in...

Antique map of South America showing the locations of Cayenne, Saint Louis and Henryville (Rio de Janeiro)

France Équinoxiale started in 1612, when a French expedition departed from Cancale, (Bretagne), France, under the command of Daniel de la Touche, Seigneur de la Ravardière. Carrying 500 colonists, it arrived in the Northern coast of what is today the state of Maranhão, in Brazil. De la Ravardière had discovered the region in 1604 but the death of the king postponed his plans to start its colonization. Download high resolution version (580x820, 211 KB)Antique Map of South America, with French Settlements File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (580x820, 211 KB)Antique Map of South America, with French Settlements File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... This article is about the French administrative région of Bretagne. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Maranhão is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region. ... The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 - Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ...

The colonists soon founded a village, which was named "Saint Louis", in honor of the French king, Louis XIII. This later became "São Luís in Portuguese, the only Brazilian state capital founded by France. It is a translation of the original name given by the French, which was strangely maintained by the Portuguese. On September 8th, Capuchin monks prayed the first mass, and the soldiers started building a fortress. An important difference in relation to France Antarctique is that this new colony was not motivated by escape from religious persecutions to Protestants (see French Wars of Religion). Louis XIII (September 27, 1601 - May 14, 1643), called the Just (French: le Juste), was King of France from 1610 to 1643. ... São Luís is the capital of the state of Maranhão, Brazil. ... Portuguese (português) is a Romance language predominantly spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and East Timor. ... For other uses, see Capuchin (disambiguation). ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between the Catholic League and the Huguenots from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598. ...

The invasion of Portuguese territory didn't last long. An army was assembled in the state of Pernambuco, under the command of Alexandre de Moura and Portugal was able to mount a military expedition, which defeated and expelled the French colonists in 1615, less than four years after their arrival in the land. Thus, it repeated the disaster spelt for the colonists of France Antarctique, in 1567. A few years later, in 1620, Portuguese and Brazilian colonists arrived in number and São Luís started to grow slowly, with an economy based mostly in sugar cane and slavery. Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Brazilian Northeast. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Species Ref: ITIS 42058 as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was the primary source of sugar. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or...

French traders and colonists tried again to settle a France Équinoxiale further North, in what is today French Guiana, in 1626, 1635 (when the capital, Cayenne, was founded) and 1643. Twice a Compagnie de la France Équinoxiale was founded, in 1643 and 1645, but both foundered as a result of incompetence, misfortune and mismanagement. It was only after 1674, when the colony became under the direct control of the French crown and a competent Governor took office, that the France Équinoxiale became a reality. To this day, the French Guiana is a department of continental France. French Guiana (French: Guyane) is an overseas département (département doutre-mer, or DOM) of France, located on the Caribbean coast of South America. ... Events September 30 - Nurhaci , chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji. ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ... This article is about the city in French Guiana. ... Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga May 14 - Four year-old France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII. May 19 - Battle of Rocroi: French victory over the Spanish at Rocroi, France. ... Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga May 14 - Four year-old France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII. May 19 - Battle of Rocroi: French victory over the Spanish at Rocroi, France. ... Events February 15 - English Civil War: New Model Army is founded officially June 14 - English Civil War: Battle of Naseby - 12,000 Royalist forces are beaten by 15,000 Parliamentarian soldiers June 28 - English Civil War - the Royalists lose Carlisle July 2: Fight at Alford, Aberdeenshire October 8: Jeanne Mance... Events February 19 - England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster. ...

See also

• History of French Guiana
• History of Brazil