Brasil, Povos Indígenas E a Doutrina Do Descobrimento, Do Direito Internacional (Brazil, Indigenous Peoples, and the International Law of Discovery)
105 Pages Posted: 23 Feb 2012
Date Written: February 21, 2012
Abstract
The English version of this paper can be found at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1768350
The Doctrine of Discovery, viewed through the lens of six hundred years of international law, has shaped Brazil’s legal history and laws ever since 1500 when Portugal claimed first discovery of the territory. A comparative law examination of the Doctrine’s long history in Portuguese and European law demonstrates that Portugal’s domination of Brazil was founded on feudal, religious, racial, and ethnocentric justifications. The adaptation of many of the Doctrine’s elements into Portuguese and Brazilian laws and policies for over five hundred years has had profound implications for Indigenous peoples. Brazil’s attempts to create a more positive and equal future for all of its citizens, just as similar efforts in all settler/colonizer societies, must begin with an enlightened recognition of this history and the Doctrine of Discovery. Only then can serious efforts to eradicate the Doctrine from Brazilian law and international law provide some resolution to deeply-rooted issues in a place of justice and healing.
Note: Downloadable document is in Portuguese.
Keywords: Indigenous Peoples, International Law, Colonization, Legal History, Comparative Law, Indian Law
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation