page_title: Portuguese Brazilians
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese Brazilians / History
caption_attribution_description: Pedro Álvares Cabral sees the land that would later be known as Brazil for the first time.
context_page_description: Portuguese Brazilians are Brazilian citizens whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present since the onset of the colonization, Portuguese people began migrating to Brazil in larger numbers and without state support in the 18th century.
  Nowadays, the Portuguese constitute the 2nd biggest group of foreigners living in the country, with an estimated 380,000 Portuguese immigrants currently living in Brazil. According to Portuguese law, any Brazilian who has at least one Portuguese parent or grandparent is eligible to obtain Portuguese citizenship. Five million Brazilians fall under this category. Many more people are of Portuguese descent however.
caption: Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral (center-left, pointing) sights the Brazilian mainland for the first time on 22 April 1500.
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