Brazil was first colonized by the Portuguese in 1500. Thanks to the Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal claimed the Atlantic coasts of the South American continent and subsequently colonized the south and interior through the Amazon rainforest. Originally, the Portuguese benefited from the extraction of Brazilian wood and its red dye. During the colonization process, the Portuguese initially relied on the labor of indigenous populations. The Jesuit missions largely converted the natives to the Catholic faith. However, due to the effects of European diseases, African slaves began to become the main source of labor. Ultimately, the economy was dominated by the export of sugar from the 16th to the 19th centuries. When Napoleon invaded Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars, the Portuguese monarchy moved to Brazil and raised the colony's status to a kingdom. In 1822, Brazil declared its independence under Pedro I and fought a brief war with Portugal. The Empire of Brazil soon achieved political stability and largely avoided the civil wars that plagued the rest of the continent. Economically, the export of coffee, sugar, cocoa and rubber allowed Brazil to modernize with the construction of railways, wastewater treatment and telephone services. Education was focused on preparing the elite for government positions, and the literacy rate was a dismal 23% for males (even less for females). In foreign policy, Brazil became one of the continent's strongest nations through expansion and successfully fought the Triple Alliance War against Paraguay in the 1860s. Massive European immigration from Italy, Germany, and Spain would also be the norm throughout the century. The proportion of slaves also decreased over time and constituted a fa... middle of paper... poor access to cheap, easily available food. At the same time, Brazil's economy was growing very strongly and was grouped with Russia, China and India as one of the BRIC economies. President Lula also began to take a more neutral role in world affairs: while maintaining close relations with the United States and the Western world, he also made deals with the staunchly anti-American Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran. Unlike President Collor, Lula survived the corruption scandal that hit his Workers' Party in 2005. His great popularity allowed President Dilma Rouseff to win the elections in 2010. Despite his success in fighting corruption in previous regime, faced opposition from massive spending on the World Cup and a slowdown in the Brazilian economy. This led to mass protests and reduced his previous popularity.