Glossary · Term

Brazilwood

Brazilwood is a tropical tree whose dense red heartwood was valued in early modern Europe as the source of a red dye for textiles. It was the first major export of Portuguese Brazil, and the colony was named after it. The brazilwood trade was a royal monopoly in the early economy of the Portuguese Empire before sugar became dominant.

Brazilwood
Image: Mauroguanandi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Brazilwood. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/brazilwood
MLA
“Brazilwood.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/brazilwood. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Brazilwood.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/brazilwood.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Brazilwood’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/brazilwood (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻