Why was Brazil named Brazil?

The official name of the country is the Federal Republic of Brazil.

Originally, after the discovery of this South American country in 1500 by the Portuguese Navigator Pedro Cabral, it was called Terra da Vera Cruz, which means the Land of the True cross.

A little later, the first Portuguese settlers discovered a tree in the coastal rainforests that resembled the famous “fire tree” (in Portuguese, pau-brasil), which was brought to Europe by Arab merchants. A very expensive red paint was made from the wood of the” Brazil tree”.

Later it turned out that the Arabs used another tree growing in Asia. Nevertheless, the paint “Brazil” in huge quantities poured from the newly discovered country to Europe, and soon the whole country was called Brazil.

There is another version of the origin of the country’s name, which is less common. In Irish myths, the mysterious island of high Brazil, or O’brasil, is mentioned somewhere in the vastness of the Atlantic ocean. Supporters of this version claim that the ancient Celts sailed to Brazil long before Columbus discovered America, but there is no information about such trips.