SESMARIAS E APOSSAMENTO DE TERRAS NO BRASIL COLÔNIA

Abstract

This article analyses the evolution of Portuguese colonial land legislation. The crown offered large grants of land called sesmarias to encourage brazilian settlement. During de colonial period, the sesmaria was the only legal method of gaining land ownership andTitle. Small farmers took unclaimed land for their use by squatting, a custom known as posse. Sesmarias are an example of transplanting institutions. The origins of sesmarias date back to 1375. Nearby independence the practice of awarding land by sesmarias ended but no other legal method of getting land was enacted.