French invasions of Brazil

French invasions in Brazil date back to the earliest days of Portuguese colonization up until the end of the 19th century.

The attacks, initially as part of Francis I of France's challenge to the Treaty of Tordesillas, encouraged the practice of looting for the barter of brazilwood and supported the attempts to colonize the coast of Rio de Janeiro in 1555 and the coast of Maranhão in 1594. Until the middle of the end of the 16th century, the position of the French on the northern coast (which guaranteed them the opportunity to conquer the largest known hydrographic basin) and in the far east of the continent was very stable. Allied with the natives, they were about to attack Olinda, the Portuguese's main export town. The weakening of the French began when Portugal entered the Iberian Union and decisively defeated the Bretons and Normans in the vicinity of the Potiguara area.