Brazilwood

From Freepedia

Brazilwood is a common name for several trees of the family Leguminosae (Pulse family) whose wood yields a red dye called brazilein. The name is said to come from "brasa", Portuguese for "ember," owing to its red hue. The scientific name, Caesalpinia comes from the subfamily, Caesalpinioideae, which is derived from Andrea Cesalpino, an Italian botanist of the 16th century.

Portuguese explorers used this name for such a wood from a South American tree (Caesalpinia echinata), which led to the name Brazil for its land of origin. This Caesalpinia echinata is also known as "Pau-Brasil" or "Pau-de-Pernambuco". (Pernambuco is the name of a small state in Northeast Brazil, "pau" meaning "wood"). The orange-red wood, which takes a high shine, is also used for making violin bows, and is the premier wood for that purpose.

Historical importance

In the 15th and 16th centuries, brazilwood was highly valued in Europe and quite difficult to get. Coming from Asia, it was used mainly to extract its red dye in powder form, which was used in the manufacture of luxury textiles, such as velvet, in high demand during the Renaissance, When Portuguese navigators discovered present-day Brazil, in April 22nd 1500, they immediately saw that brazilwood was extremely abundant in the Brazilian coast and hinterland, along the rivers. In a few years, a hectic and very profitable operation for felling and transporting by shipping all the brazilwood logs they could get was established, as a crown-granted Portuguese monopoly. The rich commerce which soon followed stimulated other nations to try to harvest and smuggle brazilwood contraband out of Brazil, or even corsairs attacking loaded Portuguese ships in order to steal their cargo. For example, the unsuccessful attempt of a French expedition led by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, vice-admiral of Brittany and corsair under the King, in 1555, to establish a colony in present-day Rio de Janeiro (France Antarctique) was motivated in part by the bounty generated by economic exploitation of brazilwood.

Excessive exploitation (it has been estimated that in the last two centuries, more than 50 million trees were destroyed) finally led to a steep decrease in the number of brazilwood trees in the 18th century, causing the collapse of this economic activity. Presently, brazilwood is practically extinct in most parts of the country. The trade of brazilwood is therefore likely to be banned in the immediate future, creating a major problem in the bow-making industry which mainly relies on this wood. The International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative, is working hard to prevent it from landing in the listing of endangered species. Its members are the bowmakers who rely on pernambuco for their livlihoods. It is pioneering the use of alternative woods as it raises money to plant pernambuco seedlings.