Caeté people

This tribe was estimated to contain approximately 300–2,000 people in the early 1500s, but their population eventually diminished greatly due to European diseases and slavery once the Portuguese began to settle in Brazil.

[1] The Caeté had a reputation for being particularly violent in their battles, but they were also skilled in agriculture as they grew a variety of crops such as corn, peanuts, tobacco, squash, cotton, and much more.

With the arrival of the Portuguese, who allied with their enemies, the Tupinambás, the Caetés migrated inland, and some settlements survived in the state of Pará, in Northern Brazil.

Prior to 1570, Manuel da Nóbrega, who disagreed with the way the Caeté people were being treated, made an effort to pass such a law.

As a prominent Jesuit priest, Nóbrega had a great influence throughout the history of Brazil, and one of his goals was to achieve peace between the natives and the colonists.

During this process, one of Nóbrega's biggest opponents was the first bishop of Brazil (Pero Fernandes Sardinha), who happened to promote the idea of the "native-hunt".

Cannibalism amongst the Caeté and other various Tupi tribes in the region decreased greatly upon the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 1500s; however, this ritual was not completely absent in the culture.

Both prior to and after this poem was written, standard Indianist literature selected heroes from peaceable Indian tribes who favored the Portuguese.

The Portuguese forced their influence upon the assimilated Caeté people, which led to the disappearance of the natives' traditions, rituals, language, and culture.