Following immediately upon the discovery of “Brazil” by Cabral and the nominal possession of it by the Crown of Portugal, expeditions were sent, and in two of these the celebrated Amerigo Vespucci took part. He built a fort at Cape Frio, and was so struck by the loveliness of the surrounding country that he thought he was in the region of an earthly paradise. Voyagers on their way to the Indies began to touch upon the Brazilian coast, and it soon became explored by navigators of different nationalities. Portugal, jealous of her rights, had to protect it from the traders of France, who were beginning to have dealings with the natives upon its shores, and in 1527 a post was established for the protection of Portuguese interests. This fort or garrison at Pernambuco was the scene of one or two raids by both French and English seamen, and which hastened the Portuguese Crown to take serious steps to occupy the new territory in a more imposing manner. In 1531 Martin Affonso, with a fleet and about 300 colonists, landed at Pernambuco, and coasted down in the Bay of Rio, and to the mouth of the bay where Santos now stands. On behalf of the Crown he divided the land out into sections, running from the coast into the interior indefinitely, and these were granted to nobles of the Court, who were so unsuccessful in developing their concessions that they were allowed to revert to the Crown. The Portuguese, unlike their Spanish rivals, made no great expeditions into the hinterland of their new colony, and were slow to bring the Indians under their rule. The vastness of the country, and the ease with which the natives could withdraw from the invaders, made it necessary for the governors who were planted up and down the coast to have recourse to the importation of negro slaves from Africa to the northern provinces. Gradually the traders made journeys into the interior, generally along the rivers, to trade with natives, and villages took root; but the greater part of the population settled upon the coasts in such towns as Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio, Espirito Santo, São Paulo, etc.