where does portuguese originate?
Portugal
neutral
 With the notable exception of Brazil , a short scale country , most Portuguese @-@ language countries and regions use the long scale , for example : 

contradiction
 Differences in songs , genetics and morphology suggests that the Azores were colonised in a single invasion in the late Pleistocene , about 100 @,@ 000 years ago . It is likely that the initial colonisation was of the easternmost islands , with a subsequent spread to the central and western island groups from the western caldera of São Miguel , where both eastern and western song types are found . 

entailment
 After the decentralization of political power in late antiquity , Latin developed locally into branches that became the Romance languages , such as Spanish , Portuguese , French , Italian and Romanian , and a large number of minor languages and dialects . Today , more than 900 million people are native speakers worldwide . 

entailment
 Prior to 1808 , the Portuguese were the only European people to settle Brazil in significant numbers . Although British , Germans , Italians and Spanish had previously immigrated to Brazil , they had only done so as a small number of individuals or in very small groups . These earliest non @-@ Portuguese settlers did not have a significant impact on the culture of Portugal 's Brazilian colony . The situation changed after 1808 when King João VI began to encourage immigration from European countries outside Portugal . 

entailment
 In 1808 , the Portuguese Royal Family arrived in Brazil , settling in Rio de Janeiro . The Hispanic @-@ American colonies became easy prey , as they were engulfed in turmoil and beset by wars of independence against Spain . In 1811 Prince Regent Dom João ( later King Dom João VI ) ordered the invasion of the Banda Oriental ( Eastern Bank ) , which bordered Rio Grande do Sul . João 's attempt at conquering the entire region met with failure . He launched another invasion a few years later , in 1816 , who counted among their ranks Marques de Sousa 's father and paternal grandfather . In 1817 , around age 13 , he asked his grandfather to allow him to fight in the war . The elder Marques de Sousa agreed , and the youngster learned guerrilla hit @-@ and @-@ run tactics on horseback near the border town of Jaguarão . 
