[freebeard]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I just don't know why Portuguese sounds so much like Spanish, and Brazil speaks that rather than all of their surrounding neighbors.

It's called Popery

popery
pō′pə-rē
noun

---The doctrines, practices, and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.
---The doctrines, customs, ceremonies, and polity associated with the office and person of the Pope, or with the Roman Catholic Church, of which he is the supreme head; papacy: used in opprobrium.
---The religion of the Roman Catholic Church, comprehending doctrines and practices; -- generally used in an opprobrious sense.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

Specifically, the Treaty of Tordesillas

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Treaty_of_Tordesillas
Treaty of Tordesillas - Wikipedia
The Treaty of Tordesillas, [note 1] signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire ( Crown of Castile ), along a meridian 370 leagues [note 2] west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.

But Man proposes and God disposes. The resulting line is anything but straight.