Legal status of homosexuality in Brazil

During the Portuguese colonization of Brazil, homosexuality was illegal in the country between 1533 and 1830, due to the imposition of the Portuguese Penal Code, which was influenced by the British Buggery Act 1533. In 1830, eight years after the end of the Portuguese domain, sodomy laws were eliminated from the new Penal Code of Brazil. After the French overseas territories located in the Americas, Brazil was the first country in the New World and Southern Hemisphere to legalize homosexuality. Today in South America only Guyana, a former British colony, considers homosexuality illegal.

Legal status of homosexuality in Brazil

During the Portuguese colonization of Brazil, homosexuality was illegal in the country between 1533 and 1830, due to the imposition of the Portuguese Penal Code, which was influenced by the British Buggery Act 1533. In 1830, eight years after the end of the Portuguese domain, sodomy laws were eliminated from the new Penal Code of Brazil. After the French overseas territories located in the Americas, Brazil was the first country in the New World and Southern Hemisphere to legalize homosexuality. Today in South America only Guyana, a former British colony, considers homosexuality illegal.