Portugal's only colony in the New World, Brazil, was:

A. useless and still is

B. mainly agricultural until the Paulistas discovered gold and diamonds

C. was useless to the mercantilistic Portuguese government

D. both the second and third choices above

Answer is C. portugal's empire was extensive, and the country thrived on:

- The Portuguese Empire was the first and longest Global Empire in History.

It spawned the Age of Discoveries, and with it, the laid foundations to Global Mercantilism.

2. Portugal's only colony, Brazil, was:

- Portugal did not have 'only' one colony, Brazil.

Portugal administrated territory in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

It's first acquired colony was Madeira and it's last handover was Macau.

3. The three main reasons for Portugal's decline as a world power were:

- Portugal's decline as a world power, was a due to the Portuguese colonies becoming the subject attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain and envious of Iberian successes overseas, under the Iberian Union: the Dutch Republic, England and France.

With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to effectively defend its overstretched network of trading posts, and colonies. Thus, the empire began a long and gradual decline.

4. The role of the Catholic Church in Latin America was to:

- The role of Catholicism in Latin America was to spread Christianity to the Natives, modern day Brazilians, etc.

When the Portuguese arrived in the Brazilian lands, they did not find at first anything that would be very useful for their mercantilism. Thus, Brazil had an importance only in agriculture for the Portuguese until the Mineiros found gold and not the Paulistas. Thus, the correct answer is the letter C