The Conquest

À MURALHA (The Wall) first aired in Brazil to commemorate the country's 500-year anniversary. Based on a novel by Dinah Silveira de Queiroz, it is about Portugal's colonization of Brazil in the 18th century.

Stories of different characters include: A young Indian girl who is captured and enslaved, a Portuguese family living in Brazil, a young Portuguese girl who makes the rough journey to Brazil to marry the son of a Portuguese family, and a young Jewish girl running away from religious persecution but is forced to marry a fanatic to save her imprisoned father.

During the making of this telenovela, the director used real Indians (also known as Mestizos) as extras in order to make the scenes realistic. In addition to the topic about how the colonials adjusted to life in Brazil, the telenovela focuses on the injustices and treatment of the Mestizos, women, and Jews. It's a gripping story.

If you are interested in Brazil's history and have a strong stomach for certain graphic scenes (there's a lot of violence and abuse), this is a good novela to watch.