Caesalpinia echinata, the brazilwood, pau-Brasil or pernambuco, a Brazilian timber tree species
The rich commerce which soon followed stimulated other nations to try to harvest and smuggle brazilwood contraband out of Brazil, and corsairs to attack loaded Portuguese ships in order to steal their cargo.
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Common names include Brazilwood, Pau-Brasil, Pau de Pernambuco, Pernambuco tree, Nicaragua wood and Ibirapitanga (Tupi).
The detainees in the Rasphuis were made to shave wood from the brazilwood tree (Caesalpinia echinata or pernambuco), rasping it into powder using an eight to twelve bladed rasp, hence the name.