Jesuit teaching in Brazil during the colonial period is analyzed. It may even be proved that the schooling structure established by the Jesuit fathers was extremely adequate for that specific historical period. Four aspects may be taken into account: the aims of the Portuguese Project for Brazil; the Jesuit Educational Project; the Brazilian social structure at that time; and the human model needed for the colonial period. The Jesuits' Educational Project and the Portuguese colonizers that came to the colony in search of wealth have an important role in the formation of the social, administrative and productive structure of a society in constant evolution. Since the educational phenomenon cannot be analyzed regardless of the social reality of a specific historical moment, the Jesuit's project has to be seen when the social and productive development during the colonial period is taken into account. The Jesuits' educational model that aimed at producing a human standard based on Scholastic principles was coherent with the needs and the expectations of an evolutionary society during the first phase of Brazilian colonial history.
jesuits; jesuit teaching; colony