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127-530: In Brazil , although mentioned in the Federal Constitution, currently there are no federal territories. Brazil had three territories until the adoption of the 1988 Constitution : Fernando de Noronha (today a state district of Pernambuco ), Amapá , and Roraima , now fully recognised states. From 1943 to 1982, Rondônia was also a federal territory (until 1956 under the name of Território do Guaporé ). The Northwest Territories used to include

254-736: A colony . In 1815, to justify continuing to live in Brazil, where the royal court had thrived for six years, the Crown established the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves , thus creating a pluricontinental transatlantic monarchic state. However, the leadership in Portugal, resentful of the new status of its larger colony, continued to demand the return of the court to Lisbon (see Liberal Revolution of 1820 ). In 1821, acceding to

381-539: A vast tropical forest home to diverse wildlife , a variety of ecological systems , and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats . This unique environmental heritage positions Brazil at number one of 17 megadiverse countries . The country's natural richness is also the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through processes such as deforestation ) has direct impacts on global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss . The territory of present-day Brazil

508-601: A capital district, and describes the German national territory as being composed solely of states . In the United States , many of the states were territories or parts of territories before reaching statehood, e.g. Louisiana Territory , Mississippi Territory , Oregon Territory , Alaska Territory and Hawaii Territory . Before reaching statehood, these territories of the United States were formally usually of

635-872: A charismatic figure who could represent a moderate face of power, during this period a series of localized rebellions took place, such as the Cabanagem in Grão-Pará , the Malê Revolt in Salvador, the Balaiada ( Maranhão ), the Sabinada ( Bahia ), and the Ragamuffin War , which began in Rio Grande do Sul and was supported by Giuseppe Garibaldi . These emerged from the provinces' dissatisfaction with

762-483: A colony. The Brazilians refused to yield, and Prince Pedro decided to stand with them, declaring the country's independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822. A month later, Prince Pedro was declared the first Emperor of Brazil , with the royal title of Dom Pedro I , resulting in the founding of the Empire of Brazil . The Brazilian War of Independence , which had already begun along this process, spread through

889-473: A concession granted by another nation or group which conceivably could retain certain rights to it. "Incorporated" territories are a part of the United States, though not of any particular constituent state, and as are not readily saleable or cessionable to other powers in the way that "unincorporated" territories are. Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil ,

1016-837: A dense and complex system of rivers, one of the world's most extensive, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic. Major rivers include the Amazon (the world's second-longest river and the largest in terms of volume of water), the Paraná and its major tributary the Iguaçu (which includes the Iguazu Falls ), the Negro , São Francisco , Xingu , Madeira and Tapajós rivers. The wildlife of Brazil comprises all naturally occurring animals , plants , and fungi in

1143-698: A fleet to reach Peru by sea, and sought the military support of various rebels from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1822 the two men met at the Guayaquil Conference in Ecuador, where they failed to agree on governance strategies for the liberated nations. Two years later Bolívar's forces beat the Spanish at the Battle of Ayacucho , securing the independence of Peru and the rest of South America. In

1270-504: A full dictatorship with the promulgation of the Fifth Institutional Act in 1968. Oppression was not limited to those who resorted to guerrilla tactics to fight the regime, but also reached institutional opponents, artists, journalists and other members of civil society, inside and outside the country through the infamous " Operation Condor ". Like other brutal authoritarian regimes , due to an economic boom, known as

1397-427: A higher altitude. In the interior northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme. South of Bahia, near the coasts, and more southerly most of the state of São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes, with rain falling throughout the year. The south enjoys subtropical conditions, with cool winters and average annual temperatures not exceeding 18 °C (64.4 °F); winter frosts and snowfall are not rare in

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1524-438: A kind which can be described as " organized incorporated territories ", meaning that the government of the jurisdiction was formally organized in such a way as to comply with recognized federal standards for self-government, and that the jurisdiction was "organic" to the United States, that is, an irrevocably inseverable part of it rather than a protectorate , an area leased from and still pertaining formally to another nation, or

1651-459: A long history of colonialism , the overwhelming majority of South Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese , and societies and states are rich in Western traditions . Relative to Africa, Asia, and Europe, post-1900 South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars, although high rates of violent crime remain a concern in some countries. South America occupies the southern portion of

1778-532: A majority of what is now Canada, and was divided into districts for ease of administration from 1882 until 1999. One such district, Keewatin , was its own federal territory from 1876 until 1905. The German Empire was a federation of monarchies and a few city-states . However, after the Franco-Prussian War , the newly created country annexed large parts of Alsace and Lorraine , two mostly German-speaking French territories which used to belong to

1905-430: A military coup d'état . An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution , formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic . Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Brazil is a regional and middle power that

2032-523: A military one , did civilians take power, remaining there until October 1930. In relation to its foreign policy, the country in this first republican period maintained a relative balance characterized by a success in resolving border disputes with neighboring countries, only broken by the Acre War (1899–1902) and its involvement in World War I (1914–1918), followed by a failed attempt to exert

2159-420: A number of oceanic archipelagos , such as Fernando de Noronha , Rocas Atoll , Saint Peter and Paul Rocks , and Trindade and Martim Vaz . Its size, relief, climate, and natural resources make Brazil geographically diverse. Including its Atlantic islands, Brazil lies between latitudes 6°N and 34°S , and longitudes 28° and 74°W . Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, and third largest in

2286-682: A part of Oceania, also administered by Chile), the Galápagos Islands (administered by Ecuador , sometimes considered part of Oceania), and Tierra del Fuego (split between Argentina and Chile). In the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil administers Fernando de Noronha , Trindade and Martim Vaz , and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago , while the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas ) and South Georgia and

2413-410: A political crisis, after having returned to power by election in 1950. Several brief interim governments followed Vargas's suicide. Juscelino Kubitschek became president in 1956 and assumed a conciliatory posture towards the political opposition that allowed him to govern without major crises. The economy and industrial sector grew remarkably, but his greatest achievement was the construction of

2540-530: A prominent role in the League of Nations ; Internally, from the crisis of Encilhamento and the Navy Revolts , a prolonged cycle of financial, political and social instability began until the 1920s, keeping the country besieged by various rebellions, both civilian and military. Little by little, a cycle of general instability sparked by these crises undermined the regime to such an extent that in

2667-481: A site called Chavín de Huantar in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters (10,423 ft). Chavín civilization spanned 900 BC to 300 BC. In the central coast of Peru, around the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, Moche (100 BC – 700 AD, at the northern coast of Peru), Paracas and Nazca (400 BC – 800 AD, Peru) cultures flourished with centralized states with permanent militia improving agriculture through irrigation and new styles of ceramic art. At

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2794-689: A subtropical climate of the dinaric type. At the highest points of the Andean region, climates are colder than the ones occurring at the highest point of the Norwegian fjords. In the Andean plateaus, the warm climate prevails, although it is tempered by the altitude, while in the coastal strip, there is an equatorial climate of the Guinean type. From this point until the north of the Chilean coast appear, successively, Mediterranean oceanic climate , temperate of

2921-494: Is among the world's most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world . Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). Covering roughly half of South America's land area, it borders all other countries and territories on the continent except Ecuador and Chile . Brazil's Amazon basin includes

3048-613: Is an emerging power and a major non-NATO ally of the United States . Categorized as a developing country , Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy , having the one of the-largest GDP in the world in both nominal and PPP terms—the largest in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere . Classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank , and a newly industrialized country by

3175-526: Is because the most extensive part of the continent is in the equatorial zone (the region has more areas of equatorial plains than any other region), therefore giving the Southern Cone more oceanic influence, which moderates year round temperatures. The average annual temperatures in the Amazon basin oscillate around 27 °C (81 °F), with low thermal amplitudes and high rainfall indices. Between

3302-460: Is by far the most populous South American country, with almost half of the continent's population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru. In recent decades, Brazil has also generated half of the continent's GDP and has become the continent's first regional power. Most of the population lives near the continent's western or eastern coasts while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. The geography of western South America

3429-553: Is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon , Orinoco and Paraná flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of the Southern Cone located in the middle latitudes . The continent's cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin with the interaction of Indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, more locally, with African slaves . Given

3556-434: Is no real dry season , but there are some variations in the period of the year when most rain falls. Temperatures average 25 °C (77 °F), with more significant temperature variation between night and day than between seasons. Over central Brazil, rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate. This region is as extensive as the Amazon basin but has a very different climate as it lies farther south at

3683-614: Is now Colombia. They established the Muisca Confederation of many clans, or cacicazgos , that had a free trade network among themselves. Many were goldsmiths and farmers. Other important Pre-Columbian cultures include: the Cañaris (in south central Ecuador), Chimú Empire (1300–1470, Peruvian northern coast), Chachapoyas , and the Aymaran kingdoms (1000–1450, Western Bolivia and southern Peru). Holding their capital at

3810-480: Is one of the most biodiverse continents on Earth. It is home to many unique species of animals including the llama , anaconda , piranha , jaguar , vicuña , and tapir , and to one of the largest known insects in the world, the Titan beetle . The Amazon rainforests possess high biodiversity , with Brazil estimated to contain 10% of Earth's species . 83% of South America's large mammals ( megafauna ) became extinct at

3937-587: Is the largest and easternmost country in South America and Latin America . It is the world's fifth-largest country by area and one of the most populated countries . Its capital is Brasília , and its most populous city is São Paulo . Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District . It is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language . Brazil

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4064-582: Is the largest country in South America, covering a little less than half of the continent's land area and encompassing around half of the continent's population. The remaining countries and territories are divided among four subregions : the Andean states , Caribbean South America , The Guianas , and the Southern Cone . Physiographically, South America also includes some of the nearby islands. The Dutch ABC islands ( Aruba , Bonaire , and Curaçao ),

4191-519: The Altiplano , Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku (100 BC – 1200 AD, Bolivia) managed a large commercial network based on religion. Around the 7th century, both Tiahuanaco and Wari or Huari Empire (600–1200, Central and northern Peru) expanded its influence to all the Andean region, imposing the Huari urbanism and Tiahuanaco religious iconography. The Muisca were the main indigenous civilization in what

4318-586: The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina ( San Andrés Island , Providencia Island , and Santa Catalina Island etc., which are administered by Colombia ) are politically parts of South American countries but physiographically parts of North America. Other islands often associated with geopolitical South America are the Chiloé Archipelago and Robinson Crusoe Island (both administered by Chile), Easter Island (culturally

4445-820: The Atacama Desert ; the wettest place on earth, López de Micay in Colombia; the largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest ; the highest capital city, La Paz , Bolivia ; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca ; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica , the world's southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro , Chile. South America's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin , and petroleum. These resources have brought high income to its countries, especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However,

4572-717: The Bering Land Bridge (now the Bering Strait ) at least 15,000 years ago from the territory that is present-day Russia. They migrated south through North America, and eventually reached South America through the Isthmus of Panama . Amongst the oldest evidence for human presence in South America is the Monte Verde II site in Chile, suggested to date to around 14,500 years ago. From around 13,000 years ago,

4699-634: The Caribbean colonies and Brazil, as European nations built up economically slave-dependent colonies in the New World . Nearly 40% of all African slaves trafficked to the Americas went to Brazil. An estimated 4.9 million slaves from Africa came to Brazil during the period from 1501 to 1866. In contrast to other European colonies in the Americas which mainly used the labor of African slaves, Spanish colonists mainly enslaved indigenous Americans. In 1750,

4826-1030: The Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ; and one internal territory : French Guiana . The ABC islands of the Dutch Caribbean (north of Venezuela in the Leeward Antilles ), Ascension Island (a part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ), Bouvet Island (a dependency of Norway ), Panama , and the Caribbean island country of Trinidad and Tobago may also be considered parts of South America. South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi). Its population as of 2021 has been estimated at more than 434 million. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America). Brazil

4953-470: The Fishtail projectile point style became widespread across South America, with its disappearance around 11,000 years ago coincident with the disappearance of South America's megafauna. Maize was present in northern South America by around 6,000 years ago. By 2000 BC, many agrarian communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along

5080-472: The Fortaleza area, contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt , one of the oldest-known civilizations in the Americas and one of the six sites where civilization separately originated in the ancient world. Caral–Supe governing class established a trade network and developed agriculture then followed by Chavín by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archaeological finds. Artifacts were found at

5207-691: The G20 , BRICS , G4 , Mercosul , Organization of American States , Organization of Ibero-American States , and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries , and also an observer state of the Arab League . The word Brazil probably comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood , a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil , with

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5334-553: The Holy Roman Empire . A large part of the local population was opposed to the transfer, meaning that granting statehood to the recently acquired territory would establish a state with a possible desire for secession which also was not used to German politics and German law. Incorporating the territory into Prussia , as happened to Schleswig-Holstein and other states during the German Unification Wars,

5461-522: The IMF , Brazil has the largest share of wealth and the most complex economy in South America. It is also one of the world's major breadbaskets , being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. Despite its growing economic and global profile, the country continues to face high levels of corruption , crime and social inequality . Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations ,

5588-820: The Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar . In the north, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco River system, in Venezuela, to the north. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 2,994 meters (9,823 ft), and the lowest is the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil has

5715-658: The Maracaibo Lake and the mouth of the Orinoco, predominates an equatorial climate of the type Congolese, that also includes parts of the Brazilian territory. The east-central Brazilian plateau has a humid and warm tropical climate. The northern and eastern parts of the Argentine pampas have a humid subtropical climate with dry winters and humid summers of the Chinese type, while the western and eastern ranges have

5842-491: The Northern Hemisphere . It can also be described as the southern subregion of the Americas . South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean ; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent includes twelve sovereign states : Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Paraguay , Peru , Suriname , Uruguay , and Venezuela ; two dependent territories :

5969-472: The Orinoco Llanos and in the Guianas Plateau , the precipitation levels go from moderate to high. The Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador are rainy regions, with Chocó in Colombia being the rainiest place in the world along with the northern slopes of Indian Himalayas. The Atacama Desert, along this stretch of coast, is one of the driest regions in the world. The central and southern parts of Chile are subject to extratropical cyclones , and most of

6096-415: The Petrobras corruption scandal . President Temer himself was also accused of corruption . According to a 2018 poll, 62% of the population said that corruption was Brazil's biggest problem. In the fiercely disputed 2018 elections , the controversial conservative candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) was elected president, winning in the second round against Fernando Haddad , of

6223-481: The Portuguese Crown abolished the enslavement of indigenous peoples in colonial Brazil , under the belief that they were unfit for labor and less effective than enslaved Africans. Enslaved Africans were brought to the Americas on slave ships , under inhuman conditions and ill-treatment, and those who survived were sold in slave markets . After independence, all South American countries maintained slavery for some time. The first South American country to abolish slavery

6350-427: The Portuguese Kingdom of Brazil , Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese King Dom João VI , proclaimed the independent Kingdom of Brazil in 1822, which later became the Empire of Brazil . Despite the Portuguese loyalties of garrisons in Bahia , Cisplatina and Pará , independence was diplomatically accepted by Portugal in 1825, on condition of a high compensation paid by Brazil mediated by

6477-502: The Quilombo of Palmares , and to repress all movements for autonomy or independence , such as the Minas Gerais Conspiracy . In late 1807, Spanish and Napoleonic forces threatened the security of continental Portugal , causing Prince Regent John , in the name of Queen Maria I , to move the royal court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro . There they established some of Brazil's first financial institutions, such as its local stock exchanges and its National Bank , additionally ending

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6604-428: The South American country. Home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest , which accounts for approximately one-tenth of all species in the world, Brazil is considered to have the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet, containing over 70% of all animal and plant species catalogued. Brazil has the most known species of plants (55,000), freshwater fish (3,000) and mammals (over 689). It also ranks third on

6731-424: The South American Plate . South America is home to several superlatives, including the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall , Angel Falls in Venezuela; the highest single-drop waterfall Kaieteur Falls in Guyana; the largest river by volume, the Amazon River ; the longest mountain range, the Andes (whose highest mountain is Aconcagua at 6,962 m or 22,841 ft); the driest non-polar place on earth,

6858-411: The Spanish American wars of independence between the patriots, who promoted such autonomy, and the royalists , who supported Spanish authority over the Americas. The Juntas, in both Spain and the Americas, promoted the ideas of the Enlightenment . Five years after the beginning of the war, Ferdinand VII returned to the throne and began the Absolutist Restoration , as the royalists got the upper hand in

6985-475: The Tupis , Guaranis , Gês , and Arawaks ). The Tupi people were subdivided into the Tupiniquins and Tupinambás . Before the arrival of the Europeans, the boundaries between these groups and their subgroups were marked by wars that arose from differences in culture, language and moral beliefs. These wars also involved large-scale military actions on land and water, with cannibalistic rituals on prisoners of war . While heredity had some weight, leadership

7112-416: The Workers Party (PT), with the support of 55.13% of the valid votes. In the early 2020s, Brazil became one of the hardest hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic , receiving the second-highest death toll worldwide after the United States. In May 2021, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that he would run for a third term in the 2022 Brazilian general election against Bolsonaro. In October 2022, Lula

7239-712: The native populations had no immune resistance – caused large-scale depopulation of the native population under Spanish control. Systems of forced labor, such as the haciendas and mining industry's mit'a also contributed to the depopulation. After this, enslaved Africans , who had developed immunities to these diseases, were quickly brought in to replace them. The Spaniards were committed to converting their native subjects to Christianity and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end; however, many initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with their established beliefs and practices. Furthermore,

7366-453: The " economic miracle ", the regime reached a peak in popularity in the early 1970s. Slowly, however, the wear and tear of years of dictatorial power had not slowed the repression, even after the defeat of the leftist guerrillas. The inability to deal with the economic crises of the period and popular pressure made an opening policy inevitable, which from the regime side was led by Generals Ernesto Geisel and Golbery do Couto e Silva . With

7493-437: The "Land of Brazil" ( Terra do Brasil ) because of the brazilwood trade. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name. Some early sailors called it the "Land of Parrots". In the Guaraní language , an official language of Paraguay , Brazil is called "Pindorama", meaning 'land of the palm trees'. Some of the earliest human remains found in the Americas , Luzia Woman , were found in

7620-444: The 16th century, massive amounts of brazilwood were harvested by indigenous peoples (mostly Tupi ) along the Brazilian coast, who sold the timber to European traders (mostly Portuguese, but also French) in return for assorted European consumer goods. The official Portuguese name of the land, in original Portuguese records, was the "Land of the Holy Cross" ( Terra da Santa Cruz ), but European sailors and merchants commonly called it

7747-447: The 1930s, three attempts to remove Vargas and his supporters from power failed. The first was the Constitutionalist Revolution in 1932, led by São Paulo's oligarchy . The second was a Communist uprising in November 1935, and the last one a putsch attempt by local fascists in May 1938. The 1935 uprising created a security crisis in which Congress transferred more power to the executive branch. The 1937 coup d'état resulted in

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7874-422: The Algarves . Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil , a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system . The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress . Slavery was abolished in 1888. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following

8001-490: The Amazon delta from AD 400 to 1400, developing sophisticated pottery, social stratification , large populations, mound building , and complex social formations such as chiefdoms . Around the time of the Portuguese arrival, the territory of current day Brazil had an estimated indigenous population of 7 million people, mostly semi-nomadic, who subsisted on hunting, fishing, gathering, and migrant agriculture. The population comprised several large indigenous ethnic groups (e.g.,

8128-434: The Americas, with a total area of 8,515,767.049 km (3,287,956 sq mi), including 55,455 km (21,411 sq mi) of water. North to South, Brazil is also the longest country in the world, spanning 4,395 km (2,731 mi) from north to south, and the only country in the world that has the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn running through it. It spans four time zones ; from UTC−5 comprising

8255-462: The Americas. The continent is generally delimited on the northwest by the Darién watershed along the Colombia–Panama border , although some may consider the border instead to be the Panama Canal . Geopolitically and geographically, all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is typically included in North America alone and among the countries of Central America . Almost all of mainland South America sits on

8382-446: The Argentine Patagonia is desert . In the Pampas of Argentina, Uruguay and South of Brazil the rainfall is moderate, with rains well distributed during the year. The moderately dry conditions of the Chaco oppose the intense rainfall of the eastern region of Paraguay. In the semiarid coast of the Brazilian Northeast the rains are linked to a monsoon regime. Important factors in the determination of climates are sea currents, such as

8509-443: The Brazilian economy. Cardoso won the 1994 election , and again in 1998 . The peaceful transition of power from Cardoso to his main opposition leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ( elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 ), was seen as proof that Brazil had achieved a long-sought political stability. However, sparked by indignation and frustrations accumulated over decades from corruption, police brutality , inefficiencies of

8636-479: The Breton type and, already in Tierra del Fuego , cold climate of the Siberian type. The distribution of rainfall is related to the regime of winds and air masses. In most of the tropical region east of the Andes, winds blowing from the northeast, east and southeast carry moisture from the Atlantic, causing abundant rainfall. However, due to a consistently strong wind shear and a weak Intertropical Convergence Zone , South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare. In

8763-475: The Portuguese had to fight, notably the French in Rio during the 1560s , in Maranhão during the 1610s , and the Dutch in Bahia and Pernambuco , during the Dutch–Portuguese War , after the end of Iberian Union . The Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil had two objectives that would ensure colonial order and the monopoly of Portugal's wealthiest and largest colony: to keep under control and eradicate all forms of slave rebellion and resistance, such as

8890-415: The Portuguese monopoly on Brazilian trade and opening Brazil's ports to other nations. In 1809, in retaliation for being forced into exile, the Prince Regent ordered the conquest of French Guiana . With the end of the Peninsular War in 1814, the courts of Europe demanded that Queen Maria I and Prince Regent John return to Portugal, deeming it unfit for the head of an ancient European monarchy to reside in

9017-447: The South Sandwich Islands ( biogeographically and hydrologically associated with Antarctica) have been administered as two British Overseas Territories under the Crown , whose sovereignty over the islands is disputed by Argentina . An isolated volcanic island on the South American Plate , Ascension Island is geologically a part of South America. Administered as a dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ,

9144-1014: The Spaniards brought their language to the degree they did with their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church 's evangelization in Quechua , Aymara , and Guaraní actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form. Eventually, the natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a mestizo class. At the beginning, many mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of Amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. After independence, most mestizos had native fathers and European or mestizo mothers. Many native artworks were considered pagan idols and destroyed by Spanish explorers; this included many gold and silver sculptures and other artifacts found in South America, which were melted down before their transport to Spain or Portugal. Spaniards and Portuguese brought

9271-534: The Spanish and Portuguese colonies. First, Napoleon invaded Portugal, but the House of Braganza avoided capture by escaping to Brazil . Napoleon captured King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and appointed his own brother instead. This appointment provoked popular resistance, which created Juntas to rule in the name of the captured king. Many cities in the Spanish colonies, however, considered themselves equally authorized to appoint local Juntas like those of Spain. This began

9398-607: The United Kingdom. The newly independent nations began a process of fragmentation, with several civil and international wars. However, it was not as strong as in Central America. Some countries created from provinces of larger countries stayed as such up to modern times (such as Paraguay or Uruguay), while others were reconquered and reincorporated into their former countries (such as the Republic of Entre Ríos and

9525-484: The almost-unknown Fernando Collor , who was subsequently impeached by the National Congress in 1992. Collor was succeeded by his vice-president, Itamar Franco , who appointed Fernando Henrique Cardoso Minister of Finance. In 1994, Cardoso produced a highly successful Plano Real , that, after decades of failed economic plans made by previous governments attempting to curb hyperinflation, finally stabilized

9652-650: The approval of the Golden Law . The foreign-affairs policies of the monarchy dealt with issues with the countries of the Southern Cone with whom Brazil had borders. Long after the Cisplatine War that resulted in the independence of Uruguay , Brazil won three international wars during the 58-year reign of Pedro II: the Platine War , the Uruguayan War and the devastating Paraguayan War ,

9779-518: The area of Pedro Leopoldo , Minas Gerais and provide evidence of human habitation going back at least 11,000 years. The earliest pottery ever found in the Western Hemisphere was excavated in the Amazon basin of Brazil and radiocarbon dated to 8,000 years ago (6000 BC). The pottery was found near Santarém and provides evidence that the region supported a complex prehistoric culture. The Marajoara culture flourished on Marajó in

9906-455: The arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral . The Portuguese encountered indigenous peoples divided into several ethnic societies, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization effectively began in 1534, when King John III of Portugal divided the territory into

10033-528: The cancellation of the 1938 election and formalized Vargas as dictator, beginning the Estado Novo era. During this period, government brutality and censorship of the press increased. During World War II , Brazil remained neutral until August 1942, when the country suffered retaliation by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in a strategic dispute over the South Atlantic, and, therefore, entered

10160-513: The central power, coupled with old and latent social tensions peculiar to a vast, slaveholding and newly independent nation state . This period of internal political and social upheaval, which included the Praieira revolt in Pernambuco , was overcome only at the end of the 1840s, years after the end of the regency, which occurred with the premature coronation of Pedro II in 1841. During

10287-489: The coast, helping establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society . South American cultures began domesticating llamas , vicuñas , guanacos , and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BC. Besides their use as sources of meat and wool, these animals were used for transportation of goods. The rise of plant growing and

10414-472: The complete area after World War I . Since then, the German national government never had direct control over a German territory, with the exception of the Nazi government; however, Nazi Germany was - like East Germany - a centralized state where state governments were de facto abolished. The Federal Republic of Germany 's Basic Law does not currently provide a legal way to create a federal territory, including

10541-461: The concentration in producing one, or few, major export commodities has often hindered the development and diversification of its economies. The fluctuation in the price of commodities in international markets has led historically to major highs and lows, booms and busts, in the economies of South American states, often causing political instability. This has led for calls to diversify production and increase trade within South America itself. Brazil

10668-548: The conflict. The independence of South America was secured by Simón Bolívar (Venezuela) and José de San Martín (Argentina), the two most important Libertadores . Bolívar led a great uprising in the north, then led his army south towards Lima , the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru . Meanwhile, San Martín led an army across the Andes Mountains, along with Chilean expatriates, and liberated Chile. He organized

10795-418: The continent's interior, sharing land borders with Uruguay to the south; Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest; Bolivia and Peru to the west; Colombia to the northwest; and Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname and France (French overseas region of French Guiana ) to the north. It shares a border with every South American country except Ecuador and Chile . The brazilian territory also encompasses

10922-707: The creation of the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine ( Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen ). The territorial status, common in the US, was unique within mainland Germany, as all constituent states were self-governing. In 1911 the Constitution of the German Empire was amended to treat Alsace-Lorraine as a state for certain matters, including its own government and votes in the Bundestag. France annexed

11049-576: The current Humboldt and Falklands . The equatorial current of the South Atlantic strikes the coast of the Northeast and there is divided into two others: the current of Brazil and a coastal current that flows to the northwest towards the Antilles , where there it moves towards northeast course thus forming the most Important and famous ocean current in the world, the Gulf Stream . South America

11176-605: The demands of revolutionaries who had taken the city of Porto , John VI departed for Lisbon. There he swore an oath to the new constitution, leaving his son, Prince Pedro de Alcântara , as Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil . Tensions between Portuguese and Brazilians increased and the Portuguese Cortes , guided by the new political regime imposed by the Liberal Revolution , tried to re-establish Brazil as

11303-477: The enactment of the Amnesty Law in 1979, Brazil began a slow return to democracy , which was completed during the 1980s. Civilians returned to power in 1985 when José Sarney assumed the presidency. He became unpopular during his tenure through failure to control the economic crisis and hyperinflation he inherited from the military regime. Sarney's unsuccessful government led to the election in 1989 of

11430-545: The end of the Pleistocene around 11,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event , among the highest of any continent, with the casualties including saber-toothed cats , ground sloths , glyptodonts , gomphotheres , the equines Hippidion and Equus neogeus , and all remaining South American native ungulates . South America is thought to have been first inhabited by humans when people were crossing

11557-617: The fifteen private and autonomous captaincies . However, the decentralized and unorganized tendencies of the captaincies proved problematic, and in 1549 the Portuguese king restructured them into the Governorate General of Brazil in the city of Salvador , which became the capital of a single and centralized Portuguese colony in South America. In the first two centuries of colonization, Indigenous and European groups lived in constant war, establishing opportunistic alliances in order to gain advantages against each other. By

11684-456: The first time, "a drought has covered all the way from the North to the country’s Southeast". It is the strongest drought in Brazil since the beginning of measurement in the 1950s, covering almost 60% of the country's territory. The drought is linked to deforestation and climate change. Brazilian topography is also diverse and includes hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Much of

11811-611: The great city of Cusco , the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tawantin suyu , and "the land of the four regions", in Quechua , the Inca Empire was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some nine to fourteen million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system . Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming

11938-459: The highest areas. The semiarid climatic region generally receives less than 800 millimeters (31.5 in) of rain, most of which generally falls in a period of three to five months of the year and occasionally less than this, creating long periods of drought. Brazil's 1877–78 Grande Seca (Great Drought), the worst in Brazil's history, caused approximately half a million deaths. A similarly devastating drought occurred in 1915. In 2024, for

12065-480: The island is geopolitically a part of Africa. All of the world's major climate zones are present in South America. The distribution of the average temperatures in the region presents a constant regularity from the 30° of latitude south , when the isotherms tend, more and more, to be confused with the degrees of latitude. In temperate latitudes, winters and summers are milder than in North America. This

12192-673: The islands of Trinidad and Tobago ( Trinidad Island and Tobago Island etc.), the State of Nueva Esparta , and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela sit on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf and are sometimes considered parts of the continent. Geopolitically, all the island countries and territories in the Caribbean have generally been grouped as a subregion of North America instead. By contrast, Aves Island (administered by Venezuela ) and

12319-534: The land outside Europe should be an exclusive duopoly between the two countries. The treaty established an imaginary line along a north–south meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands , roughly 46° 37' W. In terms of the treaty, all land to the west of the line (known to comprise most of the South American soil) would belong to Spain, and all land to the east, to Portugal. As accurate measurements of longitude were impossible at that time,

12446-463: The largest war effort in Brazilian history. Although there was no desire among the majority of Brazilians to change the country's form of government , on 15 November 1889, in disagreement with the majority of the Imperial Army officers, as well as with rural and financial elites (for different reasons), the monarchy was overthrown by a military coup. A few days later, the national flag

12573-583: The last phase of the monarchy, internal political debate centered on the issue of slavery. The Atlantic slave trade was abandoned in 1850, as a result of the British Aberdeen Act and the Eusébio de Queirós Law , but only in May 1888, after a long process of internal mobilization and debate for an ethical and legal dismantling of slavery in the country , was the institution formally abolished with

12700-476: The line was not strictly enforced, resulting in a Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian. Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors , first from Spain and later from Portugal. These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies. European infectious diseases ( smallpox , influenza , measles , and typhus ) – to which

12827-496: The list of countries with the most bird species (1,832) and second with the most reptile species (744). The number of fungal species is unknown but is large. Brazil is second only to Indonesia as the country with the most endemic species. South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere , with a considerably smaller portion in

12954-573: The mid-16th century, cane sugar had become Brazil's most important export, while slaves purchased in Sub-Saharan Africa in the slave market of Western Africa (not only those from Portuguese allies of their colonies in Angola and Mozambique ), had become its largest import, to cope with sugarcane plantations , due to increasing international demand for Brazilian sugar. Brazil received more than 2.8 million slaves from Africa between

13081-458: The mid-17th century. It became a Dutch colony in 1667. The indigenous peoples of the Americas in various European colonies were forced to work in European plantations and mines; along with enslaved Africans who were also introduced in the proceeding centuries via the slave trade . European colonists were heavily dependent on indigenous labor during the initial phases of settlement to maintain

13208-465: The naturally regenerating forest, 44% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 30% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For 2015, 56.% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership and 44% private ownership . Many regions have starkly different microclimates . An equatorial climate characterizes much of northern Brazil. There

13335-487: The new capital city of Brasília , inaugurated in 1960. Kubitschek's successor, Jânio Quadros , resigned in 1961 less than a year after taking office. His vice-president, João Goulart , assumed the presidency, but aroused strong political opposition and was deposed in April 1964 by a coup that resulted in a military dictatorship . The new regime was intended to be transitory but gradually closed in on itself and became

13462-439: The north and semiarid deserts in the northeast, to temperate coniferous forests in the south and tropical savannas in central Brazil. In Brazil, forest cover is around 59% of the total land area, equivalent to 496,619,600 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 588,898,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 485,396,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 11,223,600 hectares (ha). Of

13589-470: The northern, northeastern regions and in the Cisplatina province. The last Portuguese soldiers surrendered on 8 March 1824; Portugal officially recognized Brazilian independence on 29 August 1825. On 7 April 1831, worn down by years of administrative turmoil and political dissent with both liberal and conservative sides of politics, including an attempt of republican secession and unreconciled to

13716-529: The political establishment and public service , numerous peaceful protests erupted in Brazil in the middle of the first term of Dilma Rousseff , who had succeeded Lula after winning election in 2010 and again in 2014 by narrow margins. Rousseff was impeached by the Brazilian Congress in 2016, halfway into her second term, and replaced by her Vice-president Michel Temer , who assumed full presidential powers after Rousseff's impeachment

13843-697: The state of Acre and the westernmost portion of Amazonas , to UTC−4 in the western states, to UTC−3 in the eastern states (the national time ) and UTC−2 in the Atlantic islands . The climate of Brazil comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large area and varied topography, but most of the country is tropical. According to the Köppen system , Brazil hosts six major climatic subtypes: desert , equatorial , tropical , semiarid , oceanic and subtropical . The different climatic conditions produce environments ranging from equatorial rainforests in

13970-421: The subsequent appearance of permanent human settlements allowed for the multiple and overlapping beginnings of civilizations in South America. One of the earliest known South American civilizations was Caral–Supe , on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Caral–Supe created one of the first cities of the world, generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga in

14097-411: The subsistence economy, and natives were often captured by expeditions. The importation of African slaves began midway through the 16th century, but the enslavement of indigenous peoples continued well into the 17th and 18th centuries. The Atlantic slave trade brought enslaved Africans primarily to South American colonies, beginning with the Portuguese since 1502. The main destinations of this phase were

14224-445: The terrain lies between 200 meters (660 ft) and 800 meters (2,600 ft) in elevation. The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country. The northwestern parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills. The southeastern section is more rugged, with a complex mass of ridges and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 1,200 meters (3,900 ft). These ranges include

14351-473: The wake of the murder of his running mate, the defeated opposition presidential candidate Getúlio Vargas , supported by most of the military, successfully led the Revolution of 1930 . Vargas and the military were supposed to assume power temporarily, but instead closed down Congress, extinguished the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers and replaced the states' governors with his own supporters. In

14478-696: The war on the allied side . In addition to its participation in the battle of the Atlantic , Brazil also sent an expeditionary force to fight in the Italian campaign . With the Allied victory in 1945 and the end of the fascist regimes in Europe, Vargas's position became unsustainable, and he was swiftly overthrown in another military coup, with democracy "reinstated" by the same army that had ended it 15 years earlier. Vargas committed suicide in August 1954 amid

14605-478: The way that absolutists in Portugal had given in the succession of King John VI, Pedro I departed for Portugal to reclaim his daughter's crown after abdicating the Brazilian throne in favor of his five-year-old son and heir (Dom Pedro II ). As the new Emperor could not exert his constitutional powers until he came of age, a regency was set up by the National Assembly. In the absence of

14732-573: The western European architectural style to the continent, and helped to improve infrastructures like bridges, roads, and the sewer system of the cities they discovered or conquered. They also significantly increased economic and trade relations, not just between the old and new world but between the different South American regions and peoples. Finally, with the expansion of the Portuguese and Spanish languages, many cultures that were previously separated became united through that of Latin American. Guyana

14859-467: The word brasil commonly given the etymology "red like an ember ", formed from brasa ('ember') and the suffix -il (from -iculum or -ilium ). It has alternatively been suggested that this is a folk etymology for a word for the plant related to an Arabic or Asian word for a red plant. As brazilwood produces a deep red dye, it was highly valued by the European textile industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. Throughout

14986-701: The years 1500 and 1800. By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline and the discovery of gold by bandeirantes in the 1690s would become the new backbone of the colony's economy, fostering a gold rush which attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal and all Portuguese colonies around the world. This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers. Portuguese expeditions known as bandeiras gradually expanded Brazil's original colonial frontiers in South America to its approximately current borders. In this era other European powers tried to colonize parts of Brazil, in incursions that

15113-472: Was Chile in 1823, Uruguay in 1830, Bolivia in 1831, Guyana in 1833, Colombia and Ecuador in 1851, Argentina in 1853, Peru and Venezuela in 1854, Suriname in 1863, Paraguay in 1869, and in 1888 Brazil was the last South American nation and the last country in western world to abolish slavery. The European Peninsular War (1807–14), a theater of the Napoleonic Wars , changed the political situation of

15240-507: Was a status more won over time than assigned in succession ceremonies and conventions. Slavery among the indigenous groups had a different meaning than it had for Europeans, since it originated from a diverse socioeconomic organization, in which asymmetries were translated into kinship relations. Following the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas , the land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with

15367-633: Was a useful form of agriculture. The Mapuche in Central and Southern Chile resisted the European and Chilean settlers, waging the Arauco War for more than 300 years. In 1494, Portugal and Spain, the two great maritime European powers of that time, on the expectation of new lands being discovered in the west, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas , by which they agreed, with the support of the Pope, that all

15494-505: Was accepted on 31 August. Large street protests for and against her took place during the impeachment process. The charges against her were fueled by political and economic crises along with evidence of involvement with politicians from all the primary political parties. In 2017, the Supreme Court requested the investigation of 71 Brazilian lawmakers and nine ministers of President Michel Temer 's cabinet who were allegedly linked to

15621-430: Was in first place in the first round, with 48.43% of the support from the electorate, and received 50.90% of the votes in the second round. On 8 January 2023, a week after Lula's inauguration, a mob of Bolsonaro's supporters attacked Brazil's federal government buildings in the capital, Brasília , after several weeks of unrest. Brazil occupies a large area along the eastern coast of South America and includes much of

15748-408: Was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Subsequently claimed by the Portuguese Empire , Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro . In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and

15875-562: Was initially colonized by the Dutch before coming under British control , though there was a brief period during the Napoleonic Wars when it was occupied by the French . The region was initially partitioned between the Dutch, French and British before fully coming under the control of Britain. Suriname was first explored by the Spanish in the 16th century and then settled by the English in

16002-556: Was opposed by the South German states which already felt diminished by Prussia. Hence, an annexation to Bavaria and Baden was also discussed, yet met with opposition by the military which opined that the crucial border territory had to be governed from Berlin . As a compromise, Otto von Bismarck successfully proposed to incorporate Alsace-Lorraine as a territory directly governed by the Imperial (federal) government, leading to

16129-491: Was replaced with a new design that included the national motto " Ordem e Progresso ", influenced by positivism . 15 November is now Republic Day , a national holiday. The early republican government was a military dictatorship, with the army dominating affairs both in Rio de Janeiro and in the states. Freedom of the press disappeared and elections were controlled by those in power. Not until 1894, following an economic crisis and

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