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113-569: The Parima Mountains are located in the western part of the Guiana Shield, there they run for approximately 320 kilometres (200 mi) in a north–south direction in the border area of Brazil and Venezuela . They reach a maximum elevation of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) and form the divide between the watersheds of the Amazon and the Orinoco . All the water on their western side drains into

226-736: 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

339-872: 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

452-483: 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

565-785: 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

678-504: 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

791-427: 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

904-656: A location in Venezuela is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , 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

1017-430: 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

1130-523: 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

1243-420: 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

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1356-410: 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

1469-530: 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

1582-635: 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 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

1695-675: 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

1808-487: 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

1921-652: The Constitutionalist Revolution erupted in Portugal . The movement initiated by the liberal constitutionalists resulted in the meeting of the Cortes (or Constituent Assembly ), that would have to create the kingdom's first constitution . The Cortes at the same time demanded the return of King Dom John VI , who had been living in Brazil since 1808, who elevated Brazil to a kingdom as part of

2034-701: The Cortes had annulled all acts of the Bonifácio cabinet, removed Pedro's remaining powers, and ordered him to return to Portugal. It was clear that independence was the only option left, which his wife supported. Pedro turned to his companions, that included his Guard of Honor , and said: "Friends, the Portuguese Cortes want to enslave and pursue us. From today on our relations are broken. No ties can unite us anymore". He removed his blue-white armband that symbolized Portugal: "Armbands off, soldiers. Hail to

2147-691: 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

2260-585: 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 ,

2373-712: The Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire . It is celebrated on 7 September , the date when prince regent Pedro of Braganza declared the country's independence from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves on the banks of the Ipiranga brook in 1822 on what became known as the Cry of Ipiranga. Formal recognition by Portugal came with

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2486-884: 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

2599-542: 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

2712-632: 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

2825-533: The Río de la Plata , in the Banda Oriental region (present-day Uruguay ). At the end of the 17th century, sugar exports started to decline, but beginning in the 1690s, the discovery of gold by explorers in the region that would later be called Minas Gerais , current Mato Grosso and Goiás saved the colony from imminent collapse. From all over Brazil, as well as from Portugal, thousands of immigrants came to

2938-491: 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

3051-576: The Treaty of Rio de Janeiro , signed in 1825. In 1807, the French army invaded Portugal , which had refused to participate in the continental blockade against the United Kingdom. Unable to resist the invasion, the Portuguese royal family and government fled to Brazil , which was then the richest and most developed of the Portuguese colonies. The installation of the House of Appeals and other public bodies of

3164-642: 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

3277-527: The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in 1815 and who nominated his son and heir prince Dom Pedro as regent , to govern Brazil in his place on 7 March 1821. The king left for Europe on 26 April, while Dom Pedro remained in Brazil governing it with the aid of the ministers of the Kingdom (Interior) and Foreign Affairs, of War, of Navy and of Finance . The Portuguese military officers headquartered in Brazil were completely sympathetic to

3390-596: 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

3503-530: The war of independence that ensued – which began with the expulsion of the Portuguese troops from Pernambuco in 1821 – the Brazilian Army was formed by hiring mercenaries, enlisting civilians and some Portuguese colonial troops. The army immediately opposed the Portuguese forces, which controlled some parts of the country, namely, in the then provinces of Cisplatina (currently Uruguay), Bahia, Piauí, Maranhão and Grão-Pará. At

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3616-453: 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

3729-489: 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

3842-503: 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

3955-552: 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

4068-489: 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

4181-490: 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.,

4294-542: 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

4407-466: The Bonifacians, led by José Bonifácio de Andrada . The factions, with quite different views of what Brazil could and should be, agreed only on their desire to keep Brazil co-equal with Portugal, united in a sovereign monarchy, rather than Brazil being merely provinces controlled from Lisbon. The Portuguese members of the Cortes showed no respect towards Prince Pedro and openly mocked him. And so

4520-572: The Brazilian army on land, on 2 July the Portuguese forces abandoned Bahia in a convoy of 90 ships. Leaving the frigate ‘Niteroi’ under Captain John Taylor to harry them to the coasts of Europe, Cochrane then sailed north to São Luís (Maranhão). There he tricked the Portuguese garrison into evacuating Maranhão by pretending that a huge Brazilian fleet and army were over the horizon. He then sent Captain John Pascoe Grenfell to play

4633-634: The Brazilian army, would be unable to prevent. For the Brazilians, the answer to this stalemate was to seize control of the sea. Eleven former Portuguese warships, great and small, had fallen into Brazilian hands in Rio de Janeiro and these formed the basis of a new navy. The problem was manpower: the crews of these ships were largely Portuguese who were openly mutinous, and although many Portuguese naval officers had declared allegiance to Brazil their loyalty could not be relied on. The Brazilian Government solved

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4746-443: 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

4859-822: The Brazilian government and researcher Rodrigo Wiese Randig, the first country to recognize Brazil was the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (today's Argentina ), in June 1823, followed by the United States in May 1824, and the Kingdom of Benin in July 1824. However, according to historian Toby Green, the African states of Dahomey and Onim were the first two to recognize the new empire in 1822 and 1823 respectively. These states had traditionally maintained close diplomatic and economic contacts with South America. Upon

4972-410: The British Royal Navy to Brazil, establishing Rio de Janeiro as the de facto capital of the Portuguese Empire during the ensuing worldwide Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). This had the side effect of soon creating within Brazil many of the institutions required to exist as an independent state; most importantly, it freed Brazil to trade with other nations at will. After Napoleon's Imperial French army

5085-411: The Constitutionalist movement in Portugal. The main leader of the Portuguese officers, General Jorge de Avilez Zuzarte de Sousa Tavares , forced the prince to dismiss and banish from the country the ministers of Kingdom and Finance. Both were loyal allies of Pedro, who had become a pawn in the hands of the military. The humiliation suffered by the prince, who swore he would never yield to the pressure of

5198-426: The Orinoco, which rises itself in the Parima Mountains as well. All the water on their eastern side drains into the Branco River , which ultimately empties into the Rio Negro , which in turn empties into the Amazon. The Parima Mountains belong to the settlement areas of the Yanomami . 3°30′00″N 64°15′00″W  /  3.5000°N 64.2500°W  / 3.5000; -64.2500 This article about

5311-461: The Portuguese government in Rio de Janeiro represented a series of political, economic and social transformations that led to then prince regent John of Braganza (later king John VI of Portugal), to elevate the State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom on 16 December 1815, united with its former metropolis. In 1820, the liberal revolution broke out in Portugal and the royal family was forced to return to Lisbon . Before leaving Brazil, however,

5424-475: 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

5537-415: 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

5650-400: The President of the Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro, José Clemente Pereira , sent to the other Chambers of the country the news that the Acclamation would occur on Pedro's birthday, 12 October. The official separation would only occur on 22 September 1822 in a letter written by Pedro to João VI . In it, Pedro still calls himself Prince Regent and his father is considered the King of

5763-416: 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

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5876-408: 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 ,

5989-449: 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

6102-401: 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

6215-409: The bay to Niterói , where they would await transport to Portugal. Jose Bonifácio was nominated minister of Kingdom and Foreign Affairs on 18 January 1822. Bonifácio soon established a fatherlike relationship with Pedro, who began to consider the experienced statesman his greatest ally. Gonçalves Ledo and the Liberals tried to minimize the close relationship between Bonifácio and Pedro, offering to

6328-405: 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

6441-448: The central area of Brazil. Loyal militias began insurrections in the aforementioned territories, but strong, and regularly reinforced Portuguese garrisons in the port cities of Salvador , Montevideo , São Luís and Belém continued to dominate the adjacent areas and to pose the threat of a reconquest that the irregular Brazilian militias and guerrilla forces, which were loosely besieging them by land supported by newly created units of

6554-400: 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

6667-617: The continent except Ecuador and Chile . Brazil's Amazon basin includes 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

6780-418: 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

6893-401: The declaration of the independence, the authority of the new regime only extended to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and the adjacent provinces. The rest of Brazil remained firmly under the control of Portuguese juntas and garrisons. It would take a war to put the whole of Brazil under Pedro's control. The fighting began with skirmishes between rival militias in 1822 and lasted until January 1824, when

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7006-416: 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

7119-439: The election of deputies that would gather in a Constituent and Legislative General Assembly in Brazil. Pedro departed to São Paulo Province to secure the province's loyalty to the Brazilian cause. He reached its capital on 25 August and remained there until 5 September. While on his way back to Rio de Janeiro on 7 September he received at Ipiranga mail from José Bonifácio and his wife, Leopoldina. The letter told him that

7232-418: 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

7345-550: The event known as the Cry of Ipiranga took place on the banks of the Ipiranga brook in the city of São Paulo . Pedro of Braganza was acclaimed Emperor of Brazil on 12 October 1822, being crowned and consecrated on 1 December 1822, and the country became known as the Empire of Brazil. The land now called Brazil was claimed by the Kingdom of Portugal in April 1500, on the arrival of the Portuguese naval fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral . The Portuguese encountered Indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom shared

7458-547: 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

7571-404: 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

7684-459: 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

7797-420: The increasing international demand. To profit from the situation, by 1700 over 963,000 African slaves had been brought across the Atlantic Ocean to work in the plantations of Brazil. More Africans were brought to Brazil up until that date than to all the other places in the Americas (and the entire Western Hemisphere ) combined. Through wars against the French, the Portuguese slowly expanded their territory to

7910-441: The independence, to freedom and to the separation of Brazil from Portugal!" He unsheathed his sword affirming that "For my blood, my honor, my God, I swear to give Brazil freedom," and later cried out: "Brazilians, Independence or death!". This event is known as the " Cry of Ipiranga ", the declaration of Brazil's independence, Returning to the city of São Paulo on the night of 7 September 1822, Pedro and his companions announced

8023-432: The independent Brazil. On 12 October 1822, in the Field of Santana (later known as Field of the Acclamation) Prince Pedro was acclaimed Dom Pedro I, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil. It was at the same time the beginning of Pedro's reign and also of the Empire of Brazil . However, the Emperor made it clear that although he accepted the emperorship, if João VI returned to Brazil he would step down from

8136-465: The judicial courts created by João VI in 1808. Dissatisfaction over the Cortes measures among most residents in Brazil (both Brazilian-born and Portuguese-born) rose to a point that it soon became publicly known. Two groups that opposed the Cortes' actions to gradually undermine Brazilian sovereignty appeared: Liberals, led by Joaquim Gonçalves Ledo (with the support of the Freemasons ), and

8249-463: 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

8362-604: The last Portuguese garrisons and naval units surrendered or left the country. Meanwhile, the Imperial government had to create a regular Army and Navy . Forced enlistment was widespread, extending to foreign immigrants, and Brazil made use of slaves in militias, as well as freeing slaves to enlist them in army and navy. The campaigns on land and sea covered the vast territories of Bahia , Cisplatina , Grão-Pará , Maranhão , Pernambuco , Ceará and Piauí . By 1822, Brazilian forces were firmly in control of Rio de Janeiro and

8475-534: 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

8588-400: 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. Independence of Brazil The independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of

8701-514: The loyalty that Pedro had shown towards the Cortes gradually shifted to the Brazilian cause. His wife, princess Maria Leopoldina of Austria , favoured the Brazilian side and encouraged him to remain in the country which the Liberals and Bonifacians openly called for. Pedro's reply to the Cortes came on 9 January 1822, when, according to newspapers, he said: "As it is for the good of all and for

8814-573: 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

8927-460: The military again, would have a decisive influence on his abdication ten years later. Meanwhile, on 30 September 1821, the Cortes approved a decree that subordinated the governments of the Brazilian provinces directly to Portugal. Prince Pedro became for all purposes only the governor of Rio de Janeiro Province . Other decrees that came after ordered his return to Europe and also extinguished

9040-572: The mines in an early gold rush . The Spanish tried to prevent Portuguese expansion northwest, west, southwest and southeast into the territory that belonged to them according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas division of the New World by the Bishop and Pope of Rome , Alexander VI (1431–1503, reigned 1492–1503) and succeeded in conquering the Banda Oriental region in 1777. However, this

9153-494: The nation's general happiness, I am ready: Tell the people that I will stay" . After Pedro's decision to defy the Cortes and remain in Brazil, around 2,000 men led by Jorge Avilez rioted before concentrating on mount Castelo, which was soon surrounded by 10,000 armed Brazilians, led by the Royal Police Guard . Dom Pedro then "dismissed" the Portuguese commanding general and ordered him to remove his soldiers across

9266-465: 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

9379-487: 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

9492-479: The news of Brazilian independence from Portugal. The Prince was received with great popular celebration and was called not only "King of Brazil", but also "Emperor of Brazil". Pedro returned to Rio de Janeiro on 14 September and in the following days the Liberals had distributed pamphlets (written by Joaquim Gonçalves Ledo ) that suggested that the Prince should be named Constitutional Emperor . On 17 September

9605-439: 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

9718-470: 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

9831-515: The now king John VI named his eldest son, Pedro of Braganza, as prince regent of Brazil. Although Pedro was faithful to his father, the desire of the Portuguese courts to repatriate him (including demoting him from prince regent to governor-of-arms, that is, a mere military commander of the Portuguese Army, no longer holding any political position) and returning Brazil to its former colonial status led him to stay in Brazil and rebel. During

9944-542: The numbers of, for example, the total of the war casualties. However, based upon historical registration and contemporary reports of some battles of this war as well as upon the admitted numbers in similar fights that happened in these times around the globe, and considering how long the Brazilian independence war lasted (22 months), estimates of all killed in action on both sides are placed from around 5,700 to 6,200. The last Portuguese soldiers left Brazil in 1824. The Treaty of Rio de Janeiro recognizing Brazil's independence

10057-529: 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

10170-551: The prince the title of Perpetual Defender of Brazil. For the Liberals, the creation of a Constituent Assembly to prepare a Brazilian constitution was necessary, while the Bonifacians preferred that Pedro create the constitution himself, to avoid the possibility of anarchy similar to the first years of the French Revolution . The prince acquiesced to the Liberals’ desires, and signed a decree on 3 June 1822 calling for

10283-548: The problem by recruiting 50 officers and 500 seamen in secret in London and Liverpool, many of them veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, and appointed Thomas Cochrane as commander-in-chief. On 1 April 1823, a Brazilian squadron of 6 ships sailed for Bahia. After an initial disappointing engagement with a superior Portuguese fleet, Cochrane blockaded Salvador. Deprived now of supplies and reinforcements by sea and besieged by

10396-501: The same Tupi–Guarani language family, and shared and disputed territory. But the Portuguese, like the Spanish in their North American territories, had brought diseases with them against which many Indians were helpless due to lack of immunity. Measles, smallpox, tuberculosis, and influenza killed tens of thousands. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization only effectively started in 1534 when King John III divided

10509-641: The same time that the conflict was taking place, a revolutionary movement broke out in Pernambuco and other neighboring provinces, which intended to form their own country, the Confederation of the Equator , with a republican government, but it was harshly repressed. After four years of conflict, Portugal finally recognized Brazil's independence and the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance was signed between

10622-529: The same trick on the Portuguese in Belém do Pará at the mouth of the Amazon. By November 1823, the whole of the north of Brazil was under Brazilian control, and the following month, the demoralized Portuguese also evacuated Montevideo and the Cisplatine Province. By 1824, Brazil was free of all enemy troops and was de facto independent. There are still today no reliable statistics related to

10735-523: The southeast, taking Rio de Janeiro in 1567, and to the northwest, taking São Luís in 1615. They sent military expeditions to the northwest of the South American continent to the Amazon River basin rainforest and conquered competing English and Dutch strongholds, founding villages and forts from 1669. In 1680 they reached the far southeast and founded Colônia do Sacramento on the bank of

10848-697: 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

10961-445: 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

11074-408: The territory into fifteen hereditary captaincies . This arrangement proved problematic, however, and in 1549 the king assigned a governor-general to administer the entire colony. The Portuguese assimilated some of the native tribes while others slowly disappeared in long wars or by European diseases to which they had no immunity. By the mid-16th century, sugar had become Brazil's main export due to

11187-502: The throne in favor of his father. The reason for the imperial title was that the title of king would symbolically mean a continuation of the Portuguese dynastic tradition and perhaps of the feared absolutism, while the title of emperor derived from popular acclamation as in Ancient Rome or at least reigning through popular sanction as in the case of Napoleon. On 1 December 1822, Pedro I was crowned and consecrated. According to

11300-417: The two countries on 29 August 1825. In exchange for recognition as a sovereign state, Brazil committed to paying a substantial compensation to Portugal and signing two treaties with the United Kingdom by which it agreed to ban the Atlantic slave trade and grant preferential tariffs to British goods imported into the country. Officially, the date celebrated for Brazil's independence is 7 September 1822, when

11413-534: 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

11526-696: 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

11639-478: 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

11752-523: 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

11865-701: 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

11978-507: 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

12091-505: 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

12204-466: Was finally defeated at Waterloo in June 1815, in order to maintain the capital in Brazil and allay Brazilian fears of being returned to colonial status, King John VI of Portugal raised the de jure status of Brazil to an equal kingdom and integral part of the new United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, rather than a mere colony, a status which it enjoyed for the next seven years, appointing his son, Dom Pedro , as prince regent . In 1820

12317-430: 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

12430-453: Was in vain as the Treaty of San Ildefonso , signed in the same year, confirmed Portuguese sovereignty over all lands proceeding from its territorial expansion, thus creating most of the current Brazilian southeastern border. During the French invasion of Portugal by Emperor Napoleon I in 1807, the Portuguese royal family ( House of Braganza ) fled across the Atlantic Ocean with the help of

12543-408: 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

12656-442: 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

12769-412: Was signed by Brazil and Portugal on 29 August 1825. The Brazilian aristocracy had its wish: Brazil made a transition to independence with comparatively little disruption and bloodshed. But this meant that independent Brazil retained its colonial social structure: monarchy, slavery, large landed estates, monoculture, an inefficient agricultural system, a highly stratified society, and a free population that

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