Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil or República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)[2]), is the largest and most populous country in South America; and the fifth largest in the world in both area and population.
Brazil was colonized by Portugal and it is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. It is a multiracial country with a population composed of European, Amerindian, African and Asian elements, more often mixed in the same individual than separated into different communities.
History of Brazil
Before the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, arrived in 1500, Brazil is thought to have been inhabited by semi-nomadic populations for at least 10,000 years. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazil wood (Pau-Brasil), then sugarcane (Cana-de-Açúcar), coffee beans and gold mining. The colony's manpower was initially composed of enslaved peoples, firstly Amerindians and then, after 1532, mainly Africans........
The only recorded transcontinental relocation of a royal family occurred in 1808 when the Portuguese royal family, headed by Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fled Napoleon's armies and relocated to Rio de Janeiro, along with the government and nobility. Although they returned in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of Brazil to the status of a United Kingdom under the Portuguese Crown. Upon João VI's departure, the remaining royal government in Rio moved to dissolve the Kingdom of Brazil and return it to the status of colony. This resulted in the small scale conflicts known as the Brazilian War of Independence. On 7 September 1822 Prince regent Dom Pedro I (later Pedro IV of Portugal) declared independence, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. A treaty recognizing the Empire's independence was signed on 29 August 1825 with Britain and Portugal. As the crown remained in the hands of the House of Bragança, this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas.
Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, 1873.The Brazilian Empire was formally a democracy in the British style, although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more closely resembled the autocratic Austrian Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1888, through the "Golden Law", created by Princess Isabel, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son, Pedro II — who in old age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis arising from the Paraguay War. Pedro II was deposed from the throne on 15 November 1889, when a federal republic (officially, the Republic of the United States of Brazil) was established by Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European, Arab and Japanese immigrants. During this time Brazil became industrialized, further colonized, and its interior further explored and developed. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times.
Since 1985, Brazil has been regarded as a presidential democracy, a status affirmed by a plebiscite in 1993 which asked voters to indicate a preference for a presidential or parliamentary system. Voters also decided not to restore the country's constitutional monarchy.
Brazil Geography
Brazil is characterized by the extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest in the north and a more open terrain of hills and low mountains to the south home to most of the Brazilian population and its agricultural base. Along the Atlantic seacoast are also found several mountain ranges, reaching roughly 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) high.
The highest peak is the 3,014 metre (9,735 ft) Pico da Neblina (Misty Peak) in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world in flowing water volume, and the second-longest in the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the Iguaçu Falls are located; the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.
Located mainly within the tropics, Brazil's climate has little seasonal variation. In southernmost Brazil, however, there is subtropical temperate weather, occasionally experiencing frost and snow in the higher regions. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, but more arid landscapes are found as well, particularly in the northeast.
A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:
Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago
Rocas Atoll
Fernando de Noronha
Trindade and Martim Vaz
Florianópolis, in Southern Brazil.
Recife, in Northeast Brazil.
The beaches of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, are famous worldwide.Geographically, mainland Brazil is commonly divided into five regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South.
The North constitutes 45.27% of the surface of Brazil and it is the region with the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, with the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is a fairly unindustrialised and undeveloped region. It accommodates most of the largest rainforest of the world and many indigenous tribes.
The Northeast has one third of Brazil's population. The region is culturally diverse, with roots from the Portuguese colonial period, Afro-Brazilian culture and some Brazilian Indian influence. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and has long periods of dry climate. It is well-known for its beautiful coast. The most important cities are Recife, Salvador and Fortaleza.
The Central-West has a low demographic density compared to the other regions, mostly because of the Pantanal, the world’s largest marshlands area, and a small part of the Amazon rainforest, in the northwest. However, much of the region is covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. It is also the most important area for agriculture in the country. The most important cities of this region are: Brasília (the capital), Goiânia, Campo Grande and Cuiabá.
The Southeast is the richest and most densely populated region. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopolis of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two biggest ones; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business centre of São Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the acclaimed coast of Espírito Santo.
The South is the wealthiest region by GDP per capita and has the best standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frosts and snow in some of the higher altitude regions. The region has been heavily settled by European immigrants, mainly of Italian, German, Portuguese and Slavic ancestry, and shows clear influences from these cultures. The most important cities of this region are: Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Blumenau, Novo Hamburgo, Londrina, Caxias do Sul, Pelotas, Passo Fundo and Joinville.
Environment of Brazil
The Toco Toucan is a typical animal of the Brazilian rain forests.
The flowers of pequi (Caryocar brasiliense): It is a popular Brazilian fruit native to Cerrado vegetation.
The Zebra plant (Aphelandra squarrosa) is a well-known houseplant native to Atlantic Forest vegetation.
The Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) is a small New World monkey native to Atlantic Forest.Brazil's immense area is subdivided into different ecosystems, which together sustain some of the world's greatest biodiversity. Due to the relatively explosive economic and demographic rise of the country in the last century, Brazil's ability to protect its environmental habitats has increasingly come under threat. Extensive logging in the nation's forests, particularly the Amazon, both official and unofficial, destroys areas the size of a small country each year, and potentially a diverse variety of interesting plants and animals.
With abundant fauna and flora, Brazil is home to many thousands of species, most of them still undiscovered. By 2020, it is estimated that at least 50% of the species resident in Brazil will become extinct.[citation needed]
There is general consensus, that Brazil has the highest number of both terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of any country in the world. This high diversity of fauna can be explained by the sheer size of Brazil and also the great variation in ecosystems. The numbers published about Brazil's fauna diversity can vary from source to source, as taxonomists sometimes disagree about species classifications and information can be incomplete or out of date. Also new species continue to be discovered and, sadly, some species go extinct in the wild. Brazil has the highest primate diversity of any country in the world with 77 species and fresh water fish (over 3000 species), it claims the second-highest number of amphibian species, the third highest number of bird species and is ranked fifth in reptile species. Many of the species that are at risk live in threatened habitats such as the Atlantic Forest.
Demographics of Brazil
Brazil's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. In general, Brazilians are mostly come from four sources of migration:
1) Amerindians, Brazil's indigenous population, came from human groups that migrated from Siberia across the Bering Strait around 9000 BC.
2) Portuguese colonists and settlers, arriving from 1500 onward.
3) Diverse groups of immigrants from Europe, Asia and the Middle East arriving in Brazil during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
4) African slaves brought to the country from 1530 until the end of the slave trade in 1850.
It is believed that the Americas were settled by three migratory waves from Northern Asia. The Brazilian Indians are thought to be descended from the first wave of migrants, who arrived in the region around 9000 BC. The main Native Brazilian groups were the Tupi-Guarani, the Jê, the Arawaks and the Caraibas (Caribs). The Tupi-Guarani nation, originally from the Parana river basin and also the main of Native-Paraguayan nations, had spread all along the Brazilian coastline from South to North and got to be known by the Portuguese as "Os Índios da Língua Geral" ("The Indians of the General Language"); the Jê nation occupied the most of the interior of the country from Maranhão to Santa Catarina. The Arawaks and the Caribs, the last ones to get in contact with the Portuguese, lived in the North and Northwest of Brazil.
The European immigration to Brazil started in the sixteenth century, the vast majority of them coming from Portugal. In the first two centuries of colonization, 100,000 Portuguese arrived in Brazil (around 500 colonists per year). In the eighteenth century, 600,000 Portuguese arrived (10,000 per year). The first region to be settled by the Portuguese was Northeastern Brazil, followed by the Southeastern region. The interior began to be settled during the eighteenth century. The Portuguese were the only ethnic group to settle across Brazil.
The original Amerindian population of Brazil (between three and five million) has in large part been exterminated or assimilated into the Portuguese population. The Mamelucos (or Caboclos, mixed-race between Whites and Indians) have always been present in many parts of Brazil.
The large influx of European immigrants to Brazil occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1870 and 1930, more than 5 million immigrants entered Brazil. These immigrants were divided in two groups: a part of them was sent to Southern Brazil to work as small farmers. However, the biggest part of the immigrants was sent to Southeastern Brazil to work in the coffee plantations. The immigrants sent to Southern Brazil were mainly Germans (starting in 1824, mainly from Rhineland-Palatinate, Pomerania, Hamburg, Westphalia, etc) and Italians (starting in 1875, mainly from the Veneto and Lombardia). In the South, the immigrants established rural communities that, still today, have a strong cultural connection with their ancestral homelands.
In Southeastern Brazil most of the immigrants were Italians (mainly from the Veneto, Campania, Calabria and Lombardia), Portuguese (mainly from Beira Alta, Minho and Alto Trás-os-Montes), Spaniards (mainly from Galicia and Andalusia).
Culture of Brazil
The core culture of Brazil is rooted in the culture of Portugal. The Portuguese colonists and immigrants brought the Roman Catholic faith, the Portuguese language and many traditions and customs that still influence the modern-day Brazilian culture.
As a multiracial country, its culture also absorbed other influences. The Amerindian peoples influenced Brazil's language and cuisine and the Africans, brought as slaves, largely influenced Brazil's music, dance, cuisine, religion and language. The Yoruba traditions, from nowadays Southwest Nigeria had made its way strongly into Afro-Brazilian religion and into Brazilian religiousness as a whole. Ancient Yoruba Orishas (gods) like Shango and Oxum are largely worshipped in Brazil, while the Samba and the Capoeira (musical rhythm and martial art, respectively) were originally contributions from the Bantu peoples from Angola. Italian, German and other European immigrants came in large numbers and their influences are felt closer to the Southeast and South of Brazil.
Religion
According to the IBGE census:
73.9% are Roman Catholics (about 125 million)
15.4% are Protestants. (about 26 million)
7.4% consider themselves agnostics, atheists or without a religion. (about 12 million)
1.3% are followers of Spiritism (about 2.2 million).
0.3% are followers of African traditional religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda.
1.7% are members of other religions. Some of these are Jehovah's Witnesses (1,100,000) Buddhism (215,000), Latter-day Saints (199,645), Judaism (87,000), and Islam (27,000)
Some practice a mixture of different religions, such as Catholicism, Candomblé, and indigenous American religion combined.
Followers of Protestantism are rising in number. Until 1970, the majority of Brazilian Protestants were the ones of Traditional Churches - Lutherans, Presbyterians and Baptists mainly - but the Pentecostals and Neopentecostals have increased largely in numbers since then.
Some of the African slaves brought to Brazil were the first Muslims in Brazil. Today, the Muslim population in Brazil is made up of mostly Arab immigrants. A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens.
The largest population of Buddhists in Latin America lives in Brazil. This is mostly because Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside Japan.
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