Recent History
Going back to Brazil’s history, traces of diverse Indian tribes in Brazil have been found before the discovery and settlement by Europeans. There is evidence of Portuguese influence on Brazil’ language and culture as they were the first European settlers to arrive in the area. The first European to discover Brazil was Portuguese Pedro Álvares Cabra. Led by adventurous Pedro Cabral, who began the colonial period in 1500, the European expedition came to discover native Indians with a population around five to seven millions. The population was divided into different tribes and language groups. The tribes here were nomadic with temporary dwellings who survived on agriculture for a living. Villages often had as many as 5000 inhabitants with rich cultural life. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 200,000 of Brazil's indigenous people survive, most of who inhabit the jungle areas.
Because of poverty in Portugal many explorers followed Cabral in search of a better living. Unlike the Spanish, the Portuguese in Brazil were more interested in profitable trade than in conquering. The early explorers discovered pau-brasil (Brazil wood tree) from which they created red dye. It is from here that the country derived its name.
Brazil traded African slaves to work on the sugar plantation and that
is how Africans came to this land. Intermarriages between Portuguese
settlers, Indians and the African slaves were quite common, and there
were also mixed marriages between the Africans and Indians giving rise
to a mixed population. Brazil’s mixed population and multiple racial
connections created a unique culture that was an amalgamation of all
influences. Because of the racial mixture Brazil has rich cultural
traditions with popular festivals and religious events that have
developed over a period of time. The Brazilian festivities also have
Portuguese and African influences.
In 1807, as Napoleon Bonaparte closed in on Portugal’s capital city of
Lisbon, King Joao VI, fearing the advancing army fled to its
then-colony, Brazil, establishing his court in the city of Rio de
Janeiro. From there the Portuguese king ruled for around 13 years. It
was in 1821 when things cooled down Dom Joao could return to Lisbon. He
left his son Dom Pedro I in charge of Brazil. When the king attempted
the following year to return Brazil to subordinate status as a colony,
Dom Pedro declared the country's independence from Portugal assuming
its head as Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. His son, Dom Pedro II, ruled
after him from 1831 to 1889. It was in 1888 that slavery from Brazil
was abolished through the ‘Golden Law.’
In the 19th century coffee started replacing sugar to become Brazil's
most important product and export crop. The boom in coffee attracted
one million European immigrants, particularly from Italy and Germany
and brought about the Brazilian republic. In 1889, the wealthy coffee
tycoons backed a military coup and Brazil was no more an imperial
country. The coffee planters virtually ruled the country and the
government for the next thirty years. For the next half century Brazil
faced instability, military coups, and a fragile economy. It was in
1989, that Brazil’s first democratic election took place in almost
three decades. Brazilians elected Fernando Collor de Mello but he did
nothing for the economy and was removed because of corruption charges.
Vice President Itamar Franco took his place till, 1994 presidential
elections. Cardoso was elected as President in January 1, 1995 and
re-elected in 1998. Luiz Inacio da Silva, who is known as Lula, was
elected president in 2002, after his fourth campaign for the office. He
was re-elected in 2006 for a second four-year term. Brazil’s economy
is doing better under Lula. His progressive economic policies have
controlled Brazil’s inflation and unemployment also shows signs of
coming down.
Brazil has a happy, peaceful culturally diverse society where people
from different racial backgrounds and ethnic groups coexist peacefully.
