Introduction to History of Brazil
Archeological evidence indicates that Indians moving south from North America had settled in what is now Brazil by at least 12,000 to 10,000 b.c. (Some archeologists believe that the first migration to Brazil may have taken place as early as 30,000 years ago.) Indians who settled in the Amazon Basin became farmers living in simple thatched-roof dwellings. Stone tools and weapons found along the east coast suggest that the Indians who settled in that area probably lived by hunting and fishing.
Important dates in Brazil1500The Portuguese fleet commander Pedro Alvares Cabral landed in Brazil and claimed it for his country.1630The Dutch invaded Brazil. The Portuguese drove them out in 1654.1750Portugal and Spain signed a treaty fixing areas of rule in South America.1808-1821The Portuguese royal family ruled Portugal and Brazil from Rio de Janeiro.1822Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.1888Slavery was abolished in Brazil.1889Brazil proclaimed itself a republic.1917Brazil declared war on Germany in World War I.1930Military officials made Getulio Vargas president.1942Brazil declared war on the Axis in World War II.1945Brazil joined the United Nations.1946A new constitution restored individual rights.1960Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to the newly built city of Brasilia.1964Military leaders took control of the government.1977Manufactured products, for the first time, earned more income from exports than did agricultural products.1985Brazil's government was returned to civilian rule.European Exploration and Settlement
During 1493–94 Pope Alexander VI assigned to Portugal all unclaimed lands, including those yet unknown to Europeans, that lay east of about 51° West longitude. Thus, when Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese navigator, sighted Brazil in 1500 the region already was recognized by most Europeans as belonging to Portugal. In 1534 King John III granted large regions to Portuguese nobles.
In the 1620's and 1630's, the Dutch West India Company seized control of several coastal areas, but it was driven out in 1654. Slave traders and Jesuit missionaries led the first movement of Europeans into the interior, and by the end of the century ranchers had followed them west. Portuguese explorers followed the Amazon in search of precious metals, pushing the colony's borders far west of the original papal division. This caused many minor wars with Spanish settlers and other Europeans who had arrived earlier from the west coast.
When gold was discovered in the southeast, around 1690, many new Portuguese settlements were formed. The Portuguese mixed freely with the Indians, and there developed a large group of Brazilians with mixed European and Indian ancestry. African slaves were brought to work in the mines. The gold rush caused a great European migration to and within Brazil. As the population increased, the Portuguese tightened their administrative control over the colony, causing resentment among earlier Brazilian settlers.
Independence
In 1808, after Napoleon I had invaded Portugal, Prince Regent John (later King John VI) moved his court to Rio de Janeiro. In 1821 he returned to Portugal, leaving his son Dom Pedro (1798–1834) as regent of Brazil. Under the influence of one of his ministers, José Bonif´cio de Andrade e Silva, young Dom Pedro came to sympathize with the people's desire for independence from Portugal. In 1822 he declared Brazil independent and was crowned emperor of the country. He abdicated in 1831 in favor of his five-year-old son, Dom Pedro II. Dom Pedro II was represented by a regent until 1840, when he was proclaimed emperor at the age of 15. He reigned until 1889, when a republic was established after a bloodless coup.
Under the emperors, Brazil had fought two territorial wars with neighboring states. In the Argentine-Brazilian War (1825–28), both countries fought for the territory that is now Uruguay. The war ended with recognition of Uruguay's independence. In the War of the Triple Alliance (1865–70), Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay united against Paraguay, which had been making territorial claims in that part of South America. Paraguay was soundly defeated.
In the mid-19th century a new wave of European immigrants, mostly from Italy and Germany, began to arrive in Brazil. In 1888 all slaves were declared free.
The new republic was dominated in its early years by the military forces who had led the coup that overthrew the emperor. After a decade of economic problems and many shifts in leadership within the military ruling group, Brazil prospered under three successive civilian presidents, 1898–1910. The army's power resurfaced in the 1910 election, when Hermes da Fonseca, an army-sponsored candidate, was elected.
Modern Development
In World War I Brazil was the only South American nation to declare war on the Central Powers. International competition in rubber, Brazil's primary export, disrupted the economy in the 1920's, and political revolts, often led by military leaders, were frequent. A revolution in 1930 put Getulio Vargas in power as dictator; he was forced to resign in 1945 following a military coup. During World War II, Brazil had been the only South American country to send troops to aid the Allies. At the war's end it became a charter member of the United Nations. Vargas returned to power as an elected president in 1950, but military leaders again forced him out of office in 1954 after months of rioting, strikes, and inflation.
Under President Juscelino Kubitschek, 1956–61, industry expanded and newly built Brasília replaced Rio as the capital. Severe inflation aggravated a political crisis that occurred in 1961, when President Janio Quadros resigned. Vice President João Goulart claimed the presidency. In 1964 Goulart, who was considered pro-Communist by the military, was deposed in a coup led by General Humberto Castelo Branco. Castelo Branco assumed the presidency, beginning a long period of military domination of the government. The regime soon became unpopular because of its authoritarian rule and the austerity measures it introduced.
A new constitution was adopted in 1967. It increased the powers of the federal government, especially those of the president. In 1968 the president suspended the congress and ruled by decree. A new congress?3;one whose powers had been diminished through a constitutional revision?3;was convened in 1969.
The economy grew stronger in the 1960's, although inflation remained a problem. In the early 1970's the Trans-Amazonian Highway, linking the eastern seaports with the jungle interior and Peru, was built. Late in the decade, a gradual return to democracy began. In 1982, free elections were held for congressional and local offices. Meanwhile, the inflation rate and the national debt had reached enormous proportions.
With the election of Tancredo Neves as president in 1985, civilian government was fully restored. Neves died before taking office; Vice President José Sarney succeeded to the presidency. In 1988 a new constitution, which reduced presidential powers, was adopted. Fernando Collor was elected president in the same year. In September, 1992, Collor was impeached by the Chamber of Deputies on corruption charges. He resigned in December and was succeeded by Vice President Itamar Franco. In 1994 a new president was elected?3;Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the finance minister, whose economic plan had lowered inflation.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso was reelected president in 1998. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president in 2002 and reelected in 2006. In 2007 and 2008, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, Petrobras, announced it had discovered huge oil fields deep in the Atlantic Ocean off the country's southeast coast. Experts estimated these fields could contain billions of barrels of oil.
In July 2007, Rio de Janeiro hosted the Pan American Games. In October 2009, the International Olympic Committee chose the city to host the 2016 Olympic Games. It was the first time a South American city had been chosen as an Olympic site.