Country Report Part One: Brazil

Brazil: The Land, People, & History Report by Devin Koppel History 141 Online

Brazil: The Largest Country in South Americ a
Brazil covers nearly half of the South American Continent – extending 2,965 miles North to South, and 2,691 miles East to West
Brazil borders every nation on South America except for Chile and Ecuador
This vast amount of land is home to the Amazon Rainforest and the Amazon River - a system that carries the most water to the ocean of any other river system in the world
The basin occupies more than sixty percent of the entire country
Rio De Janeiro holds one of the most famous mountains in the world, the Corcovado
Weather: Almost all of the country is humid with a tropical climate, and the rainy season occurs during summer
The basin receives more than eighty inches of rain a year
While most of brazil is tropical, it is temperate in the South

Brazil's Diverse Topography
Brazil's topography an be divided into the Brazilian Highlands, (the Southern plateau), and the Amazon River Basin (Northern)
The Amazon river drains over a third of Brazil with over 200 tributaries, and provides a navigable force for travel and shipping
The remaining areas of Brazil in the South are drained by the Planta system – The Paraguay, Uruguay, and Paraná rivers
The Brazilian Highlands and plateaus are on average less than 4000 feet, but in contrast, the highest point in Brazil is Pico de Neblina at 9888 feet
Extensive uplands lie in the South East that come to a sudden drop at the Atlantic Coast
Much of the coast is composed of a wall like structure known as the Great Escarpment

Brazil: Rich in Natural Resources
Brazil is rich in many natural resources, including a large iron and aluminium ore reserve
Other natural resources include tin, gold, phosphate, platinum, uranium, manganese, copper, bauxite, nickel, petroleom, timber, and coal
The most common agricultural exports include coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, cocoa, citrus, beef, and the ever popular Brazilian sugar cane
Along with the positive aspects of natural resources, there are also the negative aspects of natural disasters
Eastern Brazil suffers from regular drought. There is little seismic or volcanic activity due to Brazil's position near the center of the South American Plate.
Another negative aspect to consider is the alarming rate at which the Amazonian rainforest is being depleted, losting about 52,000 square miles every year

People: The Population
Brazil has 13 cities with over one million residents with ethnic groups including: 54% European, 39% mixed European-African, 6% Africa, 1% other
The official language is Portuguese, but the people also speak Spanish, English, and French
Sixty-five million people in Brazil are of mixed European, African, and Amerindian descent - there are less than 300,000 indigenous people living in Brazil today
A majority are Roman Catholic, 74%, and although Brazil has the world's largest Roman Catholic population, the birth rate has significantly decreased over the last 20 years
This has caused a decrease in population growth, which is believed to be due to an increase in contraceptive use and economic stagnation

Brazil's Thriving Economy
Brazil has a thriving economy – the 9 th largest in the world
This provides an excellent reflection of the diversity of the country and its population
The people of Brazil have invested in such things as banking, wheat, coffee, diamonds, aircraft, mineral resources and mining, petrochemicals, cattle, computers, and automobile
The 2006 estimate shows that the labor force is 96.34 million workers strong
The economic geography of Brazil places an emphasis on the state of Sao Paulo, which is responsible for half of the GDP of Brazil as well as two-thirds of manufacturing
The natural resources of the country lead to the thriving economy, as Brazil is a global leader in production and agricultural exports

People: Politics and Law
Brazil is divided into 26 states and a Federal District, and the capital city of Brazil is Brasilia (built in the late 1950's)
Brazil is governed with a president at the head in charge of running a Federal Republican Government as head of state and head of government, as well as being the commander-in-chief for the Brazilian Armed Forces
The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 established the responsibilities and powers of the president, as well as the term of office and method of election.
The president is voted for by four main political parties: the Workers' Party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, and the Democrats
Together these four parties control absolute majority of seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies

History: The Beginnings
Thousands of years ago, the first indigenous peoples arrived in what is now Brazil by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and from there continuing South
Portugal was experiencing a great amount of profit through commerce with India, China, and Indonesia, and until 1530 they did not have any interest in Brazil
Although there is much debate as to who was the first European explorer to set foot on the country, it wasn't claimed for Portugal until the arrival of a man named Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed the territory in 1500 for Portugal and it was made into a royal colony in 1549
An unsuccessful attempt was made to occupy by the land known as the Hereditary Captaincies system, and only two “lots” were successfully occupied

Territorial Expansion
Despite initial failure, colonists were attracted by the untapped natural resources and land as they continued to settle while competing with other various European powers
In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas granted Brazil to Portugal, and it is important to note that Brazil is the only country in South America that inherits it's dominant language and culture from Portugal
Although the treaty granted the Spanish territory in Brazil, the Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed in the same year and granted Portuguese the right to territorial expansion
Colonization had effectively begun in 1534 with the division of the territory and exchanges of power
Some native tribes were assimilated, and others were exterminated and enslaved in long violent wars and massive death tolls due to European diseases

Forming an Independent Republic
The natives that were forced into slavery and made to work in the plantations were not freed until Prince Pedro gave the cry for independence in 1822
Brazil won its independence in a bloodless revolution due to the weakened state of Portugal from a recent war with France
It wasn't until September 7th, 1822, that Brazil declared its independence from Portugal and converted to a constitutional monarchy
Since then, Brazil had six constitutions, two dictatorships, and three democratic periods
It would remain a monarchy for some time until it became a republic
The presidential system was established in 1889, upon the proclamation of the republic in a military victory against Emperor Pedro II
In November 1989, Brazilians had gained the right to elect a president by popular vote

Sources http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/geographyofbraz.htm http://geography.about.com/od/brazilmaps/a/brazilfacts.htm http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107357.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Brazi http://www.celebratebrazil.com/brazil-economy.html http://www.mapsofworld.com/country-profile/brazil.html http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/americas/tordesillas.html

Country Report Part One: Brazil

by Devin on Nov 30, 2011

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