2. Brazil is the largest country in South
America and
f
ifth biggest in the world,
with an area of 8.51 million km2 (52 times
the area of Tunisia) and a population of
more than 214 million people, the sixth
biggest in the planet.
3.
4. The Brazilian o
ff
icial language is Portuguese, as it has been a colony of Portugal, and it's
the biggest Portuguese speaking country and the only one so in America. Also, there are
around 274 indigineous languages spoken in more than 300 ethnic originary groups in
Brazil.
By law, the o
ff
icial second language in Brazil is BSL-Libras (Brazilian Sign Language for
deaf people), what doesn't mean people outside the deaf community actually know sign
language, unfortunately.
The second most spoken language in Brazil is German.
5. The
f
irst Europeans arrived at the Brazilian territory in 1500, coming from Portugal. Not
too long after that, immigrants from France, Spain and the Netherlands populated parts
of Brazilian territory. Many Africans were taking by force to America as slaves, specially
from Portuguese colonies in Africa, such as Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola,
Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe, but also from other colonies, like Nigeria,
Senegal, Sierra-Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Brazil was the last country in America to
abolish slavery, which happened in 1880. The enslaved people took with them their
languages, their culinary, their beliefs, their habits, their knowledge, and this mix of
European, Indigenous and African is what makes Brazilian culture so peculiar.
6. In 1808, Brazil becomes the capital of the Portuguese Empire, as the royal family went to
live in Rio de Janeiro,
f
leeing from Napoleon's troops that were invading Portugal. In
1822, Brazil declares independence, becoming itself an empire. Contrary to practically
every other country, there was no war for independence, Brazil bought it from Portugal.
In 1889, Brazil declares itself a Republic, as it stays until today, with the leaders of the
government, including the president, being elected by popular vote.
The federal government is located at the capital, Brasilia.
Our currency is real (BRL).
7.
8. It has 26 states and 1 federal district
where the capital city, Brasilia, is
located. They are represented as
stars in the Brazilian
f
lag (which is
the only one to represent the actual
starry sky) and are divided in 5
regions
9. at the North region can be found the
Amazon rainforest and the Amazon
river
10. the states at the Northeast are
famous for the beautiful beaches
11. the Southeast is where are located
the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo
and Santos (where the football player
Neymar comes from)
12.
13. at the Center-West is the capital city,
great plantations of soy, cattle and
swamps
14. the South is out of the tropical zone
and is known for its European
colonization
