Brazil has a very colorful and interesting history. It is flooded with drama and stories of exciting power struggles among the different South American countries.
Briefly let’s look at how Brazil came to be the place it is today.
In the 1500, a Portuguese named Pedro Alvares Cabral who was a fleet commander, landed in Brazil and pronounced the land to belong to Portugal. After being under Portugal rule for around 130 years, the Dutch invaded Brazil in 1630. However, after 24 years, the Portuguese government found a way to regain their authority over Brazil, and succeeded in driving out the Dutch.
In 1750, the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to signing a treaty that would respect and divide territories in South America, with the Portuguese continuing to rule in Brazil.
The first capital city of Brazil was Rio de Janeiro and this is where the Portuguese governed the country. Finally in 1822, Brazil was able to gain independence from Portugal. Swiftly after, slavery was abolished, and Brazil proclaimed it to be a republic.In 1917, Brazil condemned the actions of Germany and declared war on Germany during the World War I. It was a show of support for the people being victimized by the Germans.
By 1930, a new president was installed by military gentlemen, This president was Getulio Vargas. In 1945, Brazil became a part of the United Nations and in the following year, came up with a new constitution that included the right to protect an individual’s basic rights.
Then after 5 years, the capital city of Brazil was changed from being Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. Brasilia was the brainchild of the president then who wanted a more central location for a capital city so he could be more in tune with the country and its people. Brasilia was a newly constructed city that rose from the barren rubble.
However, Brazil was still having problems with their military, and in 1964, military leaders took control of the government.
This obviously did not affect the economy too much because in 1977, manufacturing was a big income earner as well as being one of the revenue top notchers in remittances.
Finally , after so long, the military turned over the government to the civilian rule. After 3 years, the government held a Constituents Assembly to promulgate the move to expand and protect even more the citizens’ rights In 1989 a new president was installed Fernando Collor de Mello who was the first president to be elected in the first ever direct elections, since 1960. Since then Brazil has started to become a major force in world history.
Not only have they produced amazing products, they have also ruled the world of soccer by winning the World Cup for the fourth time in 1994. In 1995, the new President is elected, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Then in 2002, it happened again and Brazil won once again in the World Cup, making them the only country to win this game 5 times. In 2003, a new President is installed again, Luiz Inancio Lula de Silva.
Thus from foreign domination, Brazil has managed to learn from their past, and now enjoy being the rulers of their land.
