The pre-columbian indigenous Indian population in Brazil was widely scattered and probably numbered no more than 1 million when Pedro Cabral, the Portuguese explorer, reached the coast of Brazil on April 22, 1500. The first permanent Portuguese settlement was founded at Sao Vicente, in the state of Sao Paulo (1532). Initially, development was slow, based upon a feudal system in which favored individuals received title to large blocks of land called capitanias. Because of the great demand for sugar in Europe, the first major economic cycle in Brazil was based upon the sugarcane, grown in plantations along the northeast coast. To work the fields, the early settlers used native labor, often furnished by the Bandeirantes, as the pioneers from the state of Sao Paulo were known. When the indians proved insufficient in numbers, or unable to withstand the hard labor, depending upon the story, the importation of millions of slaves from African began.
During this period the Dutch and the French briefly settled in the Northeast and Rio de Janeiro, building forts and leaving blue-eyed brown-skinned Brazilians. Under Estacio de Sa and others the Portuguese and Brazilians expelled the invaders, who in the case of many of the Dutch from Recife and Sao Luis, moved to their new colony in a place called New Amsterdam on the island of Manhattan. That is how Brazil settled New York City.
In 1807-08, during the Napoleonic Wars, King John VI of Portugal took refuge in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, now the seat of government for its mother country, witnessed tremendous economic growth. Life was so good in Rio, that after Napolean had been defeated, the Royal family stayed on until a threatened revolt in Portugal forced John VI to return to Lisbon. Popular pressure in Brazil compelled his son, Dom Pedro, to declare Brazil independent in 1822, and so Brazil became an Empire with a monarchy, while the rest of North and South American became republics. Pedro's personality was enigmatic and his rule erratic. After a disastrous war (1825-28) with Argentina and a revolt in Rio de Janeiro, Pedro's abdicated (1831) in favor of son, Pedro II. He then returned to Portugal, where he was able to get his daughter to be crowned as queen.
Mello was elected and soon launched a "shock" program to reduce inflation and government spending (these programs are called pacotes, meaning packages, a term you must learn if living in Brazil). People soon found that Collor was corrupt, and so he lost all support, even that of Marinho. Out went Collor, under a cloud of impeachment. These last two presidents are representative of everything that is bad in traditional Brazilian politics, where nice words are used to cover the the ugly face of power, priviledge, self-interest and corruption.
This may be changing with Fernando Henrique Cardoso, elected in 1994, and whose pacote, called the Real Plan, named after the new currency, has held inflation under control and generated growth.
By then large sections of the population favored a republic. A military revolt led by Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca forced Pedro II to abdicate. Brazil was proclaimed a republic with official separation of church and state. A constitution like that of the United States was adopted in 1891, and Brazil officially became the United States of Brazil. Fonseca was elected its first president but soon ruled as a dictator, only to yield to another.
Order was restored during the administration of the first civilian president, Prudente José de Moraes Barros, and succeeding administrations struggled to strengthen the troubled Brazilian economy. World War I (1914-1918) caused an increase in demand for Brazilian products on the world market, and the Brazilian economy improved. Brazil contributed ships and supplies to the success of the Allied forces.
After the war, continually deepening economic crisis led to unrest, a large-scale revolt, and martial law under President Artur da Silva Bernardes. Continued economic trouble and an upsurge in radicalism prompted his successor, Washington Luiz Pereira de Souza, to ban labor strikes and repress communism.
Brought to power by military revolt in 1930, Getúlio Dornelles Vargas ruled for the next 15 years. His government followed mixed policies of social reform and repression, and the economy continued to struggle. Woman suffrage and social security were established, but by 1937 Brazil was a totalitarian state. During this period, Brazil was friendly with the United States and other democracies but broke ties with the Nazi Third Reich because of German political activity in Brazil, including support of an open revolt. Brazil sided with the Allies in World War II (1939-1945), again using increased world demand for raw materials to expand its economy. It contributed direct military support, access to bases, and vital supplies to the defeat of the Axis powers. After the war, the Vargas regime loosened its political grip. National elections were scheduled for late 1945. Amid fears that Vargas would retain his dictatorship, opponents ousted him by a military coup. Elections proceeded, and former Minister of War Eurico Gaspar Dutra won the presidency.
Vargas was elected president in 1950, and his coalition government at once moved to balance the budget while improving the standard of living. It did not succeed. In 1954 military leaders forced Vargas to resign; he then committed suicide.
For the next three decades, Brazil suffered a series of unstable governments followed by military rule. Attempts to stimulate the economy with foreign loans foundered on sinking coffee prices. Rigorous austerity measures were abandoned. Pressured by the military, the legislature amended the constitution in 1961 to strip the presidency of most powers. Two years later the legislature restored presidential powers. Opposition parties were outlawed or refused to enter candidates in elections. Despite repression, unrest became widespread.
During this time, the economy grew, but the plight of the poor worsened. The Roman Catholic clergy criticized government failure to help the disadvantaged. Economic growth also brought inflation, high energy costs, and difficulties with loan payments.
Brazil returned to civilian rule with the election of Tancredo Neves in 1985. However, he died before taking office, and José Sarney became president. Faced with rising inflation and a huge foreign debt, Sarney imposed an austerity program that included introducing a new unit of currency. A new constitution restoring civil liberties and providing for direct presidential elections was enacted in 1988. Fernando Collor de Mello was elected president in 1989. His term was marked by an anti-inflationary recession and by allegations of financial corruption. Shortly after Brazil hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit, in 1992, Collor was impeached. He resigned his post to Vice President Itamar Franco. In 1994 a plan to restructure and reduce Brazil's foreign debt was implemented. In the same year, Brazil joined other Latin American and Caribbean nations by declaring itself free of nuclear weapons.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a former finance minister responsible for much of Brazil's economic recovery, won the 1994 presidential elections. Soon afterward, Collor was acquitted of corruption charges.
Cardoso's administration found itself caught up in issues of land ownership and land use. By a 1995 presidential decree, Cardoso redistributed tracts of land from large, private estates to poor families. In 1996 he signed a decree allowing people other than Native Americans to appeal land allocation decisions made by Brazil's Indian Affairs Bureau. The law was widely condemned by human rights, Native American, and religious organizations.
p03 The First Mass, 1500
p04 Grito de Ipiranga - The Cry for Independence, 1822.
