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History of Brazil: 1500: Portuguese discovery of Brazil.
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LINKS - History of Brazil
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During Portugal's era of discovery and colonization,
Vasco da Gama found the sought-after route to the Indies around
Africa's Cape of Good Hope in 1498. Soon after, the Portuguese crown
sent another fleet to the Indies, under Pedro Alvares Cabral. Though
Cabral's sailing directions had been drawn up by da Gama, Cabral
sailed too far to the west. On April 22, 1500, he sighted the shores
of South America. He at first named the place Vera Cruz, or "true
cross," but it was soon renamed after brazilwood, the red dyewood
found along the coast.Cabral is officially credited with the discovery
of Brazil, though other Portuguese traders had arrived in the area
at least two years earlier. Evidence of Phoenician trade has been
found, dating back to the 6th century BC. After Alvares's discovery,
other European explorers flocked to the area, including Americus
Vespucius, who mapped the coast of South America. The French were
rivals for goods found in Brazil, and they often settled on Portuguese
lands, until North America surpassed the region in colonial interest.
Other nations were also forced out by Portugal when Brazilian sugar
became important to the Portuguese economy. |
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History of Brazil: April 21, 1993: Brazil keeps democracy.
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| Brazil's voters, by a margin of 68 percent to 12
percent, decided to keep their present form of presidential government
instead of becoming a monarchy. Had they voted otherwise, they would
have gotten an elected parliament, with a prime minister and a cabinet,
in addition to a king. (Brazil's previous monarchy ended in 1889,
when the army rebelled and established a republic.) |
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About Rio-de-Janeiro
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Portuguese explorers arrived at Guanabara Bay in
1502 and in 1555 French colonists established a Calvinist settlement.
Native Americans from the Tupi family occupied the area at the time
of European contact. The French were expelled in 1567 by the Portuguese,
who maintained a small colony based on subsistence agriculture, fishing,
and the export of brazilwood and sugarcane until the beginning of
the 18th century. In 1704 the completion of a road from Rio to the
gold mines of Minas Gerais made the city a major center of transportation,
commerce, and wealth. Rio was captured by the French in 1710 and the
Portuguese paid a substantial ransom for its return. The city's fortunes
rose in 1763 when the capital of colonial Brazil was moved to Rio
from Salvador, a port city in northeastern Brazil known at the time
as Bahia. After Napoleon Bonaparte's armies captured Lisbon, Portugal,
in 1808, Rio became the seat of Portugal's exiled royal family. In
the decade that followed, the city grew dramatically and took on a
decidedly European flavor. In 1822 it became the capital of the independent
Brazilian Empire. With the overthrow of the monarchy in 1889, Rio
was made the capital of the Brazilian republic. Beginning in the late
1800s and continuing well into the middle of the 1900s, coffee cultivation
expanded widely in the mountainous terrain surrounding Rio, fueling
a commercial boom that enriched the city and its residents. By 1900
Rio's population had grown to about 800,000.
The global economic depression of the 1930s and World War II (1939-1945)
drastically reduced the flow of manufactured goods into Brazil, encouraging
the development of national industries; many of these were based in
Rio. After World War II, Rio prospered from increasing commerce and
international trade. During this period Rio attracted large numbers
of migrants who came from small towns and rural areas of Brazil seeking
jobs and better living conditions. In 1960 the capital of the nation
was transferred to Brasilia, deep in the country's interior. This
marked a dramatic change for Rio, resulting in a loss of political
status and prestige. In addition, large amounts of federal aid-as
well as related investment and jobs-were shifted to the new capital,
undermining Rio's economic dominance. Nevertheless, the city's population
continued to mushroom until the 1980s, when growth tapered off. |
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