Recent Brazilian History
Brazil has evolved quite a bit since it was originally discovered by the Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral on April 22, 1500. From its initial discovery, it became a colony of Portugal and remained under official Portuguese rule from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The events in Brazilian history following its colonization include the short lived Empire of Brazil, a democratic republic, and three brief periods of dictatorship.
Brazil declared its independence on September 7th of 1822, and for ninety years was one of only three countries to have an indigenous government, the other two being Mexico and Haiti. In 1889 a military coup established the democratic republic that for the most part is still in place today. The brief periods where Brazil was under an authoritarian rule lasted from 1930 to 1934, 1937 to 1945, and 1964 to 1985.
From 1808 to 1821, Brazil was the metropolis of the Portuguese Empire as the Portuguese court fled from Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal during the Peninsular War. The court established themselves in Rio de Janiero, and the Portuguese king ruled his immense empire from there for thirteen years, until he finally had to return to Portugal due to turmoil in Europe and the ending of Napoleon’s reign.
When the king, Joao VI returned to Portugal, he left his son Pedro I to be his regent of Brazil. One year later, Pedro wrote a paper stating his reasons for the secession of Brazil from Portugal, created the Empire of Brazil, and took control of the empire as its first emperor. Pedro 1 was popular with the general public but became unpopular with the landed elites, and so he returned to Portugal, leaving his son, Pedro II to rule. His son would rule until 1889 when he was ousted by the coup d’état which instituted the republic. Before he was removed from office, he presided over the abolition of slavery. General Deodoro da Fonseca became the country’s first de facto president through military ascension and the country became the Republic of the United States of Brazil which was changed in 1967 to Federative Republic of Brazil. In the late 19th century, the coffee trade caused Brazil to thrive and attract many European immigrants which helped the country to expand. This period was known as the “Old Republic” period and lasted until 1930 when Getulio Vargas conducted a military coup that placed him in the presidency.
Vargas remained in power until his suicide in 1954. A provisional president ruled as a dictator for the next four years until a congressionally elected president took power. Another dictator would rule until a popularly elected president came to power in 1951. This democratic regime prevailed until 1964, when the capital was moved to Brasilia. After this point, a military dictatorship would take hold of the government and the country would again be thrown into turmoil.
With the amount of turmoil that Brazil has faced from its colonization to the declaration of its independence, from dictatorships to democracy, it is amazing what it has accomplished as a nation.