   It is now accepted that, bar a few Vikings in the north, the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the Americas arrived from Siberia in waves of migration between about 60,000 and 8000 BC, crossing land now submerged beneath the Bering Strait. The earliest known human traces in Brazil date from about 48,000 BC. Brazilian Indians never developed an advanced, centralized civilization like the Inca or Maya. They left little for archaeologists to discover; only some pottery, shell mounds and skeletons. There were an estimated two to five million Indians living in the territory that is now Brazil when the Portuguese first arrived. Today there are fewer than 200,000 living in the hidden jungles of the Brazilian interior. On April 22, 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral, who arrived at present-day Porto Seguro, claimed Brazil for Portugal. After being greeted by some of the many Indians living along the coast, they built a cross and held the first Christian service in the land they dubbed Terra de Vera Cruz (Land of the True Cross). Cebral sailed on, leaving behind two convicts to learn the Indians' ways and taking some "pau brasil" (brazil wood) logs, which produces a red dye. The red dye from brazil wood provoked the interest of a few Portuguese merchants and the king granted them the rights to brazil wood trade, which remained the only exportable commodity for the first half of the 16th century. During this time the colony changed its name from Terra de Vera Cruz to Brazil. Late 16th century, the colonists discovered that the land and climate were ideal for growing sugar cane. To produce the sugar cane, all the colonists needed were workers, so they attempted to enslave the Indians to work for them. The capture and sale of Indian slaves became Brazil's second largest enterprise. Organized expeditions from Sao Paulo hunted Indians into the Brazilian interior. These groups of men were known as "bandeirantes" (flag-bearers). They were ruthlessly effective Indian hunters and their bravery was eclipsed only by their brutality. Their exploits, more than any treaty, secured the huge interior of South America for Portuguese Brazil. In the late 17th century, bandeirantes discovered a magical luster in the rivers of the Serra do Espinhasso, Brazil's oldest geological formation, located in an inaccessible and unsettled region inland from Rio de Janeiro. Soon the gold rush was on and people dropped everything to go to what is now the southern central part of Minas Gerais (General Mines) State. African slaves, who were brought to Brazil in big batches throughout the 17th and 18th century, did most of the gold mining. A few merchants and miners became incredibly rich, but the gold did little to develop Brazil's economy, create a middle class or better the common worker. Most of the wealth went to Portuguese merchants and the king, until it was ultimately traded for English goods. Brazil was ruled from Lisbon as a colony until 1808, when the royal family, having fled from Napoleon's army, established the seat of Portuguese Government in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil became a kingdom under Dom Joao VI, who returned to Portugal in 1821. His son declared Brazil's independence on September 7, 1822, and became emperor with the title of Dom Pedro I. His son, Dom Pedro II, ruled from 1831 to 1889, when a federal republic was established in a coup by Deodoro da Fonseca, marshal of the army. Slavery had been abolished a year earlier by the Regent Princess Isabel while Dom Pedro II was in Europe. From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a military coup that placed Getulio Vargas, a civilian, in the presidency; Vargas remained as dictator until 1945. In 1951, he was legitimately elected, and with the economic opportunities afforded by the World War II in Europe, Brazil began its fitful march towards industrialization and urbanization. Following Vargas' suicide due to a scandal, Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1956. He was target to criticisms due to his spending to increase the industrial production. He built Brasilia, a new capital that was supposed to be the catalyst for development of Brazil's vast interior. In the 1961 elections, former Sao Paulo governor Janio Quadros took over the presidency. Quadros had huge plans for political reform, but a moralistic streak saw him trying to prohibit the wearing of bathing costumes at beauty contests, bikinis on the beaches and the use of amyl nitrate at Carnival- an uphill battle indeed. After six months in office, he decided to resign. Quadros was succeeded by Vice President Joao Goulart. Goulart's years in office were marked by high inflation, economic stagnation, and the increasing influence of radical political elements. The armed forces, alarmed by these developments, staged a coup on March 31, 1964. The coup leaders chose as president Humberto Castello Branco, followed by Arthur da Costa e Silva (1967-69), Emilio Garrastazu Medici (1968-74), and Ernesto Geisel (1974-79) all of whom were senior army officers. Geisel began a liberalization that was carried further by his successor, Gen. Joao Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (1979-85). Figueiredo not only permitted the return of politicians exiled or banned from political activity during the 1960s and 1970s, but also allowed them to run for state and federal offices in 1982. At the same time, an electoral college consisting of all members of congress and six delegates chosen from each state, continued to choose the president. In January 1985, the Electoral College voted Tancredo Neves from the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) into office as President. However, Tancredo Neves became ill in March and died a month later. His Vice President, former Senator Jose Sarney, became President upon Neves' death. Brazil completed its transition to a popularly elected government in 1989, when Fernando Collor de Mello won 53% of the vote in the first direct presidential election in 29 years. In 1992, a major corruption scandal led to the impeachment and ultimate resignation of President Collor. Vice President Itamar Franco took his place and governed for the remainder of Collor's term. His greatest achievement was to begin the long-awaited stabilization of the economy with the introduction of the Plano Real, the most successful economic plan in a decade. In the next presidential elections in October 1994, Franco's Finance Minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the architect of the Plano Real, was elected President with 54% of the vote. He took office January 1, 1995. President Cardoso has sought to establish the basis for long-term stability and growth and to reduce Brazil's extreme socioeconomic imbalances. His proposals to Congress include constitutional amendments to open the Brazilian economy to greater foreign participation and to implement sweeping reforms--including social security, government administration, and taxation--to reduce excessive public sector spending and improve government efficiency.
|
