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History
Discovery and Settlement
Portuguese Discovery (1487-1497)
In the 15th and 16th centuries Portugal , an Iberian
Kingdom with barely a million inhabitants, was hemmed in by the Atlantic in
front and by a hostile Castile behind. After years of struggle against the
Moorish occupation, the Portuguese turned their attention and energy to the
sea and what lay beyond. While the Spaniards set out in search of a route
to the Orient by voyaging to the West, the Portuguese opted for the
so-called "Southern Cycle" down the African coast.
Reaching the Cape of Good Hope in 1487, they were led by the navigator, Vasco
da Gama , across the Indian Ocean to discover the sea route to the Far
East in 1497. They knew of the existence of lands across the Atlantic and
they had made several expeditions to the West before Columbus discovered
the Antilles in 1492, but they had kept the knowledge to themselves in
order to forestall the ambitions of Spain , England , and France . For a
small nation, secrecy was the only available method of safeguarding the
rewards of bold and successful exploration against exploitation by more
powerful maritime rivals.
The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) settled the
question of possession of the new lands between Spain and Portugal . It was
agreed that territories lying east of a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape
Verde Islands should belong to Portugal , the lands to the west to Spain .
This imaginary line, from pole to pole, cut through the easternmost part of
the South American continent and constituted Brazil 's first frontier,
although the formal discovery by Pedro Álvares Cabral did
not take place until six years later in 1500.
First Settlement (1630-1549)
Cabral's voyage was soon followed by other Portuguese
expeditions. The most exploitable wealth they found was a wood that
produced red and purples dyes, pau-brasil (from which the country
derived its name). Organized occupation only began in 1530, when Portugal
sent out the first colonists with domestic animals, plants, and seeds to
establish permanent settlements. The existing small enclaves in the northeast
were consolidated. São Vicente on the coast of the modern State of
São Paulo was founded in 1532, and the city of Salvador , later
chosen as the seat of the Governors General, followed in 1549. The land was
sparsely inhabited by Indian tribes, some peaceful and others, especially
in the interior, fierce and warlike. As more of the land was settled, a
system of administration became necessary.
As a first step, the Portuguese Crown created a number
of hereditary fiefs, or captaincies. Fourteen of these captaincies - some
larger than Portugal itself - were established in the mid 16th century, and
the beneficiaries, called donatários , were responsible for
their defence and development. The captaincy system lasted long enough to
influence the basic territorial and political pattern of modern Brazil .
Independence
The Feeling of Nationhood
The role of Portugal during the period it ruled Brazil
was essentially that of intermediary between the colony as producer and the
European economic centres as consumers. The fact that England remained
Portugal 's principal trading partner during this period is important.
Various commercial treaties were signed between the two Governments (1642;
1654; 1661; 1703; 1810; 1826), highly favourable to English mercantilism development
through the share of Portuguese colonial trade thereby obtained.
Monopolising all trade with Brazil , Portugal retained a substantial part
of the profits, and this led to growing discontent among the settlers. Ever
since the Dutch and French invasions of the northeast region at the
beginning of the 17th century, the colonists had been developing a feeling
of nationalism because of the fight to expel the invaders.
The stirrings of unrest stemming from the urge to
secure political freedom began in earnest in the second half of the 18th
century. Although the concept of independence was generally shared, some
movements against the Portuguese authorities were clearly regional in
scope. The Minas Conspiracy (Conjuração Mineira) ,
the most significant of these isolated movements, took place in the centre
of what was then the gold mining region. Its enthusiastic leader was a
youthful cavalry officer, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier ,
nicknamed "Tiradentes" . Tiradentes had found
support mainly among intellectuals seized with the same libertarian ideals
that had inspired the French Encyclopedists and the leaders of the American
Revolution. The conspiracy was uncovered and its leaders received very
harsh sentences. Tiradentes was hanged in a public square in Rio de
Janeiro . Other incidents, some of which had wide support, occurred in
Pernambuco and Bahia, where the decline of the sugar economy aggravated the
problems created by the country's subordination to Portugal. None of them,
however, was important enough to seriously undermine the Portuguese
domination at the time.
Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
(1808-1821)
In 1808, as Napoleon's armies began the invasion of
Portugal , the decision was made to transfer the monarch and his court to
Rio de Janeiro , where he would remain until 1821. The British government
was involved in this process, providing the necessary ships for the Royal
Family and taking advantage of Portuguese difficulties to obtain further
commercial privileges.
The opening of Brazilian ports to Friendly Nations in
1808, soon after the arrival of King João VI, reinforced English
dominance. The agreement gave England a virtual monopoly in new markets,
with guaranteed rights and commercial preferences. The establishment of the
royal administration in the colony for a period of 14 years would
accelerate the march towards independence, but from now on with a unique
undertone. The Portuguese Crown, consciously or not, took some measures
that eased the transition toward independence.
The elevation of Brazil , in 1815, from the status of
a colony to that of a United Kingdom with Portugal may be seen as an
example. Another lies in the fact that, although Napoleon's dominance ended
in 1815, King João VI preferred to remain in Rio de Janeiro . Six
years later, in 1821, King João VI had to yield to unrelenting
pressures from the politicians back home. He returned to Lisbon , but left
the Crown Prince in Rio with the title of Viceroy Regent. Furthermore, in
the presence of members of colonial society, the King supposedly advised
him: "Pedro, my son, when the time comes, place the crown on your
head before an adventurer puts it on his." .
Proclamation of independent (1822)
The irritating opposition of Lisbon 's politicians to this
state of affairs and the cajoling from close Brazilian advisers attracted
the young prince to the cause of independence. Barely a year after the
King's return to Portugal, on September 7, 1822, the Crown Prince
proclaimed the independence of Brazil as an Empire and had himself solemnly
crowned Emperor Pedro I on December 1, 1822. The mastermind behind
Brazilian independence was José Bonifácio de Andrada e
Silva , a distinguished Brazilian geologist and writer who had become
the most important and trusted of the Prince's advisers. While the Spanish
viceroyalties in America had to fight fiercely for their independence (to
end up as 18 different republics), Portugal and Brazil settled the matter
by negotiation, with Great Britain acting as a broker.
English dominance, already strengthened by the
policies of Economic Liberalism, became even more complete after
independence. As a condition for the recognition of Brazilian sovereignty,
the British government obtained the renewal and expansion of its privileges
of 1810, thus confirming the dependence of the Brazilian economy on the
world's commercial centre. After a relatively short war of independence
(1822-1824) Brazil became an Empire under Dom Pedro I, who, nevertheless,
continued to be the heir to the Portuguese throne.
Post War Brazil
Modern Brazil
As the war in Europe drew to its close, Vargas was
forced to resign and elections were held to appoint a successor. Going to
the polls for the first time in 15 years, the electorate gave the majority
of their votes to General Eurico Gaspar Dutra who had been Vargas' Minister
of the Army during the war. A new democratic constitution was approved by a
constituent assembly in 1946 which remained in force until 1967. Dutra's
term came to an end in 1951. Meanwhile Vargas, who had sat out his exile at
his ranch in Rio Grande do Sul, had prepared for the elections. Vargas had
come to reap some of the rewards of his progressive measures in the fields
of social welfare and trade union legislation. At the conclusion of Dutra's
term, Vargas was constitutionally elected president of the republic. In
1954, in the middle of a bitter political crisis, Vargas put a pistol to
his heart and pulled the trigger. A caretaker administration finished his
term of office.
Brazil experienced five years of accelerated economic
expansion under President Juscelino Kubitschek (1956- 1961), the founder of
Brasília. He was followed by President Jânio Quadros, who
resigned after less than a year in office. Quadros' vice president was
João Goulart. Goulart was sworn in as president only after Congress
hastily voted in a parliamentary system which drastically curtailed
presidential powers. In a plebiscite held four months later, however,
President Goulart was able to persuade the voters to restore the old
presidential system. Rampant inflation and political polarization between
left and right led to two and a half tumultuous years of political and
social unrest and economic crisis. Fearing Goulart's Marxist leanings, the
military overthrew him in a coup on March 31, 1964 .
The 1964 Revolution
The period 1964 to 1985 was one of military rule, with
some relaxation of control after 1979. This period saw five presidents, ad
of them military generals. The first, Castello Branco, came to power on a
wave of anti-communism. His main task was to stabilize the country's
political and economic situation. Extensive amendments were made to the
Constitution to provide the government with the powers and mechanisms to
achieve those goals. During the next 15 years, 1968-1983, the government
issued several Institutional Acts which were, in effect, presidential
decrees. Many individual and collective rights were suspended during this
period. New austerity measures affected economic and political life.
Collective bargaining was eliminated, strikes were virtually outlawed, and
the working class movement was curtailed.
By 1968, in the term of President Arthur da Costa e
Silva, the economic strategies appeared to be working. Inflation was
contained and foreign firms began to make new investments, assured of the
regime's stability. Politically, however, in response to the continued
unrest, the government became increasingly repressive. President Costa e
Silva resigned in 1969 because of illness. He was immediately succeeded by
a military junta and two months later by Emílio Garrastazu
Médici. Between 1967 and 1974 Brazil enjoyed one of the greatest
rates of economic growth in the world with real growth as measured by Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) reaching 14 percent in 1973. By the mid 1970's
Ernesto Geisel, who was then president, proposed a period of political
liberalisation - gradual steps which would lead to restoration of
democratic rule. In 1979, João Baptista Figueiredo was inaugurated
President. This was also the beginning of "opening" ("abertura")
, the process of restoring the political rights which had been
revoked. Many of the country's exiles were allowed to return. The year also
marked an acceleration of the public's demand for re-democratization.
Figueiredo maintained a steady hand on the opening process. In 1982, the
country held direct elections for state governors, the first such elections
since 1965.
Re-democratisation I1985-1989)
In 1984, there were nationwide demonstrations
demanding direct "Elections Now" ("Diretas Já
") to choose a new president. In January, 1985, Tancredo de
Almeida Neves was chosen president by an Electoral College. His election
was significant because he was not only the first civilian president to be
elected in 21 years, but also because he was the candidate of an opposition
coalition. On March 14,1985 , on the eve of his inauguration, Neves was
rushed to a hospital overcome with a lingering illness he had endured for
several months.
The man who became acting president was Vice President
José Sarney. When Neves died five weeks later, José Sarney
was sworn in as president promising to maintain the course set by Tancredo
Neves. The first priority of President Sarney was to gather a National
Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. Never in the history of
Brazil was one able to observe such a high degree of popular participation
in the drafting of a law. After 18 months of deliberations a new
constitution was promulgated on October 5, 1988 .
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