Federative Republic of Brazil

Word count: 508

Introduction

Brazil has an interesting history that ranges from th Pre-Cabraline era to modern times. One of the intriguing mysteries from the Pre-Cabraline era is Luzia Woman, a Paleo-Indian skeleton found in Brazil. Closer to modern time, but still well in the past, is the Portuguese colonization of the area that is now Brazil. The country struggled through various difficulties and rulers until the contemporary era.

Luzia Woman

Who was this Paleo-Indian1, whose bones and skull were discovered in 1975? Her skeletal remains were found in a rock shelter2 in Brazil. She is thought to be one of the first prehistoric immigrants to South America. Little is known about this woman, who died when she was approximately 20 years old. Anthropologists have several theories about the origins of her tribe, but so far have come to no definite conclusion. Her remains were the only ones found in Vermelha Cave (the rock shelter) along with numerous stone tools.3

Portuguese Colonization

The Portuguese began colonization of Brazil in 1500, with the first permanent settlement established in 1532. In 1807, because of threats form Spain and Napoleon, Prince Regent João4 of Portugal moved the royal court to Brazil, and the country became United Kingdom with Portugal5. In 1822, the country achieved its independence from Portugal.6

Contemporary Era

The country went through several regime changes in modern times, but in 1985 the government was returned to civilians. Since then things have been more or less stable despite the problems with the economy. Brazil has had problems with corruption, impeachment of its Congress, and the economy; however, at present those issues are being handled as well as they can be in modern times.7

Why Brazil is a Tourist Attraction

Brazil claims about half the land in South America, which embraces both tropical and subtropical regions. This beautiful country shares it borders with Chilli, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, Columbia, Suriname, Guyana, and French Guyana.8 The type of ecosystems Brazil experiences are rainforest, mountains, Atlantic beaches, savannas, wetlands, plateaus, and most of the Amazon basin.9 These various ecosystems makes Brazil a wonderful tourist spot, even if the only place you go are to the cities.

Religions

Brazil has a diverse religious community. A demographic census was performed in 2000, which revealed that approximately 73.57% of the population were Roman Catholic and 15.41% were Protestant. The other 11.02% of the religions were Kardecist spiritism, various other Christina denominations, Afro-Brazilian, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Amerindian, undeclared, and other religions.10 One of those "other religions" is the Baha'i Faith, which has a website in Portuguese11 Brazil's native language.

Other Information

The government of Brazil is a democratic federative republic, with an elected president. Its legal system is based on civil laws and it has a Federal Constitution since 1985. It has a large military which includes an air force and a special operations corps. Since it is a regional power it is in a unique position when it comes to foreign policy. The president of Brazil has the final say on treaties, but the Congress reviews them.12

Footnotes
1  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Indians
2  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_shelter
3  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzia_Woman
4  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_VI_of_Portugal
5  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Portugal,_Brazil_and_the_Algarve...
6  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil
7  ibid
8  https://www.britannica.com/place/Brazil
9  ibid
10  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil
11  https://www.bahai.org.br/
12  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil