Trifter

It’s the fifth largest country in the world. Has two of the most populated cities in the Southern Hemisphere: Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is unique in many ways more than one. Brazil’s major theory of where its name derived from is from the ever-present brazilwood, which at the time of the country’s conception was a huge part of the nation’s commerce. In reality, Brazil in Portuguese (which is the nation’s official language), comes from the word “brasa,” meaning “ember.” The origin of this country’s language is Catalan, which is in Northwest Spain. History of this country goes down deep.

Brazil was discovered by none other than Pedro Alvares Cabral on April 22, 1500. Some of the first names this country was first given were Monte Pascal, Ilha de Santa, and Terra de Santa. During the Colonial Period, Brazil’s main source of economy was surrounded around sugarcane, gold and diamonds, and coffee. Brazil’s independence from Portugal came on the day of September 7, 1822. Throughout history, Brazil has had thirty presidents, two dictatorial ages (Getulio Vargas and the Military Age), and one impeachment (Fernando Collor de Mello).

Brazil’s capital today is Brasilia. The currency of this country is the Real. The main religion is Catholicism. The colors of the flag are green, yellow, blue, and white; green representing the House of Braganca (also the Rain Forest), and Yellow representing the House of Habsburg. Brazil’s motto, “Ordem e Progresso,” means progress and order. The major exports are coffee, soybeans, ethanol, oranges, beef, iron ore, steel, aircrafts, automobiles, textiles, and electrical equipment. Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world. The energy of the country comes mostly from Hydroelectrical Power Plants. Brazil has many categories of ethnicities: Black, indigenous (Tupi and Guaraní), European, etc. Sao Paulo, its biggest city which is also a state, contains 11 million people, with 15% of the population that is poor. The largest rain forest in the world, The Amazon, is claimed by the people to be their own. It covers 7 million square kilometers, spreads across nine countries, and is 50% of the world’s remaining rain forests.

Education in Brazil is extremely rough. Students have no choice in the subjects they learn, and the rate of graduating is embarrassingly low. Colleges in Brazil are extremely hard to gain acceptance, which makes them around the top in the world. There has been an improvement in enrollment throughout all of this mess. In 1980, only 80.9% of children ages 7-14 went to school. In 2000 it was recorded that 96.4% went to school. In 1980, only 49.7% of middle-aged people went to school. In 2000, 83% of people were documented attending school. A huge jump! In Brazil, you have to be 18 to obtain a driver’s license, and are on probation until you are 21. Any accidents are it is taken away until you are 21.
Brazil has one of the worst economic equalities in the world having a huge separation between the poor and rich. The South region of Brazil is the richer, while the North is the poorer. In 2006, it was documented that 19.31% of people were in poverty.

Most Brazilians watch TV, especially soap operas. Its Culture is very diverse, containing Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, African, and indigenous backgrounds. Some influences of Brazil are the cuisine, with the favorite dish being the Feijoda. Famous architectures are Christ the Redeemer and Basilica de Aparecida do Norte. The biggest holiday in Brazil is the Brazilian Carnival (started in 1723) which lasts for about a week where nobody works. Lastly, some famous sports Brazil is noted for are soccer (Futbol), and volleyball. Brazil is very diverse, very poor and rich, corrupted, beautiful, smart, and very big.