* Irene's Country Corner * - Brazil - Introduction

 

 

 Introduction

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Brazil was discovered by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral, on April 22, 1500. Former colony of Portugal, Brazil achieved its Independence on September 7, 1822 and became a Republic on November 15, 1889.

Brazil is the biggest country in South America and the fifth biggest one in the world, being Russia, China, Canada and the United States the first fourth largest countries.

Brazil occupies an area of 8.511.965 km², about half of South America. Its population is estimated in 169.799.170 inhabitants (August 2000). It has borders with all countries in South America, except Chile and Ecuador.

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It borders on Uruguay to the south; Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia to the south-west; Peru to the west; Colombia to the north-west; and Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana to the north, making a total of 15.749 km of continental borders. It also has a large Atlantic seaside (7.408 km if measured in a straight line).

The whole territory corresponds to 47% of South America and Brazil represents 1/60 of the entire area of the planet. Brazil is formed by 26 states and one Federal District, where Brasília, the capital of the country is located.

 


 

- Climate -

The climatic variations in the country calls attention to the large territory that it occupies. The climate is mainly tropical, with exception to the south, which presents a subtropical climate, and a semiarid area in the north-east. Most of the rest of the country gets a moderate amount of rainfall.

Temperatures in Brazil are uniform during Summer, from November to April, averaging about 26º C (approximately 78 F) over most of the lowlands in January, and a few degrees less in the highlands, depending upon elevation.

This tropical characteristic constant along the year is due to the fact that Brazil is located between the Equator line and the Tropic of Capricorn. Above the Equator line, we find 598.656 km² (about 7% of the whole country) and, below the Tropic of Capricorn, 600.731 km².

 


 

- The Land Relief -

The country can be described in terms of its highlands and lowlands, which are separated from each other by physical barriers, being the Great Escarpment the most impressive. The lowlands are composed of three main regions: the Amazon lowlands, the west-central Pantanal and the coastal lowlands, being the Amazon lowlands the largest of these.

The highest peaks of Brazil are called Pico da Neblina (3.014,1 meters high) and Pico 31 de Março (2.992 m), both located in the north of Brazil.

 Also in the north we find the Amazon River, the first largest river of the world in terms of volume of water, receiving nearly 200.000 square km of water per second, and the second one in extension - 6.280 km long (the first is the Nile river in Africa). The Amazon has almost 1.100 tributaries, carrying more water than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers combined.

The Amazon River originates in Peru, rising from a point in the Peruvian Andes. When it enters Brazil, it receives the name of Solimões River and it only begins to be called the Amazon River when it joins the Negro River.

 When these two rivers merge together, they create a great spectacle. The river becomes two-toned because the contrasting colored water still flows for several miles before mixing together.

 The Amazon river, from its spring in the Andes to its estuary in the Marajó Island in Brazil, covers 6.868 kilometers, the same distance between New York and Berlin. It is navigable all the way into eastern Peru, but the tributaries are all interrupted by falls and rapids where they descend from the highlands.

The São Francisco River, the largest river wholly within Brazil, is the third of the country's great river systems. The São Francisco rises in the Brazilian highlands in western Minas Gerais and southern Goiás, inland from Rio de Janeiro.

 


 

- Plant and Animal Life -

Brazil is the major producer of coffee, banana and sugarcane in the whole world. It occupies the second position in the production of potatoes and beans, third position in the production of corn, and soy, fourth position in the production of peanuts, fifth position in the production of tobacco and cotton.

Coffee is cultivated mainly in the states of Minas Gerais, Espiríto Santo, São Paulo and Paraná and the sugar cane plantations are concentrated mainly in São Paulo, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Minas Gerais and Paraná. Other important agricultural products are rice, beans, orange, grapes etc.

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 Except in the more remote and sections of Brazil's eastern highlands, little of the original flora and fauna remain in the greatest part of the country.

In the Pantanal - an area of swamps and marshes in northwestern Mato Grosso do Sul and southern Mato Grosso states, noted for its natural beauty and rich wildlife - the many sloughs and watercourses still support an abundance of wildlife, including the giant "pirarucu" (Arapaima gigas), the largest fresh-water fish, measuring on average 4 meters in length. Wildfowl also abound in the Pantanal. There are numerous species of snakes, including the deadly "jararaca" and the rattlesnake, a wide variety of lizards, armadillos and anteaters, which may stand more than six feet high. The "onça", a type of jaguar and the ocelots have been mercilessly hunted and are now endangered species.

The Amazonian rainforest, in the north of Brazil, is the richest ecosystem in the country. The rainforest and its waters have a remarkable abundance of plant and animal life. It has the most varied plant life on Earth, with a large number of different species of birds and the largest variety of monkeys in the whole world.

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 Some 1.400 bird species have been identified in the immediate vicinity of the main stream of the Amazon alone. Along the riverbanks are found alligators, anacondas, boa constrictors, "capivaras" (Hydrochareis hydrochaeris) - a sub-aquatic animal and the world's largest rodent, weighing on average 45 kg, with various subspecies in South America - and a number of lesser reptiles and mammals.

 In the waters themselves there are manatees, freshwater dolphins, and some 1.500 identified species of fish, with perhaps another 1.000 unidentified species; the variety includes many types of piranhas, not all of them flesh-eating, electric eels, and some 450 species of catfish.

The Amazon is also home to the world's largest fresh-water turtle, of the genus Podocnemis, extinct everywhere except in the Amazon and on the island of Madagascar.

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 - Population -

 The entire indigenous population of Brazil was estimated in 4 to 5 million in the beginning of the Portuguese colonization. Today, this number has reduced to 220 thousand, concentrated mostly in the North Region of Brazil. They live in different tribes, in houses made of wood and palm tree leaves.

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Each tribe has its own chieftain, who is in charge of everything in the community. These people were very important to the formation of the Brazilian culture. They contributed with food, plantation techniques and some words from their language.

 The Africans, who began to be brought to the country in 1550 as substitutes for the Indian slave labor, also added their music, cooking and religious practices.

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European immigrants, such as Portuguese, German, Italian, Japanese, and others, also contributed to enlarge the variety of ethnic groups which form Brazil.

 


 

- Religion -

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Almost the whole population of Brazil is Roman Catholic. When the Africans arrived in Brazil during the slave trade, they brought their own religions and rituals with them, which were then prohibited while Roman Catholic practices were enforced. But a mix of the two faiths developed and some people still follow the two faiths.

The most popular African religious practice is called "Candomblé" and its followers can be found mostly in Bahia, a state in the north-east of Brazil.

 


 

- Government -

The form of government is the Federal Republic and the President is directly elected by the people. Voting is mandatory from 18 to 65 years of age, except to those who are illiterate or unable to express themselves in the national language, and optional from 16 years of age.

The president works at the Palácio do Planalto. Congressmen and senators work at the National Congress. The Supreme Court Justices work at the Supreme Court. These three buildings are situated around a large square in Brasilia, called The Square of the Three Powers (Praça dos Três Poderes).



 


- Language -

The Portuguese language is spoken throughout the whole country, except among a few thousand native "Indians" in the most remote reaches of the Amazon River system and a few immigrants, mostly aged people, who live inland in the south and still speak their native languages and know little about the Portuguese language.

The Portuguese language has undergone many changes, both in the mother country (Portugal) and in Brazil, since it has been introduced to the country after the colonization. Although written word remains mutually intelligible in both countries, pronunciations, vocabularies and the meanings of some words have diverged.

New words and expressions in Brazilian Portuguese have been introduced by Italians, Germans, Japanese and other immigrants, and from across the borders with Spanish-speaking countries.

A good example is the universal use in Brazil of the word "tchau" (good-bye), adopted from the Italian "ciao" (the written form is different, but the pronunciation is the same). Other words have entered through contact with foreign products and technologies.

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It is however suggested that the greatest divergence of the Brazilian language from the Portuguese goes back to contact with the "Indians". The main language spoken by the tropical forest peoples of Brazil, that is called Tupian, or "Tupí-Guaraní", became the lingua franca between the natives and the Portuguese traders, missionaries, adventurers and administrators.

The Tupian influence in Brazilian place names is overwhelming, a large numer of districts, cities, states, rivers etc, originated from the "Tupi-Guaraní", such as Ipanema (y-panema = bad river); Tijuca (tujuco = place wehere there is a lot of mud); Ipiranga (y-piranga = red river); Pernambuco (para-nã-mbuca = sea with holes, this name is due to the large number of reefs on its coast); and many others.

As a result of the Tupian influence, Brazilian Portuguese became more nasal than the Portuguese spoken in Portugal and Brazilians generally speak more slowly, pronouncing all the vowels. However, depending on the region, Brazilian people have very different accents.

 


 

- Popular Feasts -

Carnival is the most traditional popular celebration in Brazil and beautiful carnival parade that takes place Rio de Janeiro city is undoubtedely the most popular in the whole country.

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Carnival happens just before the Lent time, the 40 days period that precede Easter. Its date varies from year to year, but it usually ranges from late February to early March. It officially begins on a Saturday and ends on a Tuesday. The following Wednesday is called "Quarta-feira de Cinzas" (Ash Wednesday). During four whole days, people have a lot of fun in all parts of the country. In 2002 is celebrated from February 9th to February 12th.

Samba , the main rhythm of the Brazilian carnival, originated from the ancient rhythm the African slaves brought to Brazil.

Brazilian carnival has its origin in the old Portuguese pre-Lent celebration known as the "entrudo" (from the Latim introito, which means beginning) and it was introduced in Brazil in 1723, with the immigration from the islands of Madeira, Açores and Cabo Verde.

 


 

- Sports -

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Soccer is the nation's most popular sport, drawing huge crowds to international matches at stadia in the major cities. The largest of these, the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, inaugurated in 1950 (the world's largest stadium), has room to 200.000 people.

From Brazil came the world-renowned Pelé, one of the greatest players of all time, as well as the famous contemporary soccer player Ronaldo, known in Brazil as Ronaldinho.


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This page was created on: January 24, 2002.
Last updated on: July 1, 2006.

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Information obtained at: 1. The Encyclopædia Britannica (Web site)
2. Nova Enciclopédia Ilustrada Folha. Folha de São Paulo. São Paulo, 1996.
3. TIBIRIÇA, Luiz Caldas. Dicionário de Topônimos Brasileiros de Origem Tupi. Ed Traço. São Paulo, 1985.
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