Page 18 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - November '21

Page 18, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Brazil: Home Of Carnival And The 2016 Olympics

By Don Kiselewski, MCC,
D.S., Palm Beach Gardens
Travel Leaders
The first evidence of human
settlement in Brazil can be
traced back some 8,000 years.
Two distinct developments
occurred within the country,
one in the Amazon Basin and
the other to the south, along
the coast.
Europeans first reached
Brazil in January of 1500, when Spaniard Vicente Yáñez
Pinzón landed. Several months later in April, Portuguese
explorer Pedro Cabral arrived in Brazil, which he claimed
for Portugal on May 3, 1500. These new territories were Brazil’s world-renowned Christ the Redeemer statue sits atop Corcoyado Mountain, overlooking the scenic city of Rio de
first called the Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of the True Cross) Janeiro. Photo by Artyominc/Wikimedia, Creative Commons License
and allotted to Portugal by the Treaty of Tordesillas in
1494. However, Spain did not recognize this claim until
1522. Brazil was divided into 13 fiefdoms in 1532, each
under a “captain.” They enhanced cooperation between
the captains in 1548 when King John III of Portugal sent
a governor to hold together these captaincies.
The 16 century colonization began in the northeast,
th
where they imported slaves from Africa to labor in the
cane fields. In 1554, the Jesuit missionaries in São Paula
started the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. The
French and Dutch attempted settlements, but revolts of
Portuguese settlers destroyed these communities.
Stockbreeding and agriculture increased rapidly, over
the next two centuries. Tobacco, rice, cotton, cocoa and This photo from August 2012 shows Rio’s Maracanã Stadium being reformed to meet international requirements needed
dye-producing plants had great influence on the economy for the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016. Photo by Don Kiselewski
of the period. The discovery of gold slowed the growth
of agriculture in the interior. Large gold strikes occurred universal suffrage, abolished slavery and secularized civil The estimated 2019 population in Brazil is about 210
in 1694 in Minas Gerais, and in 1718 there was another service, and in doing so became so authoritarian that a million* with approximately 10 percent of the population
find in Mato Grosso. The mining of diamonds began in military revolution overthrew him and Brazil became a living in Rio and São Paulo.** Catholicism is Brazil’s
1699, which, like the gold finds, shifted labor away from republic in 1889. The last century has produced many largest religion, but they practice many other faiths.
agriculture. Today, Brazil produces about 65 percent of changes in the direction of the government and its leaders. Protestants, Jews, Evangelical Christians and followers
the world’s gems. Shoppers get excellent prices on stones In 1986, democracy was ushered in, when José Sarney of spiritualist religions of Africa, such as Macumba and
and settings largely because stones are not exported for became the country’s leader. Candomble, are also present in Brazil.
cutting and crafting. Ten of the world’s 20 largest rivers snake through the Brazil is a true melting pot of cultures. It is one of the
The arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family strengthened Amazon Basin, which stretches from the Andes, home of world’s most ethnically diverse countries – a fascinating
nationalism in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, when Napoleonic the continent’s highest peaks, east to the Atlantic Ocean. mixture of European, African and Indian influences. The
troops occupied Portugal. King John VI remained in Brazil is the largest country in South America; its area country still maintains South America’s largest population
Brazil until 1821. In 1822, his son Dom Pedro became covers 3.2 million square miles. Bordering every country of native people: about 180 tribes that speak 120 different
Pedro I, the emperor of Brazil. Pedro II began his rule in South America except Chile and Ecuador, Brazil languages and dialects. The indigenous Indian culture
in 1840. During his reign there were great economic contains nearly half the continent’s land mass and 60 is evidenced in the country’s colorful handicrafts and
expansions due to the cultivation of coffee. He granted percent of the Amazon rainforest. regional dishes. Ethnic diversity has separated the
Five distinct areas craft the profile of Brazil. They peoples and Brazilians are not a homogeneous people.
are often described as the Amazonian North, Central The vibrant chords of the African culture are alive in the
Jewel (Brasilia), Wealthy Southeast, Colonial Northeast nation’s samba music and highly spiced cuisine of Bahia.
and the European South. The official language of Brazil However, as one might expect, not all Brazilians share
is Portuguese, but it is a variation of what’s spoken in these characteristics.
Portugal. One will also find that French, German and
Italian are widely spoken … English to a lesser degree. Brazil on page 19

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Maracanã Stadium prior to construction. Photo by Don
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