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History
Home » Brazil » Brazil Overview and History » HistoryPortuguese explorers, led by Pedro Alvares Cabral, set out for Brazil in the 1500’s. Before this time, Brazil is thought to have been inhabited by semi-nomadic populations for at least 10,000 years. From the 1500’s to the 1800’s, the land was inhabited by the Portuguese, who exploited it for its brazilwood, sugarcane, and gold. They did this by enslaving the Amerindians and Africans. In 1808, the queen of Portugal, Maria I, and her son Joao VI moved to Brazil to flee from Napoleon. This led to opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom and gave Brazil status as a united kingdom with Portugal’s crown. Dom Pedro I declared Brazil an independent nation in 1822. The government in Brazil was set up as a democracy, much like what was in Britain, but it more closely resembled the autocratic Austrian Empire. Princess Isabelle abolished slavery in 1888 with the “Golden Law.”
Immigration greatly increased in the 19th and 20th centuries. Within that time period, 5 million people from Europe and Japan immigrated to Brazil. During this time, the Brazilian democracy was replaced by a dictatorship three different times. Since 1985, Brazil has remained a presidential democracy.
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