Best Countries

Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America, almost the size of the United States, and 200 times larger than Denmark. Almost 206 million people live there. residents.

The country covers a large area between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean and shares borders with Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

Brazil, named after the local Brazilian tree, is rich in natural resources. There are large agricultural areas and huge rainforests.
The country has a very varied landscape. In the northern part of the country lies the rainforest area Amazonas, while the southern part of the country is covered by mountains and savannah areas with forest. The forest covers areas in 9 different countries (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) and has given names to states or provinces in 4 of these countries. Brazil also has a very long coastline. The climate is tropical and the difference between winter and summer is small.

The capital is called Brasilia and the largest cities are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Other major cities are Anapolis, Belem, Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Goiania, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Vila Velha and Vitória.

According to Aristmarketing, Brazil is today described as Latin America’s leading economic power. However, the income distribution among the population is very skewed, and leveling out the differences is one of the country’s biggest challenges. In addition, the country has experienced a decline in economic growth since 2011.

The country is best known for football and carnival, and is the world’s largest producer, exporter and consumer of coffee.

Brazil’s beaches (like those in Australia, Hawaii and Florida) are major attractions; the most visited include Copacabana, Ipanema and Joaquina.

TIMELINE:

1500 – Pedro Alvares Cabral discovers Brazil, and where he landed in Porto Seguru, he thought he had discovered an island, calling the new land the “Island of the True Cross” ( Ilha da Vera Cruz ) and declaring that for Portuguese territory.

1540 – Cabeza de Vaca is appointed governor of Rio de la Plata.

1549-1763 – Brazil’s first capital is founded by the Portuguese governor Tome de Souza, and Salvador da Bahia is referred to by many as the “Heart of Brazil”.

1550 – African slaves work in sugar plantations.

1565 – Rio de Janeiro is founded.

1624 – Dutch conquest of Salvador.

1636 – General Henrique Dias wins the decisive battle against Holland.

1661 – The Netherlands sell Brazil to Portugal for 8 million guilders.

1763-1960 – Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the country, after which Brasilia took over.

1789 – Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (Tiradentes) launches the first Brazilian uprising against Portugal. The Brazilian separatist movement was discovered, and Tiradentes was arrested and hanged in public at Minas Gerais in Belo Horisonte, on April 21, 1792. Since the 19th century, he has been considered a national hero in Brazil and protector of the military police.

1822 – Brazil declares independence from Portugal.

1888 – Slavery abolished, 4 million slaves liberated.

1889 – Monarchy overthrown; republic established.

1917 – Despite internal political conditions at the time, Brazil enters World War I on October 26, on the side of the Allies ( Tripelentent ), after initially adopting neutrality.

1930-1945 – President Getulio Vargas leads a provisional revolutionary government following a military coup.

1931 – Cristo Redentor, the name of the very famous statue of Christ, which stands on the 710 meter high mountain Corcovado, was inaugurated on October 12. It is not only a Christian symbol, but also a landmark for both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. The statue is 38 meters high and weighs 700 tons.

1938 – President Vargas had promised free, democratic elections again in 1938, but when he realized that he could not be re-elected under the Constitution, he carried out a coup that made him president again. At the same time, he introduced the “Estada Novo” (“New State”), built on a fascist foundation.

1943 – Brazil joins the Allies in World War II.

1945 – President Vargas ousted in military coup; new constitution gave power back to the states.

1950 – Getulio Vargas is elected president. The previous five years had been ruled by the military and the people lacked very simple things. The pressure from the international corporations also increased and on August 24, 1954, he took his own life, after being given the choice by the military to either resign or be overthrown.

1956-1961 – Juscelino Kubitschek becomes president. He helped achieve rapid economic growth. Kubitschek was replaced as president by Jânio Quadros in 1961. When the military regained power in 1964, Kubitschek’s political rights were suspended for the next 10 years. He then went into self-elected exile and stayed for the following years in the United States and Europe. He returned to Brazil in 1967, but died in a car accident near the city of Resende (in the state of Rio de Janeiro ) on August 22, 1976.

1960 – Kubitschek did Brasilia, the capital.

1961 – Quadro’s resignation on August 25, ushered in a serious political crisis that culminated in a military coup in 1964. He died on February 16, 1992 in Sao Paolo.

1964-1985 – Military dictatorship rules Brazil.

1974 – The famous fire- fighting Joelma building in Sao Paolo is still one of the largest and most memorable tragedies in the country, as the otherwise fire-safe building went up in flames on 1 February. 189 people searched the roof in the hope of being rescued by helicopters. About 80 people hid under the tiles on the roof of the building. Only they were found alive.

1978 – The film crew of the James Bond film ” Moonraker ” was sent to Rio early in the year to film the annual carnival party that can be seen in the film. Among other things. Sugar Loaf Mountain ( Sugarloaf Mountain ), which has a prominent role in the film, where Bond and Dr. Goodhead is attacked by Jaws in the cable car high above Rio. Other locations in the country: Galeão´s Airport (Rio de Janeiro), Aterro de Flamengo (Rio de Janeiro), Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro), Grumai Beach (Rio de Janeiro), Mariana (Minas Gerais), Manaus (Amazonas), Paraná River, Rio de Santa Catarina, Iguaçu River (Paraná), Urca Hill Station (Urca),. The film premiered in London, England on June 26, 1979, and grossed over $ 70,000,000. The film was released in Denmark in August.

1985 MUSIC: The first Rock in Rio festival show was held from 11-20. January. Queen, George Benson, Rod Stewart, AC / DC and Yes were the main names, all occupying the seats over two evenings. About 1.4 million people attended the 10-day festival.

1991 MUSIC: The Second Rock in Rio was held from 18-27. January at the Maracana Stadium. Main names were: Guns N ‘Roses, Prince and George Michael, all with two shows each. INXS, New Kids on the Block and A-ha also got top rankings, for one night each. The festival was broadcast live to 55 countries, and was watched by an incredible amount of 580 million people.

1992 – A United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED, is held in Rio between 3 and 14 July.

MUSIC: Guns N ‘Roses plays two shows at the Estacionamento Do Anhembi in Sao Paulo, December 10 and 12, and a show at the Autodrome in Rio de Janeiro on December 13, 1992.

1995-2003 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso becomes President of the country. In 2002, he received the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Poland.

1996 SPORT: Footballer Ronaldo was named the world’s best footballer by FIFA. He did so again in 1997 and 2002, and is thus the first to receive the award three times. Since then, the club mate from Real Madrid, Zidane and Lionel Messi have managed the same. Ronaldo was also named European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 2002.

1996 – 19 landless farmers are killed in a confrontation with police in the bend of a highway in the southeastern Amazon of Eldorado dos Carajas. More than 15,000 people witnessed the Pará military open fire and it was filmed and shown on Brazilian television hundreds of times. Read here.

1997 – Constitution amended to allow the President to stand for re-election.

2000 – Brazil’s 500th anniversary is marred by protests from Native Americans.

2001 MUSIC: Rock in Rio III will be held again at the Maracana Stadium over a one-week period from 12-21. January. The main names are: Sting, REM., Guns N ‘Roses, ‘ N Sync, Iron Maiden, Neil Young and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

2003-2011 – Luiz Inácio da Silva (Lula) was the country’s president. He was re-elected in 2006.

2003 – The Alcantara VLS-1 V03 satellite launches on the launch pad at the Alcântara Launch Center, killing a total of 21 people on the ramp on 22 August. The incident has caused a significant delay to the Brazilian space program due to government investigations as well as the fact that many scientists and engineers working on the program died when the rocket exploded. The country’s first space rocket was launched in 2004.

2005 – Death patrol kills 30 people; allegations of corruption shook the worker’s party.

2006 MUSIC: The Rolling Stones, which could celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, took over Copacabana on February 18, in what was to be one of the biggest (free) rock concerts ever. The band played for about 1.5 million fans on the famous beach. Watch the whole show here.

2007 – 1000 people are freed from sugar cane plantations in the Amazon, by the government’s anti-slavery team. Many farmers in the Amazon region who are plagued by debt are forced to work almost for free to repay the money they owe. A spokesman said the workers had been found in degrading conditions. They had nothing but straw to cover themselves with, no bathrooms, nowhere to store food. It is estimated that between 25,000 and 40,000 people may work in slave-like conditions in Brazil.

On July 17, 2007, the country’s worst plane crash occurred when the Airbus A320 crossed the runway in Sao Paolo in moderate rain, crashing into a warehouse adjacent to a shell gas station. All 187 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A320 died, along with 12 people on the ground. See the accident in the link here.

2008 – Foot-and-mouth disease stopped all imports of Brazilian beef.

FILM: Scenes from The Incredible Hulk were recorded over two weeks in Rio de Janeiro in November 2007. Locations: Favela da Rocinha, Lapa, Tijuca Forest and Santa Teresa. It premiered on June 13, 2008.

2009 – Brazil and France agree to fight global warming.

2010 MUSIC: Guns N ‘Roses played 4 sold out shows in March, Ginásio Nilson Nelson, Brasília (d. 7), Ginásio Jornalista Felipe Drumond, Belo Horizonte (d. 10), Palestra Itália Stadium, São Paulo (d. 13.) and Estacionamento da Fierg s, Porto Alegre (d. 16.). The band returns on April 4, and plays a sold out show at Apoteose in Rio. In total, 107,000 people played.

FILM: Scenes from Sylvester Stallone’s film “The Expendables was shot in Rio de Janeiro in April 2009. Locations: Mangaratiba, Niteroi, Guanabara Bay, Colônia Juliano Moreira and Parque Lage. The film premiered in August 2010 in the United States.

2011 – Dilma Vana Rousseff is elected the first female president of Brazil. She was re-elected in 2014 with a narrow victory over rival candidate Aécio Neves.

MUSIC: The fourth Rock in Rio festival was held on 23/24/25/29/30. September and 01/02. October, 2011. The main names were: Rihanna, Elton John, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, Coldplay, Guns N ‘Roses and System of a Down.

2013 – It is estimated that about 3 million. people flocked to Rio’s famous beach, Copacabana for an all – night prayer led by Pope Francis – it is the largest assembly in a city better known for its festivities than for its masses.

MUSIC: The fifth Rock in Rio festival was held on 13/14/15/19/20/21/22. September, 2013. The main names were: Beyoncé, Muse, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Iron Maiden.

2014 – Petrolium company Petrobras, founded by Getulio Vargas in 1953, comes under suspicion of money laundering ( Operation Car Wash ). Among the suspects, former President Lula is accused of corruption, which he denied. The decision to proceed with the trial – which takes place in the city of Curitiba – comes amid a period of intense political and economic unrest.

MUSIC: Guns N ‘Roses plays shows in March at HSBC Arena, Rio (d. 20), Esplanada do Mineirão, Belo Horizonte (d. 22), Nilson Nelson, Brasilia (d. 25), Parque Anhembi, Sao Paulo (d. 28.), Estadio Durival Britto, Curitiba (d. 30.) and in April at Devassa on Stage, Florianapolis (d. 01.), Pavilhao da Fiergs, Porto Alegre (d. 03.), Chevrolet Hal l, Recife (d. 15.) and Centro de Eventos do Ceará, Fortaleza (d. 17.).

2015 – In March and April, millions of protesters took to the streets during the year. They protested against President Rousseff’s alleged involvement in the Petrobras scandal, which involved return commissions and corruption. No direct evidence implicates Rousseff in the case, and she denies having any prior knowledge of it. Read more here.

MUSIC: The sixth Rock in Rio festival will be held on 18-27. September, 2015 at Rock City. The main names were: Queen + Adam Lambert, Metallica, Rod Stewart, Elton John, System of a Down, Slipknot, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

2016 – In January, the port city of Guaruja was hit by a toxic spill where a dangerous cloud hung over the city and forced people to stay in their homes and close the windows.

MUSIC: Guns N ‘Roses played six shows in November: Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre (d. 08.), Allianz Parque, Sao Paulo (d. 11 & 12), Estadio Nilton Santos-Engenhao, Rio ( d. 15.), Pedreira Paulo Leminski, Curitiba (d. 17.), Estadio Nacional, Brasilia (d. 20.).