A Brief History of Brazil

Pre-Colonial Era

• Ancient indigenous peoples live in Brazil for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.
• In this era, the Tupi and Guaraní people are among Brazil’s largest and most advanced indigenous civilisations.
• They live in small, semi-nomadic communities and rely on hunting, fishing and agriculture for survival.

Colonial Period

• 1500: Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral declares Brazil a Portuguese colony in 1500, despite resistance to colonisation by indigenous Brazilians. Over the next century, violence and disease (mainly smallpox) kill an estimated 90 percent of indigenous Brazilians.
• 1530: Portuguese settlers begin to establish sugar plantations along the coast, starting with the introduction of sugarcane on the island of Itamaracá. Portuguese colonists enslave indigenous peoples for labour.
• 1540s: Sugar plantations begin to import enslaved Africans, marking the beginning of more than 300 years of the slave trade in Brazil.
• 1549: The first Jesuit missions are established in the interior of Brazil, aimed at converting indigenous peoples to Christianity under Portuguese colonial rule.
• 1808: The Portuguese royal family flees to Brazil due to the Napoleonic Wars, temporarily establishing Rio de Janeiro as the capital of the Portuguese Empire.

Empire Period

• 1822: Brazil declares independence from Portugal and becomes an empire, with Dom Pedro I as its first emperor.
• 1840: Pedro II is declared of age on July 23 and assumes power at 14, ending the turbulent regency period and beginning his 49-year reign.
• 1864–1870: Brazil fights the Paraguay War (War of the Triple Alliance) alongside Argentina and Uruguay, the bloodiest conflict in South American history.
• 1888: Slavery is abolished, leading to mass migration from the countryside to cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
• 1889: The monarchy is overthrown. A republic is established with a federal constitution and the presidency as the head of government.

Early Republic

• 1889: Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca leads a military coup on November 15, deposing Emperor Pedro II and proclaiming the Republic of Brazil.
• 1891: Brazil’s first republican constitution is promulgated on February 24, establishing a federal system similar to the United States with separation of powers.
• 1917: Although Brazil remains neutral during the early years of World War I, Brazil declares war on Germany after unrestricted German submarine activity sinks several Brazilian merchant ships.

Vargas Era & WWII

• 1930: Getúlio Vargas comes to power in a coup, leading to the Vargas Era (1930–1945), characterised by a populist government and labour reforms.
• 1932: The Constitutionalist Revolution is an armed uprising in São Paulo, Brazil, against President Getúlio Vargas’s centralisation of political power and the dissolution of state governments. Although ultimately defeated, the revolution contributes to drafting and implementing a new constitution in 1934, which partially addresses the demands of the Paulistas.
• 1937: Vargas stages a coup on November 10, establishing the authoritarian Estado Novo dictatorship and promulgating a new constitution that centralises power in his hands.
• 1942: During World War II, Brazil is initially neutral, but it eventually joins the Allies in 1942. Brazil’s economy booms due to increased demand for its agricultural and industrial products.

Democratic Period

• 1946: A new democratic constitution is promulgated on September 18, establishing the Fourth Brazilian Republic and creating the legal foundation for democratic governance after the Estado Novo.
• 1954: Getúlio Vargas returns as democratically elected president in 1950 but commits suicide on August 24 amid a growing political crisis, shocking the nation.
• 1956–1961: President Juscelino Kubitschek leads rapid modernisation and economic development under his ‘50 years in 5’ programme, transforming Brazil’s infrastructure and industry.
• 1958: Brazil wins the FIFA World Cup, going on to win five World Cups between 1958 and 2002.
• 1960: Brasília is inaugurated as Brazil’s new capital on April 21, symbolising the country’s modernisation and development ambitions.

Military Dictatorship

• 1964: A military coup takes place, leading to a dictatorship that lasts several decades. During this time, the government suppresses political opposition, censors the media, tortures dissidents, and commits widespread human rights abuses. The dictatorship also sees significant economic growth, with Brazil becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
• 1968: The government enacts Institutional Act Number 5 (AI-5) on December 13, closing Congress, suspending civil rights, and enabling systematic torture and repression during the harshest period of the dictatorship.
• 1985: Military rule ends as Brazil begins to transition to democracy. Since then, Brazil remains a democratic country, with several presidents from different political parties occupying office.

New Republic

• 1988: Brazil enacts a new constitution that limits presidential powers.
• 1994: The Plano Real is introduced, a set of economic measures to stabilise Brazil’s economy and curb hyperinflation.

Contemporary Brazil

• In the early 21st century, Brazil experiences significant economic growth but struggles with income inequality and corruption. The Brazilian economy booms, and social programmes are expanded.
• 2002: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, popularly known as Lula, wins presidential elections to lead the first centre-left government in over 40 years.
• 2013: Mass protests erupt nationwide over poor public services, corruption, police violence, and Brazil’s stark inequality.
• 2014: The Car Wash investigation, a large-scale anti-corruption probe, uncovers a massive graft scheme involving Brazil’s political and business elites, including bribery, kickbacks and money laundering. The investigation later becomes controversial over its methods and judicial conduct.
• 2016: Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is convicted of corruption, and President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office on August 31, leading to right-wing politician Jair Bolsonaro’s rise as president in 2018. Lula’s convictions are later overturned by Brazil’s Supreme Court.
• 2020: The first Covid-19 case is detected in Brazil. To date, there have been more than 37 million infections of Covid-19 in Brazil and nearly 700,000 Covid-19-related deaths.
• 2020: Bolsonaro’s controversial policies and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic lead to widespread criticism and protests.
• 2022: Brazilians re-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
• 2023: On January 8, Jair Bolsonaro supporters storm the government buildings in Brasília in an insurrectionist attempt.