History Usefulnotes / Brazil

* Its beautiful diversity: Brazil is a melting pot of many cultures. On top of being colonized by Portuguese and settled by Italian, German, and East Asian immigrants, it hosts a Lebanese diaspora with a larger population than Lebanon itself, one of the largest Jewish communities in the Americas, and descendants of ex-Confederates. Of course, this diversity has ''not'' led to Brazil being a multiracial paradise.

Brazil's modern population descends from a mix of Portuguese colonists, African slaves, and Native Americans, plus immigrants from Europe, Middle East and Japan. Although it isn't very well known, Brazil is home to the largest ethnic Japanese population in the world outside Japan itself, and the 19th century saw the settlement of many immigrants from Germany and Italy in the southeastern/southern states, where to this day there's still a lot of German and Italian influence in the culture and architecture, with people occasionally speaking dialects on the streets, especially in the smaller towns.

* Its beautiful diversity: Brazil is a melting pot of many cultures. On top of being colonized by Portuguese and settled by Italians and Germans, it hosts a Lebanese diaspora with a larger population than Lebanon itself, one of the largest Jewish communities in the Americas, the largest Japanese population outside of Japan (and the largest East Asian population in South America), and descendants of ex-Confederates. Of course, this diversity has ''not'' led to Brazil being a multiracial paradise.

* Its beautiful diversity: Brazil is a melting pot of many cultures. On top of being colonized by Portuguese and settled by Italian and Germans, it hosts a Lebanese diaspora with a larger population than Lebanon itself, one of the largest Jewish communities in the Americas, and descendants of ex-Confederates. Of course, this diversity has ''not'' led to Brazil being a multiracial paradise.

* Also noteworthy is that Brazil is the only independent American country that became [[UsefulNotes/TheEmpireOfBrazil an Empire]] for a lasting period of time[[note]]Mexico was an empire 1821-23 and 1864-67, and Haiti 1804-06 and 1849-59, but as you can see, they didn't exactly stick.[[/note]]. Its empire lasted more than half a century (1822-89) and is partially responsible for its large territory (Portugal ensured most of it by aggressive colonization and quite a bit of treaty-breaking). Brazil had two Emperors; the second, UsefulNotes/PedroII, is one of the most well-regarded monarchs in history. He was responsible for the modernization of his country, decades of constitutional government and rule of law [[note]] which was ''remarkable'' in a Latin America that was dominated by military dictators and caudillos [[/note]], and literally ''starting'' Brazil's abolition movement by refusing to keep slaves. However, his lack of a surviving male heir and the ''incredibly'' [[TheChainsOfCommanding exhausting task]] of ruling meant that when he was overthrown in a coup, he chose a quiet exile despite having more than enough support to stay in power. In recent years, there have been calls by many Brazilians, jaded by the ineptitude of Brazil's various republics, to restore the monarchy.

** Poor soils: Much of Brazil's land is only farmable, requiring intense amounts of fertilizer and terraforming. For farming to be profitable, landowners stick to high-return cash crops rather than grow grains or invest in industrial development. This contributes to Brazil's inequality and cycles of boom and bust.
** The lack of the rule of law and corruption. One unfortunate legacy of the 1889 coup is Brazil's occasional political instability and periods of military power. None of the various republics have lasted longer than the Constitution of the Empire and has contributed to a legacy of corruption that not even Lula was able to eradicate fully.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Brazil Brazil's climate is quite varied.]] Most of its territory is in the tropics, which means there are no clear equinoxes and solstices. The northern half of the country can be roughly considered to be warm year-round. The southern half sees winter and summer only as a difference in temperature (and rainfall), as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous deciduous]] trees are an underwhelming minority of the everyday vegetation (even though most trees do look like deciduous trees -- in summer, that is). Yearly temperature variation is usually limited; in southern urban areas, temperatures usually vary by about 35°C (2°C~37°C). Sub-zero temperatures are extremely localized and brief, and snow flurries are even more so and very much newsworthy. Keep in mind this is a country [[TheMountainsOfIllinois with no mountains]] [[WeAllLiveInAmerica to speak of.]]

** Geographic isolation: Brazil is a rather formidable nation to traverse due to its sheer size: a series of highlands separate the populated coastline from the interior, meaning transporting raw materials across the country often requires the construction of expensive roads. While there are sixty three thousand kilometers of navigable rivers, only about 31% of them are used for transport of cargo and passengers, especially in the Northern region. This geography makes the construction of a centralized nation-state a bit more difficult. It isolates significant metropolises like São Paulo and Rio from being markets for Brazil's mineral and agricultural wealth and from hosting large ports.

* Its very varied and beautiful music, such as forró, samba, MPB, frevo, maracatu, choro, caipira, axé, BossaNova, mangue beat, funk carioca, etc.

** Geographic isolation: Brazil is a rather formidable nation to traverse due to its sheer size: a series of highlands separate the populated coastline from the interior, meaning transporting raw materials across the country often requires the construction of expensive roads. While there are sixty three thousand kilometers of navigable rivers, only about 31% of them are used for transport of cargo and passengers, especially in the Northern region. This geography makes the construction of a centralized nation-state difficult. It isolates significant metropolises like Sao Paulo and Rio from being markets for Brazil's mineral and agricultural wealth and from hosting large ports.

* Placing some [[OverlyLongGag beautiful]] cultural value on [[TakeAThirdOption lateral thinking and the harmless bending of rules]]. Brazilians are fond of a mix of ingenuity and trickery known as the "gambiarra". This actually saved lives during the Brazilian participation in WWII -- Brazilian soldiers learned to coat their boots with newspaper and straw, preventing hypothermia, while soldiers of other countries paid much more for (or went without) special equipment that delivered much less. The figure of the '40s "Malandro" (Scoundrel) is romanticized in several works (even by Disney; [[WesternAnimation/SaludosAmigos José Carioca]] was originally a representation of this specific subculture) and, in the few Brazilian works that have a law enforcement agent as the protagonist, pretty much none is a ByTheBookCop.

** Around 57% of all electric power in Brazil is hydroelectric; thermoelectric plants are either used to make up the deficit during droughts, as back-up systems, or as experiments using biomass instead of natural gas. Brazil has no coal power plants, but its third nuclear reactor plant has now gone online; those plants are more [[ForScience experimental]] than practical, but they do produce some (very expensive) energy. Unfortunately, the heavy abuse of the rain forests and the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture -- which are illegal, but government agencies are underfunded -- somewhat makes up for this, slinging Brazil higher in pollution ratings. Regardless, the country makes money by selling carbon credits, and has signed the Kyoto Protocol.

** Around 95% of all electric power in Brazil is hydroelectric; thermoelectric plants are either used to make up the deficit during droughts, as back-up systems, or as experiments using biomass instead of natural gas. Brazil has no coal power plants, but its third nuclear reactor plant has now gone online; those plants are more [[ForScience experimental]] than practical, but they do produce some (very expensive) energy. Unfortunately, the heavy abuse of the rain forests and the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture -- which are illegal, but government agencies are underfunded -- somewhat makes up for this, slinging Brazil higher in pollution ratings. Regardless, the country makes money by selling carbon credits, and has signed the Kyoto Protocol.

** Geographic isolation: Brazil is a formidable nation to traverse: a series of highlands separate the populated coastline from the interior. And with the Amazon River being the only navigable river in the heartland, transporting raw materials across the country requires the construction of expensive roads. This geography makes the construction of a centralized nation-state difficult. It isolates significant metropolises like Sao Paulo and Rio from being markets for Brazil's mineral and agricultural wealth and from hosting large ports.

* Its beautiful diversity: Brazil is a melting pot of many cultures. On top of being founded by Portuguese settlers, it hosts the largest Japanese diaspora, a Lebanese diaspora with a larger population than Lebanon itself, one of the largest Jewish communities in the Americas, a small community that is descendants of ex-Confederates, and sizable Italian and German communities. Of course, this diversity has ''not'' led to Brazil being a multiracial paradise.

* '''Lowest point:''' Atlantic Ocean (3,646 m/11,962 ft) (-)

*** A relatively new trend (mostly shared by poor families) is to give their children "exotic" names. Most consist of poorly spelled American names ([[XtremeKoolLetterz with as many doubled consonants, w's and y's as can be thrown in]]), but there are also the Brazilian and American celebrity stage names.

Brazil was colonized by UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}}, and so most Brazilians speak UsefulNotes/{{Portuguese|Language}}, unlike the rest of Latin America, which mostly speaks Spanish -- though there is a Spanish-speaking minority (way less than 1%) in the west and south, and Spanish is taught at some schools (as well as English, but that's obligatory nationwide, even if not all the students reach any fluency). There are many minority languages that receive official status in some municipalities in Brazil, ranging from native indigenous languages brought by immigrants.

Brazil was colonized by UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}}, and so most Brazilians speak UsefulNotes/{{Portuguese|Language}}, unlike the rest of Latin America, which mostly speaks Spanish -- though there is a Spanish-speaking minority (way less than 1%) in the west and south, and Spanish is taught at some schools (as well as English, but that's obligatory nationwide, even if not all the students reach any fluency).

* Its beautiful names: one of the main things about Brazil is that many people have informal nicknames. For example, former president Luiz Inácio da Silva, who will return to that office after the 2022 election, is generally just "Lula". Even the press will call him just "Presidente Lula" (he actually had it legally incorporated into his name), and his successor Dilma Rousseff is just "Dilma". Also, Brazilian names tend to go to three or more words, because as a rule of thumb both parents pass their last names on to the child, not only the father -- and the mother can register a child in her name only too.

** President: UsefulNotes/JairBolsonaro; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva takes office on January 1, 2023
** Vice President: Hamilton Mourão; Geraldo Alckmin takes office on January 1, 2023

Brazil (Officially the ''Federative Republic of Brazil'') is, by far, the largest country in Latin America and UsefulNotes/SouthAmerica. It is also the world's fifth largest country by area[[note]]after Russia, Canada, China, and the United States[[/note]] and sixth largest by population[[note]]after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Pakistan[[/note]].

* Brazilians mostly see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont]] as the inventor of the airplane, the rest of the world less so (except perhaps for the French, as his aircraft, the ''14-Bis'', was publicly demonstrated at the Bagatelle Field in Paris).

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_of_Brazil What is the capital of Brazil?]] [[TheCapitalOfBrazilIsBuenosAires The capital of Brazil is not Buenos Aires.]] It is not UsefulNotes/RioDeJaneiro either, but it used to be before 1960; it has been [[SpaceBrasilia Brasília]] since 1960 -- a planned city built specifically for this purpose. There are about ten major political parties in Brazil, with PSDB (nominally social democrats), PT (nominally labour) and PMDB (unabashed populists) being the largest and more important. All of them have been involved in political scandals of all sorts, and no wonder; the political system tends to lead very easily to corruption. This is because all sorts of high-ranking jobs in the government are directly or indirectly nominated by politicians, with the nominees tending to 'share' their gains with those who put them there. [[FromBadToWorse To make things worse]], the people who nominate are usually power-brokers in either chamber of Congress, who themselves can only be tried by Brazil's highest court and/or their peers. Combine this with inefficient oversight from the judiciary branch directly responsible for monitoring government spending[[note]]the TCU, the members of which are directly nominated by the same politicians they monitor[[/note]], [[BadCopIncompetentCop all sorts of problems with the police]], the absurdly long time (i.e., more than a decade) for the judiciary to finish trying a case[[note]]in no small part due to the amazing number of appeals anyone can make, it being not rare at all for a mundane case to reach the Supreme Court[[/note]], and other problems, and the results are plain to see.

Like most other Latin American states, Brazil is officially a secular state, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion (many non-practitioners [[CulturallyReligious merely declare themselves Catholic]]), with a growing Protestant neo-Pentecostal (Evangelical) population. Particularly in the northeastern states, various syncretic religions which mix Roman Catholic saints and African deities are also practiced, including ''candomblé'' and ''umbanda''. Spiritualism and Judaism are minority faiths, but not that uncommon. Atheists and agnostics are also minorities, but seem to be growing. According to the 2010 census, Brazilian population was composed of roman catholics (64,6%), protestants (22,2%), non-religious people (8%), spiritists (2%) and others (3%) by then.

Brazilian literature and cinema is practically devoid of the fantasy genre, and is mostly composed of dramas and comedies centered on one of Brazil's major cities (UsefulNotes/SaoPaulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador). MagicalRealism is common, and very popular in the local telenovelas. Also popular in telenovelas are stereotyped versions of foreign countries for some extra exoticism in the plot. This has began to change as Globo made fantasy-themed telenovelas that [[FollowTheLeader follow popular series]] such as ''Series/GameOfThrones'', while Evangelist-controlled network [=RecordTV=] has produced big-budget Biblical-themed shows to rival them.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Brazil Brazil's climate is quite varied.]] Most of its territory is in the tropics, which means there are no clear Equinoxes and Solstices. The northern half of the country can be roughly considered to be warm year-round. The southern half sees Winter and Summer only as a difference in temperature (and rainfall), as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous deciduous]] trees are an underwhelming minority of the everyday vegetation (even though most trees do look like deciduous trees -- in summer, that is). Yearly temperature variation is usually limited; in southern urban areas, temperatures usually vary by about 35°C (2°C~37°C). Sub-zero temperatures are extremely localized and brief, and snow flurries are even more so and very much newsworthy. Keep in mind this is a country [[TheMountainsOfIllinois with no mountains]] [[WeAllLiveInAmerica to speak of.]]

** Brazil has had some famous UsefulNotes/FormulaOne drivers. These include Ayrton Senna, a three-time champion and one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time, and whose fatal crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix forced extensive safety reforms to the sport; Nelson Piquet Sr., who is a three-time champion; Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time champion and the first Brazilian to do so; Rubens Barrichello, the driver with most starts in Formula One; and Felipe Massa, the driver who was beaten by Lewis Hamilton for the championship [[DownToTheLastPlay in the very last corner]] of the 2008 season.

** Brazil is the origin of the martial art UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}}, used in a variety of martial arts films from the 1980s and 1990s for its photogenic spinning attacks.

** And other popular festivals/holidays as well, such as St. John's Day[[note]]which is typicaly commemorated on June 24th, but popular consciousness extends the celebrations throughout the entire month of June, due to St. Anthony's Day (June 13th) and St. Peter's Day (June 29th) being close together with St. John's in the calendar[[/note]], where Brazilians, especially those from the Northeast, make bonfires and dance forró.
* Its equally beautiful but unfortunately threatened UsefulNotes/TheAmazonRainforest[[note]]Which, while not confined to Brazil, has about 60% of its territory within it[[/note]]. Although according to estimates from the '90s, that should be completely depleted by now.

** On their side, the police (specifically, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOPE BOPE]]) use [[ObviouslyEvil APCs equipped with speakers to warn people of their coming]], full of elite soldiers [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast called Caveirão ("Big Skull")]], which make FBI and SWAT vans look like cardboard boxes.

* Its beautiful membership of the Mercosur (Mercado Común del Sur[[note]]English language uses the Spanish acronym; in Brazil it's Mercosul.[[/note]], or Southern Common Market), the most powerful Latin American economic bloc, centered around Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Within the country, this organization is regarded more or less favorably depending on whether the Argentinians and Uruguayans are behaving themselves.

* Its beautiful names: one of the main things about Brazil is that many people have informal nicknames. For example, former president Luiz Inácio da Silva is generally just "Lula". Even the press will call him just "Presidente Lula" (he actually had it legally incorporated into his name), and his successor Dilma Rousseff is just "Dilma". Also, Brazilian names tend to go to three or more words, because as a rule of thumb both parents pass their last names on to the child, not only the father -- and the mother can register a child in her name only too.

** Vice President: Hamilton Mourão

** President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

** President: Jair Bolsonaro

* Also noteworthy is that Brazil is the only American country which became an Empire for a lasting period of time[[note]]Mexico was an empire 1821-23 and 1864-67, and Haiti 1804-06 and 1849-59, but as you can see, they didn't exactly stick.[[/note]]. Its empire lasted more than half a century (1822-89) and is partially responsible for its large territory (Portugal ensured most of it by aggressive colonization and quite a bit of treaty-breaking). Brazil had two Emperors; the second, UsefulNotes/PedroII, is one of the most well-regarded monarchs in history. He was responsible for the modernization of his country, decades of constitutional government and rule of law [[note]] which was ''remarkable'' in a Latin America that was dominated by military dictators and caudillos [[/note]], and literally ''starting'' Brazil's abolition movement by refusing to keep slaves. However, his lack of a surviving male heir and the ''incredibly'' [[TheChainsOfCommanding exhausting task]] of ruling meant that when he was overthrown in a coup, he chose a quiet exile despite having more than enough support to stay in power. In recent years, there have been calls by many Brazilians, jaded by the ineptitude of Brazil's various republics, to restore the monarchy.

* Its beautiful, though only technical, self-sufficiency regarding oil -- not ''really'', because the only kind of oil so far exploited is the crude variety, which can only make up about 3/4 of actual petrol. This makes it necessary to import higher-grade oil. New deposits have been found recently. This is helped both by having almost no thermoelectric power (see below), and by a good portion of cars running on ethanol since eighties. Almost all newer cars are flex-fuel, able to run on either gasoline, ethanol, or any mix of both.

* Its beautiful women, known for their ''bundas'' (large posteriors - a generalization popularized by the media; the women in real life run the gamut as much as anywhere else).

Brazil was colonized by UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}}, and so most Brazilians speak UsefulNotes/{{Portuguese|Language}}, unlike the rest of Latin America, which mostly speaks Spanish -- though there is a Spanish-speaking minority (way less than 1%) in the west and south, and Spanish is taught at schools (as well as English).

* Its very varied and beautiful music, such as forró, samba, MPB, frevo, maracatu, choro, caipira, axé, bossa nova, mangue beat, funk carioca, etc.