Brazilian History

Movement takes place at all hours and in all places of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's both a historic and a modern cultural capital of Brazil and of the world. For example, there's movement between luxurious residences and high powered positions. There's movement between attractive neighborhoods and governmental jobs and small scale, private businesses. There's movement between 'favelas' ['slums'] and day jobs or places in which to beg or to steal.

That's in terms of resting on one's laurels or family background, earning a living, or trying to survive.

There also is movement between mansions and boarding or prep schools abroad. There's movement between comfortable houses or condominiums and private or exclusive public schools. There's movement between disadvantaged neighborhoods and on-your-feet association of written information with cues of color or design.

That's in terms of the best education that money buys, down to the non education that misery allows.

And there's movement between huge living spaces and posh vacation and second [and third...] homes, nationally and internationally. There's movement between comfortable living quarters and local opportunities for entertainment. There's movement from everywhere to the beaches.

And that's in terms of the many cultural and entertainment possibilities that Rio de Janeiro offers to visitors, tourists, residents, and guests.

Brasilia became the capital of Brazil on April 21, 1960. Rio de Janeiro was the capital from 1793 until 1960. Salvador was the first capital, from 1549 to 1793.

In 1956, Juscelino Kubitschek de Olveira [September 12, 1902-August 22, 1976], who was President of Brazil, 1956-1961, ordered the building of Brasilia to fulfill an article in Brazil's constiution. Dating from 1891, the article stated that the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location within the country. It took 41 months to build Brasilia, from 1956 to 1960. Brasilia officially was inaugurated as the capital on April 21, 1960.
Brasilia.

Pedro Álvares Cabral [c. 1468 - c. 1520] was the first European explorer to land in Brazil. On April 22, 1500 he sighted the land and claimed it for Portugal. It was later named Brasil [Brazil] after 'pau-brasil' ['wood-ember'], a native tree with an orange-red heartwood that produces a red dye.

Fellow explorer Bartolomeo Dias [c. 1451-May 29, 1500] was a member of the expedition. The expedition had been organized to round southernmost Africa. But the members went too far west in trying to avoid an area of notorious calm off the west African coast.

After the discovery, the expedition headed back east to Africa. It was to be Dias' last voyage. His ship went down during a storm off the Cape of Good Hope, which he had discovered on an earlier voyage, in 1488.

Some of the most important sea ports in Brazil include Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Santos.

Manaus on the Rio Negro ['Black River'] in northern Brazil is the main transport center for the entire upper Amazon Basin.

Natal in northeastern Brazil is located on the Potengi River and the Atlantic Ocean. Its port specializes in cold storage cargo of fish, fruit, and shrimp.

Recife ['Reef'] in northeastern Brazil is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean. It's located where the Beberibe and Capibaribe rivers flow into the Atlantic.

The Port of Rio de Janeiro in southern Brazil has the third highest cargo volume in Brazil. It's on the west coast of Baía da Guanabara ['Guanabara Bay'], an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean.

The riverport of Porto Alegre ['Joyous Port'] in southern Brazil is located on Guaíba Lake and is one of the largest ports in Brazil.

The Port of Salvador in southern Brazil is on Baía de Todos OS Santos ['All Saints' Bay'] near the Atlantic Ocean. It's a major export port, especially for fruit.

The Port of Santos near São Paulo in southern Brazil is the biggest seaport in Latin America.

Spain

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Brazil declared its independence from Portugalon September 7, 1822. Portugal acknowledged Brazil's independence in the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro, signed August 29, 1825.