Brazil
| Federative Republic of Brazil |
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(Cruzero) |
Source information is available at [ Sources ] |
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest and easternmost country in South America and Latin America. It is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populated city is São Paulo. Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District. It is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language. Brazil is among the world's most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). Covering roughly half of South America's land area, it borders all other countries and territories on the continent except Ecuador and Chile. Brazil's Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest home to diverse wildlife, various ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. This unique environmental heritage positions Brazil at number one of 17 megadiverse countries. The country's natural richness is also the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through deforestation) directly impacts global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
Numerous tribal nations inhabited the territory of present-day Brazil before the landing of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Subsequently claimed by the Portuguese Empire, Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the empire's capital was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. Slavery was abolished in 1888. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world in terms of the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Brazil is a regional and middle power emerging and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. Categorized as a developing country and ranking 89th on the Human Development Index, Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy, having the eighth largest GDP in the world in both nominal and PPP terms—the largest in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. Classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by the IMF, Brazil has the largest share of wealth and the most complex economy in South America. It is also one of the world's major breadbaskets and the largest coffee producer in the last 150 years. Despite its growing economic and global profile, the country continues to face high corruption, crime and social inequality.
Spanking and Spanking Art in Brazil
Spanking in Brazil
Different types of whip and the palmatória were used in Brazil for corporal punishment. Among the people who were most subject to corporal punishment were slaves.
Execution of the flogging punishment in Brazil. Painting by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848).
A shoemaker punishes his apprentice (slave?) with the palmatória. Painting by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848).
Slaves suffering domestic chastisements in Brazil.
Prostitution in Brazil
- Prostitution in Brazil ↗ on Wikipedia
A Personal Note from Robin
During World War II, Brazil remained neutral until August 1942, when the country suffered retaliation from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in a strategic dispute over the South Atlantic and, therefore, entered the war on the Allied side. In addition to its participation in the battle of the Atlantic, Brazil also sent an expeditionary force to fight in the Italian campaign.
With the Allied victory in 1945 and the end of the fascist regimes in Europe, Vargas's position became unsustainable, and he was swiftly overthrown in another military coup, with democracy "reinstated" by the same army that had ended it 15 years earlier.
See also Recife and/or SS Santa Maria for Robin's trip to Brazil aboard USS Robert L. Wilson and information about chasing real life pirates.
External links
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Brazil ]
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