Independencia ou Morte! (English: Independence or Death!) | |||||||
| Anthem | "Brazilian National Anthem" | ||||||
| Capital | Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Largest city | Sao Paulo | ||||||
| Language | Portuguese | ||||||
| Demonym | Brazilian | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Emperor | John II | ||||||
| Royal house: | House of Bragzana | ||||||
| Area | area km² | ||||||
| Independence | from Portugal | ||||||
| declared | 1810 | ||||||
| recognized | 1822 | ||||||
| Currency | Real | ||||||
Brazil, official known as the Empire of Brazil, is a nation in South America. It has a large eastern border with the Atlantic Ocean; to the north by Guyana, Venezuela, and Colombia; to the west by Peru; to the southwest by Bolivia; and to the south by the Republic of the Patagonia.
History[]
Reign of Pedro I[]
Main Article: Pedro I
(1822-1865)
Pedro I
While Brazil was in the middle of fighting its war of independence, Pedro I decided to help them. He declared himself Emperor of Brazil, and worked to unite the country. When independence was finally won, Pedro wrote several drafts for a constitution, in order to bring the country together. Pedro modeled the country after the French Empire. In 1825, war broke out against Columbia over Uruguay. Brazil was defeated and suffered military and economic devastation. In order to bring the country back afloat, several new plans were created. By the end of the Americas War, Brazil was back on top. Brazil now had one of the strongest economies in South America.
During the 1840's, Argentina entered a civil war, which allowed Brazil to conquer some of its territory. In order to rebuild the new territory, slavery was brought there. This eventually resulted with the Great Slave Rebellion. The economy plummeted, and thousands of people were killed. When the rebellion was finally put down, Pedro decided to abolish slavery, and by 1856 all the slaves in Brazil were freed. This end of slavery led Brazil to supporting the Northern states in the American Civil War. This led to another war with Argentina, in which Brazil got revenge for its 1825 defeat. By the emperor's death in 1865, Brazil was in great shape.
Reign of Pedro II[]
Main Article: Pedro II
(1865-1907)
Pedro II
Following his father's death in 1865, Pedro II, Prince Imperial, was next in line for the throne. Pedro II was coronated on November 18, 1865 in the newly constructed Imperial Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Following the end of the American Civil War, newly captured Argentine territories provided and the improvement of several port cities such as Montevideo and Sao Paulo helped form a large economic boom. Pedro II then used this to transform the nation's school system, and placed more emphasis on culture, education, and science. Brazil flourished, and was nicknamed the "United States of the South".
In 1878, a rebellion broke out in the captured northern Argentine territories. Pedro II discovered that the rebels' cause was that they felt they did not have enough representation in the government. Pedro negotiated with the rebels, and the Territorio da Argentina, Paraguai e norte da (Territory of Paraguay and Northern Argentina) was created later that same year. The emperor, while many people criticized him for being "soft" toward the rebellion, diffused a potential war with Argentina. With the people of the territory behind him, the city of Asuncion soon grew into a regional power and was named the Territory's capital.
The economic boom continued into the 1880s, but arguments soon broke out between the nations of Chile and Bolivia over the control of the Atacama Desert, which, if under the control of Bolivia, would give Bolivia a coastline. Brazil supported Chile, and Brazil's arch-nemesis Argentina backed Bolivia. This divided the continent, and the dispute would not be settled until 1905 after the Atacama War. Pedro II sent aid to the Chileans, with supplies and technology being sent. A hundred officers were sent to Chile in 1890 to train the Chilean Armed Forces. Pedro II began the Chilean-Brazilian Alliance, but the Alliance would not become official until 1908.
Reign of Afonso I[]
(1907-1923)
Afonso I
Afonso I took the throne after Pedro II's death near the end of 1907. Afonso I saw that a war was coming, and subsequently began to improve the military. Afonso I also worked on foreign relations. Brazil maintained its alliance with Chile and Venezuela, helping buff up their military as well. Brazil also reached out to Europe, in particular the Great Alliance. In 1912, Afonso met with the leaders of the Great Alliance, and both sides promised to support each other in any upcoming wars. The alliance would uphold as Afonso sent Brazilian troops to aid Britain in the Third Great European War.
Back in South America, the relations between Brazil and its allies and the rest of South America boiled until war broke out in 1916. Afonso quickly sent troops to invade Argentina and help protect Chile and Venezuela. Afonso I, a former military commander, devised several strategies to defeat Argentina during the war. The strategies failed because of the slow pace of the war because of trench warfare. However, Brazil was clearly winning the war as it controlled a lot of territory in Argentina.
In order to boost morale, the emperor visited the trenches several times. However, in 1920, an artillery shell nearly killed the emperor, but he survived but was forced to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. As the war dragged on, public support for it was nearly non-existent, but Afonso I did not decide to sign an armistice with the Argentine Alliance. Afonso I was killed in 1923 when the Argentine Navy bombed Rio de Janeiro. Afonso I received mix feelings from his people during his reign, but his death made him a martyr and reversed feelings about the war, allowing Brazil to keep fighting and eventually win the war.
Reign of John I and Afonso II[]
(1923-1934)
Reign of Pedro III[]
(1934-1970)
Reign of Pedro IV[]
(1970-1971)
Reign of Afonso III[]
(1971-2009)
Reign of John II[]
(2009-present)