History of Brazil

Colonial Brazil, 1500–1815 Draft, not yet reviewed

Colonial Brazil is the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal. In 1500 the navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral landed in what is now Brazil and laid claim to it in the name of king Manuel I of Portugal. The main economic activities were first brazilwood extraction, then sugar production, and finally gold and diamond mining. The colonial administrative capital was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.

Seat of power: Salvador

Empire of Brazil, 1822–1889 Draft, not yet reviewed

On 7 September 1822, Pedro declared the independence of Brazil and, after waging a successful war against his father's kingdom, was acclaimed on 12 October as Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil. The empire's government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II. Slavery, which had initially been widespread, was restricted by successive legislation until its final abolition in 1888. On 15 November 1889 the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden coup d'état led by a clique of military leaders.

Seat of power: Rio de Janeiro

Rulers

• Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor of Brazil, 1822–1831
• John VI of Portugal, Emperor of Brazil, 1825–1826
• Pedro II of Brazil, Emperor of Brazil, 1831–1889

First Brazilian Republic, 1889–1930 Draft, not yet reviewed

The First Brazilian Republic, also referred to as the Old Republic, was the Brazilian state in the period from 1889 to 1930. The Old Republic began with a coup d'état led by Deodoro da Fonseca that deposed Emperor Pedro II in 1889, and ended with the Revolution of 1930 that installed Getúlio Vargas as a new president. In the Oligarchic Republic from 1894 to 1930, political power was highly decentralized and was dominated by state-level oligarchies. The economy was predominantly agrarian and heavily dependent on coffee exports.

Seat of power: Rio de Janeiro

Rulers

• Deodoro da Fonseca, President of Brazil, 1889–1891
• Floriano Peixoto, President of Brazil, 1891–1894
• Prudente de Morais, President of Brazil, 1894–1898
• Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, President of Brazil, 1898–1902
• Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil, 1902–1906
• Afonso Pena, President of Brazil, 1906–1909
• Nilo Peçanha, President of Brazil, 1909–1910
• Hermes da Fonseca, President of Brazil, 1910–1914
• Venceslau Brás, President of Brazil, 1914–1918
• Delfim Moreira, President of Brazil, 1918–1919
• Epitácio Pessoa, President of Brazil, 1919–1922
• Artur Bernardes, President of Brazil, 1922–1926
• Washington Luís, President of Brazil, 1926–1930

Vargas Era, 1930–1946 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Second Brazilian Republic was the period in Brazilian history between 1930 and 1937, during the Vargas Era. It began with the Revolution of 1930, led by Getúlio Vargas. It ended with a coup d'état carried out by Vargas in 1937, which gave rise to the Estado Novo. Vargas was ousted in 1945 after fifteen years in power.

Seat of power: Rio de Janeiro

Rulers

• Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil, 1930–1945
• José Linhares, President of Brazil, 1945–1946

Brazilian military government (1964–1985), 1964–1985 Draft, not yet reviewed

The military dictatorship in Brazil was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces with support from the United States government against President João Goulart. It lasted 21 years, until 15 March 1985. The military regime, particularly after the Institutional Act No. 5 of 1968, practiced extensive censorship and committed human rights abuses. Those abuses included institutionalized torture, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances.

Seat of power: Brasília

Rulers

• Humberto Castelo Branco, President of Brazil, 1964–1967
• Artur da Costa e Silva, President of Brazil, 1967–1969
• Emílio Garrastazu Médici, President of Brazil, 1969–1974
• 1969 Provisional Governing Board of Brazil, President of Brazil, 1969–1969
• Ernesto Geisel, President of Brazil, 1974–1979
• João Figueiredo, President of Brazil, 1979–1985

Brazil, 1985 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 with support from the United States and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, enacted in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília.

Seat of power: Brasília

Rulers

• José Sarney, President of Brazil, 1985–1990
• Fernando Collor, President of Brazil, 1990–1992
• Itamar Franco, President of Brazil, 1992–1995
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil, 1995–2003
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, 2003–2011
• Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, 2011–2016
• Michel Temer, President of Brazil, 2016–2019
• Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, 2019–2023
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, 2023 to today