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Brazil
Brazil (in Portuguese spelled "Brasil") got its name from the famous brazilwood trees, which were an important crop in early European trade (used for their red dye more than for the wood itself). Over time this tree, often found on the coast, became so popular people began calling the region the "land of Brazil." The name of the brazilwood tree actually comes from the Latin word brasa, which means "ember" to describe the color of the wood, which is "red like an ember."
Brasil
Introduction:
Brazil is a huge country with great geographic diversity, including numerous natural barriers. This landscape, from the foothills of the Andes to the Amazon River basin, has created hundreds of different cultures in the past, many of which continue to survive today.
Due to geographic isolation, many people in modern day Brazil developed along very different paths, but nearly all clung to the earth as culture and lifestyle were based on the plants and animals that were available to the people. Even today many of these people and cultures survive, particularly in the dense Amazon rain forests. In some areas the people are so isolated and their cultures are so authentic, the Brazilian government doesn't allow anyone into these areas in fear of destroying these people by way of disease.
The flag of Brazil is modeled after the flag of the Empire of Brazil, but the coat of arms was replaced with the globe. On this original flag the green represented the House of Braganza and the yellow for the Hapsburg Family, the two rulers of the country. Today the green represents the forests of Brazil and the yellow the country's mineral wealth. The blue globe represents the sky over Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889, the day the republic was declared. Across the Equator are the words Ordem e Progresso, meaning "Order and Progress." The 27 stars on the globe represent the 26 states and the federal district of Brazil.
Name: Federative Republic of Brazil
Independence: September 7, 1822
Capital: Brasilia
Currency: Real
Population: 201,009,622 (2013 estimate)
Ethnicity: European, Euro-African, & Others
Language: Portuguese
Religion: Catholic
Although some cultures and ethnic minorities have survived in Brazil for thousands of years, for the overwhelming majority of the country, life is more strongly rooted in more recent changes. With the arrival of the Spanish the many indigenous groups of people in Brazil took many different paths, from surviving in the forests to being enslaved or integrated into the immigrating population.
Among the earliest immigrants, most were Portuguese, but the Portuguese sought to control and profit from this vast land and didn't have the manpower to do so. This led to massive immigration of people from other areas, including Africa, often in the form of slavery. The French, Dutch, Spanish, and others also arrived to profit from these lands, making the country even more diverse.
The many introductions and changes to the country led to a continuous altering of the culture and people. Some communities remain tied to indigenous roots and cultures, others have become almost wholly African in ethnicity, but culturally and linguistically may be more closely tied to Portugal or Africa. Still others have taken on the route of the majority, which is a developing Brazilian culture based on European traditions as the Portuguese language and Catholicism dominate.
Cultural variations expand beyond just ethnicity; they also change according to the urban-rural balance, socio-economic class, and more. The cultural and lifestyle differences among the people in Brazil are vast and seemingly endless. However, most of the people remain united in many ways; most of the people speak Portuguese and are Catholic, among other important identifying features.
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Information for Brazil was last updated: May, 2013 ● View our: Sources & Special Thanks