Brazil
From Encyclopediak
Brazil, a republic of South America, the third largest political division of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded on the n. by Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas, on the e. and s.e. by the Atlantic Ocean, on the s. by Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, and on tlie w. by Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. It is larger than that part of Europe which lies east of France and larger than the United States, exclusive of Alaska. Its greatest extent from north to south is 2660 m.; from east to west, 2700 m. The total area is about 3,218,139 sq. m.
SURFACE. The physiography of Brazil reveals two distinct divisions of surface. In the northern part are the lowlands occupied by the great river basins of the La Plata and the Amazon-Tocantins. They include about three-fifths of the total area of the country, are generally sandy and are annually flooded, the flood plains of Brazil including thousands of square miles. The Amazon plain is more heavily forested than is that of the La Plata. North of these plains, along the northern boundary of Brazil, are the Guiana Highlands, an isolated mountain system extending from the Negro and Orinoco to the Atlantic Ocean. In the southern part is the most important physical feature of the country, the Brazilian Plateau, also called the Highlands of Brazil. It is a table-land rising from 1000 to 3000 ft. above sea level. There are two important mountain ranges, the Coast Range, consisting of the Serra do Mar, running continuously along the coast, and the Serra da Mantiquiera (known also as the Serra do Espinhaco), farther inland, and the second large system, the Central, or Goyana, composed of an eastern and western range. The highest peak in Brazil is Itatiaia, at an elevation of 8898 ft.
RIVERS AND LAKES. The rivers of Brazil form the principal means of transportation and commerce, and they are of great significance for they flow through a country abounding in rich natural resources and of remarkable fertility. The Amazon, with its tributaries, draining about two-thirds of the country, represents the largest system of navigable rivers on the earth's surface. With the Tocantins, it drains 2,235,000 sq. m. The other important rivers are the La Plata, Paraguay, Parana, Sao Francisco and the Rio Negro (connecting with the Orinoco through the Cassiquiare).
CLIMATE. Brazil lies almost wholly within the tropical regions, but its climate is remarkably even, due to the modifying influences of winds and a comparatively high altitude. There are two distinct seasons, the wet and the dry. The coast regions of the Amazon basin enjoy a heavy rainfall; in some parts of the valley it reaches 300 to 400 inches. This is a densely forested area, and is subjected to the sweep of the trades at all times, while the temperature seldom exceeds 95°. There is also abundant rainfall on the coast of the plateau region, but there it is seasonal, and the range of temperature is greater. The heaviest precipitation occurs in the summer when the sun is south of the equator and the trade winds likewise have moved south. Nearer the interior of the same region the rainfall is deficient; such is also the case in the regions between the Sao Francisco and the Parana.
MINERALS AND MINING. The surface diggings of gold and diamonds have been exhausted, and the rich mines that Brazil possesses have not yet been extensively worked, due to restrictions imposed by mining laws, as well as scarcity of capital and population. The mining carried on in the states of Minas, Geraes and Bahia is the most extensive, and is largely financed by British capital. Next to gold and diamonds the principal minerals are copper, iron, lead, zinc, manganese and auicksilver. The coal, both bituminous and lignite, is of inferior quality and needs several washings before it can be used; the mining of it is checked by deficient supplies of cheap labor and fuel.
FORESTS AND LUMBER. The extensive tropical forest regions are complex and choked with an almost impenetrable undergrowth. The principal trees are the different varieties yielding rubber, the wax palm, and the species in the southeast from which nuts, drugs and dyewood are obtained. Where the rainfall is less, are smaller open forests, and palms, ferns, cacti and smaller trees are found. Lumbering has not yet developed into an important industry.
AGRICULTURE. The development of agriculture has advanced materially within recent years. The principal products are coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, maize, rice, sweet potatoes, beans, farina and many other familiar vegetables. In the production of coffee and the growth of the coffee plant, Brazil leads the world.
MANUFACTURES. In the natural course of the development of a country where agricultural and mining products are important, it has naturally resulted that the manufacture of goods closely related to these products should progress the most rapidly. Cotton spinning and weaving, and, secondly, the manufacture of woolens, are the most important. Sugar refining is also extensively carried on, and, in the states of Pernambuco and Bahia, the diffusion process has been substituted for more primitive methods used in other parts of the country (See SUGAR). Other industries are the distilling of rum, cigar making, tanning of leather, and the manufacture of soap, candles, paper and minor products. The smelting of metals, the manufacture of agricultural tools and steam engines and shipbuilding also employ many people.
COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. Railways were being constructed in Brazil as early as 1854. The country now has a total railway mileage of from 15,000 to 20,000 m., and over one-half of this is under government control. Most of the heavy domestic shipping is carried on the rivers and coast waters. Rio de Janeiro is the chief port and receives more than one-third of the exports of Brazil and more than one-half of its imports. Coffee occupies the same placfe among the exports of the country that wheat does in the United States; less than one-third of the total is shipped to Europe, the bulk of it being received by the United States. Next in importance among exports comes rubber; then cotton, cottonseed, tobacco, hides, mate, cacao and dye. The imports consist of woolen and cotton fabrics, manufactured goods, coal, petroleum and foodstuffs. With the development of the rubber industry, this article is constantly increasing the export trade.
INHABITANTS. Among American countries, the population of Brazil is second only to that of the United States. More than four-fifths of the people are white, and they are principally immigrants from Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal, together with a small per cent from Great Britain and the United States. Nearly one-tenth are Indians, and of these about one-half are savages; one-seventh are negroes; and one-third are half-breeds. Portuguese is the official language of the country and is spoken by the vast majority of the people.
GOVERNMENT. Under the constitution adopted Feb. 24, 1891, Brazil is a republic, with 20 states and a Federal District. This constitution differs from that of the United States chiefly in that it allows a degree of political independence among the individual states amounting almost to decentralization. The states that are most distantly removed from the capital tend to exercise their rights to such an extent that Federal control is reduced to a minimum. The president, together with the National Congress, exercises the legislative power. The Congress consists of a Senate, composed of three members from each state and from the Federal District. They are elected directly by the people and serve for nine years, one-third of the total number being changed or renewed every three years. The 212 deputies, one for every 70,000 of the population, constitute the House of Representatives. The right of suffrage is granted to that part of the male population which is over 21 years of age and not included among members of religious associations, soldiers, illiterates and beggars. The president's cabinet consists of six ministers representing the following departments: finance, war, navy, foreign affairs, justice and industry, railways and public works. A council and a prefect control the affairs of the 1023 municipalities into which the states are divided. These municipalities elect the justices of the peace, who, with the commissioner of police, administer justice. There is a standing army, and all the inhabitants are required to take up arms in defense of the country, when necessary. The constitution prohibits wars of aggression.
EDUCATION. Education is not compulsory, and the illiteracy is over 80 per cent. Free schools are provided for primary instruction, and in the larger coast cities tliere are institutions of secondary and higher type in charge of the Federal Government. There are several technical schools at Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Pernambuco, also museums and libraries. At Rio de Janeiro is the larg-e National Library, with its magnificent collection of books and manuscripts.
RELIGION. There is no connection between the Church and the State. The Roman Catholic religion is the faith of 99 per cent of the population, and the government provides for its maintenance.
CHIEF CITIES. The important cities, next to Rio de Janeiro, the capital, are Bahia, Sao Paulo, Pernambuco, Porto Alegre, Para, Ceara and Manaos.
HISTORY. Brazil was discovered by Admiral Pedo A. Cabral, a Portuguese in 1500. From 1532 to 1535, the land from 30° south to the equator was divided into 12 vast, indefinite tracts. Each of these was given to a noble or court favorite for colonization; but the scheme failed and the land reverted to the crown of Portugal. As a consequence of the enslaving of natives by the early settlers, an appeal was made to the Catholic Jesuits, who came to Bahia in 1549. After a long- conflict, in 1680, the Indians were freed, but negroes who had been brought into Brazil as early as 1530, were forced to take their place on the plantations. For 60 years after 1580 Spain ruled Brazil, which grew rapidly in population by the discovery of gold in 1691 and of diamonds some 20 years later. In 1763 Rio de Janeiro became the seat of the Portuguese viceroy. In 1807, when Portugal was invaded by France, Brazil was visited by the royal family of Portugal, remaining the seat of government until 1821. When Portugal decided to reestablish the kingdom, Brazil was in danger of again becoming a colony. To prevent this it revolted. In 1822 it proclaimed its independence, which was not recognized by Portugal till 1825. Dom Pedro I, son of Prince John, was the first emperor. Dom Pedro II, the last hereditary ruler of the New World, ascended the throne at 15. Through his 'able rule he had made the country fairly harmonious. Nevertheless, Brazil wished to be a republic, and on Nov. 15, 1889, now the national holiday, the emperor was peacefully deposed. For a time distress and disorder prevailed in the new republic; but during the past few years public improvements have been made, and the country's credit has become recognized. Population, 1920 Census, 30,157,000. Consult Burton's Explorations of the Highlands of Brazil.
