World History
History of Brazil
History of Brazil. This is a nice short overview of the history of Brazil. It is well written but basically concentrates on modern Brazilian history.
From the site:
Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal in 1500. The colony was ruled from Lisbon until 1808, when Dom Joao VI and the rest of the Portuguese royal family fled from Napoleon's army, and established its seat of government in Rio de Janeiro. Dom Joao VI returned to Portugal in 1821. His son declared Brazil's independence on September 7, 1822, and became emperor with the title of Dom Pedro I. His son, Dom Pedro II, ruled from 1831 to 1889, when a federal republic was established in a coup led by Deodoro da Fonseca, Marshal of the Army. Slavery had been abolished a year earlier by the Regent Princess Isabel while Dom Pedro II was in Europe.
From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a military coup that placed Getulio Vargas, a civilian, in the presidency; Vargas remained as dictator until 1945. Between 1945 and 1961, Jose Linhares, Gaspar Dutra, Vargas himself, Café Filho, Carlos Luz, Nereu Ramos, Juscelino Kubitschek, and Janio Quadros were elected presidents. When Quadros resigned in 1961, Vice President Joao Goulart succeeded him.
Goulart's years in office were marked by high inflation, economic stagnation, and the increasing influence of radical political elements. The armed forces, alarmed by these developments, staged a coup on March 31, 1964. The coup leaders chose as president Humberto Castello Branco, followed by Arthur da Costa e Silva (1967-69), Emilio Garrastazu Medici (1968-74), and Ernesto Geisel (1974-79), all of whom were senior army officers. Geisel began a democratic opening that was continued by his successor, Gen. Joao Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (1979-85). Figueiredo not only permitted the return of politicians exiled or banned from political activity during the 1960s and 1970s, but also allowed them to run for state and federal offices in 1982.
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Kongo Kingdom Of Africa
Kongo Kingdom of Africa The kingdom of the Kongo (Kongo dya Ntotila) flourished along the Congo River in the west-central coast of Africa from about the 14th century. The kingdom covered a large part of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, but...
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History Of Uruguay
History of Uruguay. This is a short but informative overview to the history of the South American nation of Uruguay. From the site: The only inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrua Indians, a small tribe driven...
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History Of Comoros
History of Comoros. This is an overview to the history of the African island nation of Comoros. From the site: Over the centuries, the islands were invaded by a succession of diverse groups from the coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Indonesia, and Madagascar....
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History Of Burkina Faso
History of Burkina Faso. Offers an interesting but still short essay on the history of the African nation of Burkina Faso.
From the site:
Until the end of the 19th century, the history of Burkina Faso was dominated by the empire-building Mossi....
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Photos Of Brazil's History With Slavery
Brazil was the last place in the America's to abolish slavery in 1888, so there are lots of photographs of the practice as you can see in the clip above. Indeed, according to NPR, Brazil has the "world's largest archive of photography of slavery."...
World History