How It Came to Be

Being the fifth largest and fifth most populous country in the world, Brazil naturally holds caveat in the global stage. But it took them time to get there. Portugal in their schemes to become the dominant trading empire of their times began colonizing the western hemisphere. Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered the land in 1500 and Portugal began investing heavily into the territory in 1530. It's main objective was to establish a viable economy built on the land's natural resources. But that did not last long as countries closer to Europe were far more financial viable. Instead it was the discovery of gold that spurred new found interest in Brazil.

What later followed was Brazil's fight for independence. With abusive taxes placed on the country and most of the gold profit going towards the King of Portugal, civil unrest swept the streets. The last decade of the 18th century saw the country facing economic dry spell. Gold was not as strong and no new resource had presented itself. Worst yet was the Portuguese head of states fled their homeland and settled in Brazil avoiding the rampaging armies of Napoleon.

A series of events unfolded between 1821-1825 that propelled Brazil from colony to independent nation. Latin America began to strike back and Brazil got involved in the conflict. Much of the Portugal royalty returned to Lisbon with Napoleon defeated leaving a small sect to govern. The remaining sect decided to abolish Brazil and make all of it directly subordinate to Lisbon itself. The armies present at the time were mixed of Portuguese and Brazilian, but the difference split them apart. Dom Pedro leader of Brazil refused to leave and cement full Portugal control leading to further tensions. He forced Portuguese troops to leave the country and later establish a government coalition with Jose Bonifacio de Andrade e Silva, whose knowledge help stabilize the land. On September 7th, 1822 they won their freedom and Dom Pedro became the first emperor later that year.