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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest and easternmost country in South America and in Latin America. Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the only country in the Americas to have Portuguese as an official language. Brazil is one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). It borders all other countries and territories in South America except Ecuador and Chile and covers roughly half of the continent's land area. Its Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. This unique environmental heritage positions Brazil at number one of 17 megadiverse countries. The country's natural richness is also the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through processes like deforestation) has direct impacts on global issues like climate change and biodiversity loss.

The territory which would become known as Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Then, the land was claimed for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. Slavery was abolished in 1888. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Brazil is a regional and middle power that is an emerging power and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. Categorised as a developing country with a high Human Development Index, Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy, having the ninth largest GDP in the world by nominal, and eighth by PPP measures—the largest in Latin America. Considered as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country, Brazil has the largest share of global wealth in South America and is one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. However, the country retains noticeable corruption, crime and social inequality. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, G4, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Brazil is also an observer state of the Arab League. (Full article...)

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Angra Nuclear Power Plant

Angra Nuclear Power Plant is Brazil's only nuclear power plant. It is located at the Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto (CNAAA) on the Itaorna Beach in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It consists of two pressurized water reactors (PWR), Angra I, with a net output of 609 MWe, first connected to the power grid in 1985 and Angra II, with a net output of 1,275 MWe, connected in 2000.

Work on a third reactor, Angra III, with a projected output of 1,245 MWe, began in 1984 but was halted in 1986. Work started again on 1 June 2010 for entry into service in 2015 and later delayed into the 2020s. Construction resumed in November 2022. (Full article...)
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Brazil is bigger than Europe, wilder than Africa, and weirder than Baffin Land.

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The leader of the Revolt of the Lash, João Cândido Felisberto (front row, directly to the left of the man in the dark suit), with reporters, police officers and sailors on board Minas Geraes on 26 November 1910.

The Revolt of the Lash (Portuguese: Revolta da Chibata) was a naval mutiny in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in late November 1910. It was the direct result of the use of whips ("lashes") by white naval officers when punishing Afro-Brazilian and mixed-race enlisted sailors.

At the beginning of the new century rising demand for coffee and rubber enabled Brazilian politicians to attempt to transform their country into an international power. A key part of this would come from modernizing the Brazilian Navy, which had been neglected since the coup, by purchasing battleships of the new "dreadnought" type. Social conditions in the Brazilian Navy, however, did not keep pace with this new technology. Elite white officers were in charge of mostly black and mixed-race crewmen, many of whom had been forced into the navy on long-term contracts. These officers frequently inflicted corporal punishment on the crewmen for major and minor offenses alike despite the practice's ban in most other countries and in the rest of Brazil. (Full article...)

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Portrait by Insley Pacheco, c. 1870

Irineu Evangelista de Sousa (Portuguese pronunciation: [iɾiˈnew ivɐ̃ʒeˈliʃtɐ dʒi ˈsowzɐ]), the Viscount of Mauá (28 December 1813 – 21 October 1889), was a Brazilian entrepreneur, industrialist, banker and politician. Born to a family of small estancieiros (ranchers), Sousa became one of the world's richest men; by 1867, his wealth was larger than the annual budget of the Brazilian Empire. He was called the Rothschild of the South American continent by the New York Times in 1871. He received the titles of baron in 1854 and visconde com grandeza (viscount with grandee) of Mauá, in 1874. A pioneer in several areas of the economy of Brazil, one of his greatest achievements was to start the construction of the Mauá Railroad [pt], the first railroad in Brazil, in 1852.

At his peak, Sousa controlled eight of the country's ten largest companies (the remaining two were state-owned); his banking interests stretched over to Britain, France, the United States and Argentina. Mauá also founded the first bank in Uruguay (Banco Mauá y Cia). (Full article...)

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Panorama of the falls from Brazil
Panorama of the falls from Brazil
Credit: S23678

Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu.

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2008 Brazilian Grand PrixAfonso, Prince Imperial of BrazilBrazilian cruiser BahiaEmpire of Brazil1937 Brazilian coup d'étatPedro Álvares CabralChagas diseaseDrymoreomysEuryoryzomys emmonsaeFôrça BrutaGiant otterGol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of InhaúmaJaguarHonório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of ParanáLundomysPrincess Maria Amélia of BrazilMaster SystemBrazilian battleship Minas GeraesMinas Geraes-class battleshipNoronha skinkNoronhomysUSS OrizabaJosé Paranhos, Viscount of Rio BrancoPedro I of BrazilPedro II of BrazilPedro Afonso, Prince Imperial of BrazilBrazilian battleship São PauloLuís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of CaxiasSonic After the SequelManuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto AlegreSouth American dreadnought raceThalassodromeusTeresa Cristina of the Two SiciliesUruguayan War2014 FIFA World Cup final

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1986 João Câmara earthquake1995 Brazilian Grand Prix2000 Brazilian Grand Prix2000 Rio 2002010 Brazilian Grand Prix2010 São Paulo Indy 3002012 Brazilian Grand Prix2014 Brazilian Grand Prix2015 Brazilian Grand PrixA Puro DolorRebeca AndradeArchaeological interest of Pedra da GáveaArise (Sepultura album)Clube Atlético MineiroBomba PatchDisappearance of Bruno BorgesBrainstorm (2000 film)Brazil v Germany (2014 FIFA World Cup)Brazil at the 1994 Winter OlympicsBrazil at the 1998 Winter OlympicsBrazil at the 2014 Winter ParalympicsBrazilian military junta of 1930Gisele BündchenCapybaraAdelir Antônio de CarliHélio CastronevesDorival CaymmiCésar CieloClube Atlético Mineiro in international club footballCavalera ConspiracyDiego CostaPhilippe CoutinhoDejaría TodoDiptychophora galvaniFortress of HumaitáFruta FrescaGanga BrutaGilberto GilMaurício GugelminHilda HilstHurricane CatarinaJorge Ben (album)Josiane LimaMitsuyo MaedaRMS Magdalena (1948)Man of the HoleMango YellowMarquinhosThe Naturalist on the River AmazonsLegacy of Pedro II of BrazilEarly life of Pedro II of BrazilPeléBrazilian monitor PiauíPlatine WarPrince Bernhard's titi monkeyMarie RennotteRevolt of the LashRevolution of the GanhadoresRio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer OlympicsSamba rockSarcófagoState University of CampinasSuicidal TourTAM Airlines Flight 3054TV BahiaTaubaté pregnancy hoaxTectoyAmon TobinTransgender history in BrazilUmbandaAlessandra VieiraVinicius and TomMartha WattsWorld War II

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