Brazilian biography

Brazil , [ b ] officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , [ c ] is the largest and easternmost country in South America. It is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh largest by population , with over million people. Brazil has the most Portuguese speakers in the world and is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7, kilometers 4, mi.

Where is brazil located

Brazil has a diverse wildlife , a variety of ecological systems , and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. It was claimed and settled by Portugal , which forcibly imported enslaved Africans to work on plantations. Brazil remained a colony until , when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves after the transfer of the Portuguese court to Rio de Janeiro.

Prince Pedro of Braganza declared the country's independence in , establishing the Empire of Brazil , a unitary state governed under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Brazil's first constitution in established a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress , and enshrined principles such as freedom of religion and the press, but retained slavery, which was gradually abolished throughout the 19th century until its final abolition in An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in and ruled until , after which civilian governance resumed.

Brazil's current constitution , enacted in , defines it as a democratic federal republic. Brazil is a regional and middle power [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] and rising global power. With a complex and highly diversified economy, Brazil is one of the world's major or primary exporters of various agricultural goods , mineral resources , and manufactured products.

The word Brazil probably comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood , a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. The official Portuguese name of the land, in original Portuguese records, was the "Land of the Holy Cross" Terra da Santa Cruz , [ 36 ] but European sailors and merchants commonly called it the "Land of Brazil" Terra do Brasil because of the brazilwood trade.