Nana_Brazil

Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil in 1500. The word "Brasil" comes from : Pau Brasil ( Brasil Wood), which Portuguese found here when they arrived. Brazil became the world's largest producer of sugar. In this period, a large number of African slaves were brought to Brazil to work in the sugar cane plantations ( this is a sad part of our history I do not like at all!!). Gold and and diamonds eventually replaced sugar as the country's major export product. By the second half of the 19th century, Brazil was deep in a new cycle with coffee as the major export. Today, coffee is still one of Brazil's major sources of income. The late 19th-century rubber boom also brought prosperity and development to the north of Brazil, previously ignored by the international economy. When Napoleon invaded Portugal in the early 1800's, Dom João VI King of Portugal, fled to Brazil where the Portuguese court continued to run the empire. Ports were opened to international (mostly British) commerce, and the colony grew substantially. In 1789, one of Brazil's first movements for independence from Portugal was crushed. Its hero, Tiradentes, became a national symbol of liberty. Independence was finally proclaimed by Dom Pedro I (Dom João's son) in 1822. He became Brazil's first Emperor.
His son, Dom Pedro II. reigned for 49 years until 1889 when the country became a Republic. In 1888, slavery was abolished. In 1940 Brazil began a new phase characterized by industrial development.
At the same time, agricultural technology advanced giving further impetus to the industrial surge and accelerating financial expansion. In spite of a large and ever growing internal domestic market. Brazil continues to be a major exporter of agricultural products as well as manufactured items such as heavy machinery, shoes and steel products.

Asminha

Brigada Slivana for the info :-)

You mentionned so many sides of the economic realities of Brasil..But, Brasil is still considered as a poor country !

I heard about many Brasilian cities such as Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro (that sounds like maneiro )..What are the other most big cities?? And what's the percentage of muslims there?

How was the carnaval in SP?? Many brasilian people are fed up with the crowd and didn't appreciate it, but I guess that it's a cultural event that they can't neglict!

Nana_Brazil

Ok..let me answer tou in parts
1.Yes, you are right.....Brazil is a rich country when we talk about earh resouces but still poor economically speaking. We all think that people who has ruled this country made this situation like that. I live in a town of São Paulo state but in SP city, violence exists because of the economical situation and other facts, and Rio is worse. There are many slam houses in those big cities. I mentioned such resouces because it is true, the number of precious stones we had, now... not so many but we still do, and the dimension of lands we have here to plant is huge. The problem is.. country people`s life is not easy. They have moved to big cities and the other fact is... A man who plants...sells things very cheap to the other who sells to a market man more expensive...who sells to another ...more more expensive and so on. So... the man who plants, sometimes buys things very very expensive. More than he sold. Another thing, they separate better products for exportation and let us the worst to eat. Sometimes at a high price!


2.There are some Muslims, coming from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon etc..which are immigrants like the Italians, Japanese, German, etc.. But is not a big number compared to the other ones I said.

3. Carnival in São Paulo was also good. To tell you the true, I prefer the one in Bahia. It is more familar...if you understand me lol.

Sorry I did not understand the word CROXD?

Asminha

Sowwie (shame)..I just corrected it, I meant "crowd", mistyping!!

Bahia, I have heard about it, may be I know someone from there, am not sure, gotta check again !!

For violence, oh yes..That's sad!

I understand for those economics facts, it's sad to have some good potentiel and not to make full use of it!
But that's the case for under developped countries that we live in. But the economic dependence of other countries is such another subject!

I read in your profile that you are an English teacher (hope that you are not that desappointed with my mistakes :D)..
In what level do you teach??
You have a different educational system there !!

I would like you to tell me about it! I know that you have ension fundamental, then ensino médio, right? Then directly to college! How many years does it take to finish them?

Nana_Brazil

lol Ok crowd.. Yes it is good economically, but a problem to those who live in the place. Bahia`s accent is such lovely. I am sure you have not met any Baiano yet, because you would tell me lol...Agreee to you again about under developed countries.
Well, yes I`m an English teacher, lol but do not feel shy because all of us learn all the time, and my keyboard also makes BIG typing mistakes, too, lol lol I JUST HATE TYPING LOL LOL...
Our Educational System consists in...Ensino Fundamental ( the 1st 4 child`s years)Ensino Médio ( former ginasial) ...Colegial (High School) and then University (to get this one it is necessary to take a 3 day exam, very very difficult about all subjects to go to the University). The time is about ...11 years until the high school ..then more 4 ou more years of University.

Asminha

Lol lol lol @ My keyboard also makes horrible typing mistakes!! So it's the keyboard's problem, not our fingers :D

You'll wake up someday and find a nice computer that will type what you are saying, technology will reach that level one day :-)

Aaaaaah, for Bahia, I just remember that it's just like you said, a lovely accent!
The fact is that I personnaly can't judge accent, the first time I heard it (from a song), I went like : "Is that what all it is about?"..:-)

Hey hey, what about music now, we won't talk about best brasilian music, but most popular!!
I guess that you must have listened to "chega de saudade" :D
That's one of the songs I know, besides " como nossos pais"..That's all :-)

Nana_Brazil

lol yes,,, it is the keyboard`s fault !!! lol lol In fact mine is out of order so this one i use here was borrowed and it is new..but it is so hard to type,lol
I know the second song which singer is not in my mind right now.
About the accent, if you know singers from Brazil, I can give you some names like... CAETANO VELOSO, GILBERTO GIL, DANIELA MERCURY, ELBA RAMALHO,etc.. which are from the Northeast of Brazil and have such accent...that we call "sotaque nordestino". For eg.. "co. ra. 'ÇAO " (heart) it has its strong stressed sylable in ÇãO, is pronounced...`CÓ . ra. ção by them. Another thing, our best singers and composers come from Bahia and other parts of the Northeast of Brazil.