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Brazil was a Portuguese
colony for more than three centuries, and for much of that time, it was at the
center of the great Atlantic sugar and slave trades. Evidence of Portuguese
culture abounds in everything from language to food. After declaring its
independence in 1822,
Brazil
went on to become a kingdom, an empire and, finally, in 1889, a republic. Today,
the country's population is a mixture of the descendants of indigenous peoples,
European immigrants, and African slaves. Other significant immigrant groups
include Japanese farmers, Syrian and Lebanese merchants and even Confederate
refugees from the U.S. Civil War.
Throughout the last decade,
Brazil
has suffered from incredible debt, high inflation, a shaky political system and
even the threat of secession by the three southernmost states. But
Brazil
has managed to pull through. Fortunately, inflation has slowed, and the country
has one of the most stable democracies on the continent.
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