Brazil. History. Early settlements. A new nation

In 1493, the year after Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World, Pope Alexander VI drew an imaginary north-south line that divided the lands being explored and claimed by Spanish and Portuguese navigators. Known as the Line of Demarcation, it was intended to establish a boundary that would prevent disputes between Spain and Portugal over these lands.

The Indians tried to defend their native land against the Portuguese colonists, but many were killed in battle. Many others were forced to work a slaves on the plantations. When the Indian population was devastated by European diseases, the plantation owners replaced them with black slaves from Africa.

Land to the east of the line was declared Portuguese territory, while land to the west belonged to Spain. In 1494, through the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain and Portugal moved the line westward to a point about 1,295 miles (2,084 kilometers) west of the Cape Verde Islands, giving Portugal what is now eastern Brazil.

Early settlements. In 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on the Brazilian coast to claim Portugal's new territory. But it was not until the 1530's that Portuguese colonists began to settle the region and establish huge sugar plantations.

During the 1600's and 1700's, many Portuguese settlers migrated to the interior and south of Brazil, where gold and diamonds had been discovered.

The splendor of baroque design, above, lights up the church of Nossa Senhora do Pilar in the town of Ouro Preto. According to local legend, the craftsmen who decorated the 300-year-oid church mixed 182 pounds (400 kilograms) of gold dust in their paints.

As colonists in the north began migrating into Brazil's interior, they crossed the Line of Demarcation. In 1750, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Madrid, which gave Portugal almost all of what is now Brazil.

A new nation. In 1807, France invaded Portugal, and Prince John, Portugal's ruler, fled to Rio de Janeiro. In 1808, Rio became the capital of the Portuguese Empire, and Prince John raised Brazil to the status of a kingdom. When the royal family returned to Portugal in 1821, Prince John left his son Pedro to rule the new kingdom.

On Sept. 7, 1822, Pedro declared Brazil's independence from Portugal. A few months later, he was named emperor. But Pedro was a harsh ruler, and he became so unpopular that he was forced to resign in 1831. He left his throne to his 5-year-old son, Pedro II.

During the long reign of Pedro II, Brazil enjoyed a period of rapid development. The government built railways, telegraph systems, and schools. The growth of industry attracted thousands of European immigrants, who settled in southern Brazil where coffee growing spread rapidly. In addition, the worldwide demand for rubber products led to the development of the Amazon Region's vast natural rubber resources.

The magnificent Opera House of Manaus opened in 1896.

In 1888, Pedro II abolished slavery but refused to pay the plantation owners for their slaves. In 1889, the angry plantation owners supported the nation's military officers in removing Pedro from the throne and declaring Brazil a republic. General Manoel Deodoro da Fonseca was elected the first president.

But Deodoro and some of Brazil's other early presidents ruled the country as dictators. Getulio Vargas, who became president in 1930, was hailed as a national hero when he increased wages and shortened work hours. But in 1937, he prepared a new Constitution that allowed him to censor the press, ban political parties, and takeover Brazil's labor unions. Military officers removed Vargas from office in 1945, and the following year a new Constitution restored the people's civil rights.

Vargas was elected president again in 1950, but military officers overthrew his government four years later. In 1955, Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president. Political increased in the early 1960's, and military officers again took over the government in 1964.

Military rule ended in 1985. The electoral college elected a civilian president, and a 1985 constitutional amendment provided for the direct election of future presidents by the people.