Brazil

HISTORY PEOPLES LANDSCAPE MAPS PICTURES SOURCES
Our project discussed travelers who came to Brazil in the years between 1850 and 1950. To better understand the perspectives of Theodore Roosevelt, Louis Agassiz, David Maybury Lewis, and Konrad Guenther, this page will provide some information on Brazil during those years.

History

In 1822, Brazil became independent from Portugal, and this change brought Brazil into its national period. Brazil continued to be ruled by members of the Portuguese royal families until 1889. After its independence, Brazil was at war against the Argentina between 1851 and 1852, and again went to war against Paraguay between 1865 and 1870. Between 1865 and 1866 Louis Agassiz was in Brazil participating in the Thayer Expedition. During this time many of Brazil's railroads and roads were constructed and many Europeans immigrated there. Plantation culture was beginning to crumble as slavery was abolished and the planters withdrew their support. The republic was able to be established because none of the oponents were able to counteract the new establishment. Since 1889 they have become a republic although they had experienced dictatorship between 1937 and 1945 and between 1964 to 1985. Marshal Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca became the first elected president. Soon after Brazil experience an economic boom as a result of increased exportation of rubber. In 1912, this boom came to a sudden stop because Southeast Asia started growing rubber. Theodore Roosevelt began his travels there in 1913. In 1917 Brazil declared war and sided with the Allies in World War I. Konrad Guenter visited BraziI just before the 1920's. In 1926, Brazil withdrew from the League of Nations. In 1930, Getúlio Vargas came into power through a coup. He centralized the government and changed the constitution (Estado Nôvo), and then forced advances in industry and agriculture. In 1942, Brazil again joined the allies in World War II. Vargas was forced to resign in 1945 and "Gen. Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president." Vargas was reelected in 1950 and held office until he committed suicide in 1954. David Maybury-Lewis lived in Brazil from 1955 until 1956.

Although these travelers were in Brazil during some political upheval, the travelers our project covered were exploring the jungle and mostly were not effected by the political unrest. Theodore Roosevelt gave lectures in Brazil and Argentina before he started his expedition. However, he never mentioned anything about the politics of the countries he was visiting other than mentioning that he was well recieved. For most of his trip, Theodore Roosevelt was traveling the entire Amazon, was living in the wild, and was not effected by the politics of the country. Louis Agassiz was participating in the Thayer expedition and spent most of his time documenting scientific information about the formation of glaciers. However, he does mention that in Brazil there is no class prejudice and that once freed from slavery the black man can rise as high as the white man politically. David Maybury Lewis was learning about the indigenous people and living with them. He fails to mention anything about Brazilian politics of its effects on him. Konrad Guenther was documenting the flora and fauna of Brazil and interacted with some of the native people, but never mentions any of the politics of Brazil or their effects on him, if there were any. Although most of our travelers did not mention the politics or history of Brazil it may have effected the way that they traveled, or caused them not to visit the cities.

Peoples
Brazil has the largest population in South America and contains the most racially mixed society in the world. Our travelers could have met people of African, European, and indigenous strains and primarily speak Portuguese. Ninety percent of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic faith.

Landscape
As you can see from the maps, Brazil borders the Atlantic ocean on it's eastern side. Brazil is a large country which covers 8,511,965 sq km. Most of Brazil has a tropical climate, however the southern part has a temperate climate. Most of the terrain is flat, rolling lowlands, with some plains, hills, and mountains.

Maps of Brazil to show where are travelers went.

This is Louis Agassiz, a scientist who traveled to Brazil.

This is a picture from David Maybury Lewis's book that shows an indigenous person hunting.

These are pictures of Theodore Roosevelt on the hunt (left) and working on a letter (right) in Brazil.

These are images from Konrad Guenther's book which show images of the Brazilian trees and forest. The above pictures are included to give you an idea of what Brazil looked like to these people, and a better sense of what some of them were dealing with during their travels.

Sources

Agassiz, Professor and Mrs. A Journey in Brazil. 1868. University Press: Welch, Bigelow, & Co., Cambridge. Boston, 1868.

"Brazil." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. www.bartleby.com/65/. 14 April 2002.

"Brazil." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001. http://www.msn.com 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Guenther, Konrad. A Naturalist in Brazil. Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company. 1931.

Maybury-Lewis, David. The Savage and the Innocent. Beacon Press, Boston: 1956.
Brazil Country Report

Bandira Page
Brazil Country Report
Lefalophodon- An Informal History of
Evolutionary Biology Web Site
Theodora Maps
Theodora Flags

Back to Top of Page