Chapter eight, Lulismo and the Brazilian Dream chronicles Lula da Silva’s rise and term as Brazilian president. Importantly, the shift of his political ideologies was very important not only in the story of his political career, but in how it would shape Brazilian history.
In 1980, a young Lula formed the Partidos dos Trabahodores (Workers’ Party), a political party designed to fight for Brazilian socialism. The Workers’ Party, or PT, as it would come to be known, quickly became extremely popular and Brazil’s largest left-wing party. Very important in the export of the socialist message were intellectuals who became active advocates of the party. Although some Brazilians misconstrued the party’s message as Marxist, the true message of the party was more of the promotion of a stable democracy and of citizenship for all Brazilians. By the late 1980s, Lula’s popularity was still quite high, and it was then when he decided to first run for President in the election of 1989. He lost this election to Henrique Cardoso, as well as the elections of 1994 and 1998. Lula lost these times because his archaic socialist message failed to appeal to Cardoso’s vows of stable economic reform. As a result of this, Lula moved from his far-left position to the center of the political spectrum. After Cardoso failed to prevent the devaluation of the real, Brazilians sought change once again, which they found in the form of Lula. Thus, in 2002, he was elected President; the term of Lula the Centrist had begun. During Cardoso’s term, Lula had been opposed to some of the economic policies of the president. In particular, he was one of the few who did not support the Real Plan. The Real Plan, of course, benefited financial markets for a time. When Lula became elected, the markets took a significant plunge. But to the Brazilian people, Lula represented a beacon of hope who could bridge the gap between left-wing socialists and financial fat-cats. Starting in 2003, he started enacting a series of six reforms which would transform major social systems. In particular, they included reforms to pension, taxation, labor, the political system, land management, and the financial system. While the Brazilian people supported these provisions, the financial institutions were not so keen on the interest rates that were included in the new financial reform package. This standoff between Lula, his Central Bank and the Brazilian financial markets would continue a while longer. Simultaneously, Lula’s centrist shift was coming back to hurt him. As Lula’s policies began to show him to be more of a market capitalist, his own Workers’ Party began to distrust the new president, despite the fact that many people whom he nominated for his cabinet and various other positions were still strongly allied with the PT. They were also originally critical of his policies to combat poverty. When the policy that he implemented (Bolsa Familia) was a cash-transfer program that differed considerably from the plan proposed by the PT, relations were further strained. However, Lula’s row with the PT wasn’t just confined to the party itself; it was in Congress that the feud reached proportions that could have sunk Lula’s presidency. While the Brazilian 2002 Presidential election was going on, so too was the Congressional election. As with any major election, the result would determine which party would take control. For the PT, the stakes were particularly high. Unfortunately, they lost control of Congress by a significant margin. At this time in the Congressional history, there were a lot of carpetbagging and party transfers. In order to settle the recent power shift, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), attempted to exchange its own votes in return for two lucrative ministry positions. Lula, who in this instance was siding with his own party, refused the PMDB’s offer. Because of this decision, Lula’s cabinet became overrun with PT members and the Brazilian Labour Party (PTB), creating a system of imbalances between Lula’s administration and Congressional representatives. This corruption continued unimpeded during Lula’s administration, eventually reaching a high point during the Mensalao scandal of 2005. In June, news broke about intense corruption in both the PT and PTB. The highlight of the scandal concerned PT contributions made to their respective candidates of around R30,000 ($12,500) a month per candidate. Ultimately, around November, the scandal ended with all of the people implicated in the scandal being convicted. The incident was revealing on many levels, but particularly it showed the the inner workings of political corruption to the Brazilian people. In this particular episode, it showed how the PT was fueled solely by the pursuit of more power and that the the corruption that they were facing was generated internally from within the government. More politicians fell after Mensalao, and the aftershock of the incident had an effect on Lula too. Because of the scandal, his approval ratings in the developed south and southeast dropped considerably. However, his approval ratings jumped in the poorer northeast, where his Bolsa Familia policies were having significant benefits. This won him the 2006 election. During Lula’s second term, he would undergo a turnaround, in which many of his new policies would create growth. Lula’s second term would see significant economic growth through the implementation of new policies. One such program was the Growth Acceleration Programme (PAC), which was the reconciliation of many, formerly separate government programs. It expanded utilities to many inner city favelas. Though PAC did help to energize growth, the major spark came in 2007 when Petrobras struck a significant oil deposit in the South Atlantic. Dilma Rousseff, the head of Petrobras Board of Directors, concocted the pré-sal, which declared that the new oil property of the state. The discovery catalyzed a new sense of euphoria across Brazil. But just as this euphoria was accelerating higher, growth would be hampered by the crash of 2008, which Lula pretentiously shrugged off. In one instance, he described the effects of the crash as a tsunami, which was ravaging the Americas and Europe but would hit Brazil in the form of a ripple. But Lula couldn’t have been more wrong, and instead the financial tsunami hit the Brazilian economy quite hard, though it was comparatively a lot better than other Latin American countries. Still, many large financial institutions and businesses folded and even more lost considerable revenue. Despite the impact, the Brazilian economy had more or less recovered by 2009. In the aftermath, Lula explained how the crash showed how liberal capitalism had failed and how state capitalism was the future for Brazil. Lula transformed the Brazil economy over the remainder of his term, created massive economic growth. As a result, many of the issues that the country faced after the crash quickly dissipated. Unfortunately, this prosperity would not last, as Lula’s successor, Dilma Rousseff, would stumble during her presidency, with significant outlash from the people. Dilma Rousseff was first appointed as Lula’s PT successor in 2009. The 2011 election saw Rousseff (or Dilma, as the Brazilian people would refer to her as) win comfortably. Dilma, a self-described Brazilian democratic socialist who proclaimed her Brazilian goal as to establish it as “a country with solid and entrepreneurial middle class.” In addition, she vowed to abolish dire, favela-style poverty and finally establish economic stability. But one of the most important assurances was that of cracking down on political corruption with a zero-tolerance attitude. Regrettably, most of the promises made by Dilma would be broken. Within only a few years into her term, her financial analysts realized the the real was continuing to depreciate in value. The credit boom that had fueled the years of the Real Plan and of Lula’s term had all but evaporated. Shortly thereafter, economic growth ground to a halt. With this, a domino effect began. Almost all of the guarantees Dilma had made had been broken. But the promise of vanquishing corruption would not only be broken, but obliterated. Chapter eight had many focal points around which Brazilian history was crafted. In this particular time period, a Newtonian-type chain reaction of events took place which would change the country’s direction. The first event was the formation of the socialist Workers’ Party in the 1980s and Lula becoming a spearheader for the party shortly after. Second, Cardoso’s election and economic stabilization with the Real Plan. Eventually, when Lula was elected in 2002, Cardoso’s economic success shifted Lula from left to center on the political spectrum, causing him to continue many of Cardoso’s economic policies. This further increased the liberal fiscal policies which would eventually contribute to the stalled economic growth seen under Dilma’s presidency. Another significant point focal point was the toleration of the systemic corruption that had been playing out for decades. This increased resentment of the government by the Brazilian people, which they would eventually unleash on Dilma.
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Chapter seven, “From Disorder to Progress Under Cardoso,” begins part two, The Making of Democratic Brazil. In the chapter, Reid covers the transitions that took place in the 1990s during and after the fall of the military dictatorship but before Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s presidency and the country’s adjustments to becoming a republic. The main political issues of the time were to dissolve the old dictatorship and erect a stable democratic government. Also on the agenda were quelling inflation, creating stable economic growth, and addressing social problems. The New Republic had a bumpy ride for the first few years of it’s development. Political chaos ensued after the first president died unexpectedly and the second impeached. These events left inexperienced vice-presidents, who instead of bringing order to chaos, only intensified the chaos. Cardoso rose to prominence as the finance minister of then-incumbent president and former vice-president Itamar Franco, would bungled into the presidency. Cardoso, however, would revolutionize the Brazilian economy and eventually create a system of government that would stabilize Brazil
Cardoso became the finance minister in May of 1993, and in 1994, he and his team of economists devised a multi-step plan to allow Brazil to stabilize and modernize their economy. In the plan, Brazil was give a new currency, the real, and consequently, the plan became known as the Real Plan (Plano Real). Within a short time, the Real Plan, which also included an 8 percent fiscal deficit cut, and the creation of the Unidade Real de Valor (URV), a new virtual currency, had stemmed Brazilian inflation significantly. Then, in 1994, came the race for the presidency. Cardoso chose to run because Lula da Silva, who was running for president, did not support the Real Plan. Lula, a then-socialist, wanted limited growth. To counter Lula, Cardoso pressed hard for the continuation of the Real Plan, which the overwhelming majority of Brazilians loved. This strategy worked; Cardoso won with a decent majority. In his post 1994 presidency, Lula would continue the Real Plan, but in addition, he would continue to press for social change in Brazil. Apart from his political expertise, Cardoso also was trained as a sociologist, and was one of Brazil’s leading intellectuals at the time of his presidency. This gave him credence when addressing Brazilian social issues. He found that the main problem drew back to Congressional corruption. Although Cardoso would have significant difficulty fully eradicating the corruption, he was successful in limiting it to an extent. Particularly, he dissolved many of the state-owned monopolies of certain industries, such as the oil and telecoms industries. This turned out to be a very influential decision. Within the next four years, Brazil would see a massive increase in the implementation and use of telecommunication devices, particularly landline and cellular phones. But the numbers weren’t telling the whole story. Within the next decade, a portrait of poor service would be painted by many disadvantaged Brazilian customers. This privatization ultimately became quite unpopular in Brazil. Also, Cardoso’s government was having issues getting the public finance under control. Cardoso’s actions would have done even more in controlling the inflation rate, but instead the administration continued along the simple path of controlling the exchange rate to limit inflation. Simultaneously, 1990s Brazil was experiencing financial turbulence, so much so that it was dubbed an inflation roller coaster. Despite this turbulence, Brazil’s financial integrity remained largely secure. However, Cardoso’s administration was also grappling the problems of devaluation of the real. The fluctuations of the marketplace hindered this, and so Cardoso and his administration was caught in a struggle with maintaining this balance. Cardoso’s relationship with the Brazilian Congress became increasingly strained in the later years of his term as President, as he tenaciously worked to guarantee financial stabilization amid chaos in the Asian financial marketplace. When two of Cardoso’s foremost political allies died unexpectedly, Cardoso, who had enjoyed a quite meteoric rise, started a planetary plummet. Eventually, in 1999, Cardoso’s plummet ended in a crash when the real devalued and the government went into panic mode. Cardoso made several last-ditch attempts to prevent the devaluation to spiral worse out of control, but these measures all failed. The devaluation hit Cardoso uncomfortably hard. His approval ratings tanked and never recovered. Because of this, Congress took matters into its own hands, passing the Fiscal Responsibility Law to amend government spending. At the crux of the new system included currency flotation, inflation targeting, and acceptance of a main fiscal surplus. Social safety nets were also established, even though the policy was pockmarked with holes. The last years of Cardoso’s term would see squabble and failure over the implementation of particular policies. Cardoso’s term saw the implementation of failed liberal economic practices done in order to combat the danger of devaluation caused by instability in international markets. Although markets did not crash, deflation did eventually occur and then the effects were felt all around the country. Most of Cardoso’s economic policies supported growth and, if implemented correctly, had the potential to create an economic stable Brazil. However, Brazil, as a player in the international economy, was vulnerable of deflation against the dollar (the primary reserve currency). Unfortunately, this did occur and was quite unfortunate on the part of Brazil, and embarrassing on the part of Cardoso’s administration for not having the ability to foresee this problem ahead of time. In chapter four, “From Monarchy to Coffee Republic,” Michael Reid elaborates on the governmental and economic progressions in Brazil occurring from the early 19th century to 1930. In 1801, João VI, a Portuguese prince-regent, enacted numerous changes to the structure of Brazilian politics. He had been given more responsibilities, as his mother and ruling monarch, Maria I, was in ill health. João immediately faced an intimidating threat in the form of Napoleon Bonaparte and his expanding French empire. Napoleon, who was in a brutal standoff with the British, offered João an ultimatum: sever all trading ties with Britain or risk invasion. In a surprising chain of events, however, in 1805 João left his Portuguese crown and reestablished the monarchy in Brazil. This was a significant change in the power structure of Europe and the Americas and would lead to an even more peculiar chain reaction of events.
Almost immediately after João and his subordinates reestablished the Portuguese empire in Rio, much local hostility erupted. João did some culturally progressive implementations in Rio, such as the establishment of a national library in the city. In addition, following Napoleon’s defeat, he set up a school for the study of French art, which become Rio’s official school of fine art. In 1815, a decade after Napoleon forced João into his Brazil exile, conflict in Europe finally cooled. A year later, Maria I died, leaving João in charge. But João, rather than return to the continent, chose to continue maintaining his empire from Brazil; this turned out to be a mistake. On the other side of the Atlantic, in the Portuguese port city of Oporto, a Liberal revolt took place, and introduced an assembly system, of which they proclaimed authority over all Portuguese territories, including João’s Brazil. After some initial reluctance, João agreed to return to Portugal to settle the conflict, leaving his son Pedro in charge of Brazil in his absence. When João arrived in Portugal, the assembly ordered him to dismantle his Rio-based empire and for Pedro to return to Portugal. When Rio caught wind of this, one of Pedro’s closest advisors, José Bonifácio Andrada e Silva, who was, in addition, an Enlightenment scientist, quickly championed the idea of independence. After a short while, Pedro concurred and the pair became the two biggest advocates for Brazilian independence. On the other side of the ocean, Pedro’s father was still having difficulties with the Portuguese assembly and was unable to satiate their demands. Eventually, Pedro and José’s spearheading of Brazilian independence hit the radars of the Portuguese assembly. To counter it, they sent a fleet of Portuguese warships to stem the resistance. Fortunately for the Brazilian independence movement, Pedro and José recruited Thomas Cochrane, a former British admiral, to lead an armed naval defense against the coming fleet. Cochrane’s defences proved effective, and the Portuguese offered little resistance in Rio. Cochrane followed up this victory with several assaults on Portuguese garrisons in northeast Brazil. In 1824, “Dom” Pedro became Emperor; the Brazilian Empire was born. Brazil’s independence was more or less assured after that point, but the newly found state wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. Pedro and José had to tackle many sectarian issues that remained unresolved. Even before independence became apparent, there were various regional groups in Brazil who differed politically on the issue of secession. When the conflict ended and Pedro was crowned Emperor, many of these loyalists, who were concentrated in the northeast of the country, evolved into opponents of the new empire. Consequently, Pedro and José campaigned heavily to win the denizens of those areas over, mostly to no avail. When efforts to create a parliamentary system were struck down, different more centralized governments were embraced. Attempts to implement these were also thwarted. Five years later, after rejecting many different methods of governance, Pedro’s rule continued, but it too was showing signs of schism. Pedro faced increasing unpopularity because of a recent war, in which he attempted to grab several regions in present-day Uruguay. The fracture only deepened when old grievances were revived. Although the political sectarian divides had been extinguished, embers of that fire were still smoldering, and the pressures that Pedro was facing did some to re-spark that fire. Five years later, Pedro’s reign crumbled like a house of cards. In April 1831, Pedro abdicated the throne under the pretenses that he was going to Portugal to assist his daughter. As his successor, he appointed Pedro II, his then five-year-old Brazilian-born son. His decision initially proved disastrous for Brazil; until Pedro II came to age, the country was in virtual anarchy. Because he was a five-year-old boy, Pedro II was unfit for office, thus he officially did not become crowned until he was 15, in 1840. The nine years between his appointment by his father and his installment were some of Brazil’s most chaotic. Without a formal monarch to lead the empire, a massive power vacuum was birthed. Regional infighting and sectarian divides continued. Ironically, though, when Pedro did come to age, his reign would have one of the most significant impacts on Brazilian history. Himself an intellectual, Pedro fancied technology and the Enlightenment, and implemented many technological innovations in Brazil, such as the locomotive. Governmentally, Pedro supported the provincial autonomy and many public programs. Pedro’s positions on technology and governance made him very popular among his subjects. He did, nonetheless, struggle from infighting among conservatives and liberals about how the power of the monarch ought to be exercised. Although he himself was the leader of the conservative government, Pedro served as the great moderator between conservatives and liberals, and balanced their interests. The preservation of the dichotomy in this fashion helped to maintain stability for many decades. Ironically, Pedro II’s Brazil in many ways, lacked a central government, which made it difficult for economic intervention when it was necessary. For example, before and during the first half of Pedro II’s reign, the Brazilian economy was relatively weak, and the limiting government under Pedro II and the regional infighting before his reign saw little to ameliorate this issue. Brazilian locomotive infrastructure saw little development because of the country’s vast size and dynamic terrain. However, a significant new policy change would flood the country with change: the end of Brazil’s oceanic slave trade. In 1855, Pedro II unveiled a monumental law that tried slave traders as criminals. Unlike previous attempts at implementing an effective end to the slave trade, this policy did take measures to do just that. Despite this measure, internal slave trade continued in Brazil, especially in the northeast. The economic growth did later pick up pace, though limited government policies did have an impact on economic growth during that period. Ultimately, it was Pedro’s techie ingenuity that would boost the economy. During the 1870s, for instance, the empire’s first railroad (the Dom Pedro II) was finished, reaching from Rio to the coffee-growing grounds of the Paraíba valley, between Rio and Sao Paulo. Railroad construction went hand-in-hand with the growth of the coffee industry, which was a vital Brazilian industry. During the same time, substantial immigration into Brazil by Europeans began. Many Italians, Germans entered the empire. This immigration led to an increase of Europeans in Brazil, which was pushed intentionally by some members of the Brazilian elite who subscribed to the ideas of social Darwinism. The elites, who were white, thought that by flooding Brazil with European immigrants, the country’s multiethnic background would become more white (a.k.a. more “pure”). This wave of immigration served as an economic boost for Brazil and was the final move that abolished slavery, as the immigration was a source of cheap labor, and many slave owners saw slavery as a liability. During that same time, Pedro got Brazil involved in numerous wars, especially a particularly large one in Uruguay. These conflict simultaneously created an economy boost and resentment among particular individuals in the government for the monarch. This eventually ended with the sudden military coup of 1891, which removed Pedro II from the throne. The coup was supported by certain members of nobility who felt that the empire was threatening their interests. The military would set up an oligarchical republic, which would last the next four decades. Following the military coup,Deodoro da Fonseca, would lead as President. The following decades would launch the struggle for true democratic reform for Brazil. Effective democratic policies were unable to last because of increased powers to local politicians and many of Brazil’s “liberals” shifted to the right of the political spectrum when the empire experienced long-term economic growth. But this boom, driven almost entirely by coffee production, busted, as was typical of uncontrolled economic growth and failed economic practices. Apart from the economy, modernist art and philosophy had a significant influence on Brazilian politics, although the nation still developed at a far slower rate than its neighbors of Chile and Argentina. Eventually, the republic’s second (and last) president, Washington Luiz, was deposed in an unforeseen military coup in April 1930. Getulio Vargas, replaced him, giving birth to the Brazilian military dictatorship and effectively killing the First Brazilian Republic. During the chapter, many political changes impacted Brazil. First, João VI’s standoff with Napoleon, which forced him into exile and relocate the throne to Brazil. Second, the liberal uprising in Portugal, which served as a catalyst for the fight for Brazilian independence. Pedro I and Jose Bonifacio spearheaded the independence movement, and, with military assistance from Thomas Cochrane, drew a line in the sand against the Portuguese and created the Empire of Brazil. Third, the ironic decision of Pedro I appointing his five-year old son Pedro II as his successor had a significant impact on the young nation, as it first revealed Brazil’s deeply rooted political issues, something which Pedro II balanced during his reign. The military coup of 1889 created the oligarchical First Brazilian Republic, which was not effective enough to maintain stability. This proved fatal to the republic, as the military staged another coup in 1930, deposing then-leader Washington Luiz. Brazilian politics of Pedro II onward illustrate the ongoing issues that Brazil has been having with maintaining stable, effective, democratic governments. Chapter three, “The Forging of a People,” begins part one, History from Geography, which explores the social and economic events that have influenced Brazil’s history from Portuguese colonization until the mid-twentieth century. Chapter three specifically focuses on Brazil’s history from the discovery of the future Latin American power by Portuguese mariner Pedro Álvares Cabral in April 1500 to the events of the late 18th century. In the late 15th century, Portuguese naval capabilities were quickly growing to surpass many European powers. This newfound strength came from the network of trading posts established from the Atlantic African coast in the west to India in the east. Many mariners, including Pedro Álvares Cabral, took up the task of ferrying spices and jewels across the Portuguese sea empire. Cabral, who set sail for India, unintentionally ended up at the mouth of a Brazilian river on April 23 1500. The area became known as Porto Seguro and the Portuguese quickly associated themselves with the native Brazilian tribe of the Porto Seguro area, the Tupi, exchanging items and communing with them. In the next few years many other Portuguese ships came and went, soon establishing the colony of Santa Cruz. Many alliances continued to be established with the “Indians,” all the while royals and nobles continued to pour into the newly founded colony. These nobles included a particular group that was a minority in Brazil, but would have a profound impact on the history of the country: the Jesuits.
When Cabral and his men first made landfall in Brazil, he was accompanied by many degredados, ex-convicts turned seamen. When Cabral left Brazil to go to his originally chartered destination of Calicut, India, he left several of the degredados behind to continue to establish alliances with the Tupi and other native tribes. Many chiefs of tribes married off their female children to the degredados. Meanwhile, Portuguese Jesuits settled in the same area. Eventually, some of the degredados developed an embrace of many native customs, to the disgust of the Jesuits, particularly Manoel da Nóbrega. Clashes between the nobility and their missionaries and the Brazilians soon followed. King João III eventually took more interest in Brazil and its soon-to-be permanent colonies. Needless to say, Native-Portuguese relations spiraled downward henceforth. During the 16th century, the Jesuits launched “missionary wars” against the natives to convert them to Christianity. As contact between the two groups increased, so too did the spread of diseases (mainly from Europeans and Africans to the Amerindians), particularly smallpox and measles. The devastation inflicted by these diseases paved the path for increased Jesuit expansion in Brazil. Though in violation of many royal ordinances, many colonists in Brazil imposed slavery on the native Brazilians. The bandeirantes were pioneers (both colonists and native) who used Amerindian techniques to travel into Brazil’s interior and find natives of isolated tribes to bring back as slaves. Fierce competition between the bandeira and Jesuit trailblazers significantly expanded the development of Brazil. This development continued into the 17th century. While the bandeirantes continued to carve huge tracts through the Brazilian jungle and cerrado, the Jesuits expanded their proselyte operations into Brazil’s north, right in the heart of the Amazon basin. Jesuit slavery and abuse of the natives were abhorred by many bandeirantes, which continued to fuel tensions between the two groups. These tensions occasionally erupted into violence, but as the middle of the 17th century approached, bandeirante-Jesuit relations became increasing volcanic. The tension continued until 1750, when Marquis of Pombal, the new Chief Minister of King José I, expelled the Jesuits, whom, having control over much of Brazil’s sugar mills, represented an impediment to Marquis’ plans of modernization for Brazil. One of Marquis’ decrees called for the end of Amerindian slavery, which he enforced. José I and his right-hand man Marquis also were involved in many other actions concerning royal authority, but this will be discussed in a future paragraph. Although slavery for the native Brazilians ended, slavery for another group, Africans, continued. This slavery fostered the growth of an already booming Brazilian enterprise: sugar. Brazilian slavery and sugar plantations have an intertwined and long history, stretching back to shortly after the founding of the colony by the Portuguese. Because of Brazil’s geography and strategic significance for the triangular trade, sugar plantations were soon established. The Portuguese had used African slave labor for sugar production in their trading outposts in Africa; implementation of slavery in Brazil was therefore quite easily and quickly followed the development of the sugar industry. Enslavement of Africans in Brazil was so successful for two reasons; cheap imports and the low attraction of free labor. From the 14th century to the 17th century, the price of importing African slaves into Brazil was quite low in comparison to the costs of importing slaves into the Caribbean or North America. A low level of of free labor, the second reason why African slavery was so successful in Brazil, occurred because of the slow settlement of Brazil by the Portuguese. The chaotic issues with the enslavement of native Brazilians most likely contributed as well. Both of these issues resulted in the lack of a stable free source of labor. When combined with the low import costs, Brazilian conditions were ripe for the growth of a massive slave industry, which quickly became intertwined with the sugar industry. By the time of Marquis and his expulsion of the Jesuits, slave-operated sugar plantations comprised a significant industry in Brazil. With the Jesuits out of the picture, control of the precious cane crop fell to the Portuguese crown. This allowed the further development of the of sugar cane industry in Brazil, and with it, increased involvement of the Portuguese regality into the business ends of Brazil. Despite this supposedly positive change, economic stagnation eventually occurred in 1670s onward. However, simultaneously, a massive boom that was occurring in another area of the Brazilian economy was set to change the country yet again: precious metals and stones, which would yet again face seizure by the Portuguese Crown. The “Brazilian Gold Rush” began in the late 17th century as a result of the trailblazing done by the bandeirantes and paulistas. Both groups followed up on native rumors of gold and diamonds. Their treks eventually led to the discovery, and later development of, massive mines in the mountain ranges that comprise the region that would eventually be known as Minas Gerais. The news spread like wildfire and as many as 600,000 Portuguese arrived in Brazil to reap the rewards. More treasures were discovered, such as emeralds and other crystals, sparking even more people to flock to Brazil in an attempt to strike it rich. But just as soon as the craze had started, gold production by the 1750s had declined significantly. José I was the monarch during this time, and he continued to rake in more money, which was desperately needed, for the rebuilding of Lisbon, which was damaged in the 1755 earthquake and tsunami. This action robbed many of the miners of the chance to make a fortune. Although much of the gold rush profits did go to King Jose, there were unintended benefits of the rush. The population boom in the area of Minas Gerais led to the creation of many mining towns and settlements, leading to the expansion of the cattle-farming industry needed to feed the growing frontier. In these areas, blacks mingled quite freely with Amerindians and whites. Eventually, the population of blacks, many of whom had been freed, would outnumber whites in the Minas Gerais area by the start of 19th century, which would foster the development of cultural growth in the Minas Gerais area. Meanwhile, politically, Brazil experienced even more transitions during the 1770s and 1780s. Inspired by the American Revolution against the British, a group of Brazilians set themselves against the Portuguese crown. The results of this event would significantly determine the trajectory of Brazilian history. In 1788-89, King José I sought to increase the poll tax on Minas Gerais. This generated a reaction among a group of conspirators in the region, who desired to break with the Crown and form their own independent state of Minas Gerais. Before long, this feeling of resentment had reverberated across the region and had blown up into a rebellion serious enough for King José I to step in. José quickly quelled the rebellion, but its occurrence would have an impact on the quest for Brazilian independence. Several decades later came, starting in 1816, came the reign of João VI, under which Brazilian control by the Portuguese came to an end. However, Brazilian independence would come rather peculiarly. This chapter covered the time period from 1500 to 1788, in which the main political issues included the divide over control of Brazilian economic activities, revolt of the Brazilian people at the Portuguese Crown, African slavery in the Portuguese colony, and Brazil’s ethnic and cultural similarities and differences. While there were ethnic and cultural similarities in many areas of the colony, the differences had a significant impact on the country and were tied into the Brazilian economy, particularly the sugar and prospecting tiers. Specifically, African slavery was still prevalent in the aforementioned areas of the economy. Politically, the Portuguese crown maintained a tight grip on the financial happenings of Brazil, leading to resentment by the King’s subjects, which would eventually boil over in the botched skirmish of 1788. This disentitlement would continue, however, beyond then. The events that would follow were set in motion by the aforementioned factors. |
Andy Jay CrossI am a sophomore Sustainability major at Stockton University.
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