History of Brazil

 April 22, 1500, the land of Brazil was found by a Portuguese explorer named Pedro Alvares
Cabral on his way to India, sponsored by the Kingdom of Portugal and the support of the Catholic
Church.
 From the 16th and early 19th century, created and expanded as a colony, kingdom and an integral
part of the Portuguese Empire.
 Briefly named “Land of the Holy Cross” by Portuguese explorers and crusaders then named
“Land of Brazil” by Brazilian-Portuguese settlers and merchants dealing brazilwood.
 September 7, 1822, Prince Regent Pedro de Alcantara declared Brazil’s independence from
Portugal so the kingdom became the Empire of Brazil.
 In 1889, Brazil became a presidential republic following a military coup d’etat.
 In 1964 to 1985, an authoritarian military junta came to power and ruled. Then a civilian
governance and democracy resumed and Brazil became a democratic federal republic.

Did you know? Brazil ranks 13 th

in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of its rich
culture and history. Brazil is also a founding member of the United Nations, Community of Portuguese
Language Countries, Mercosul ( a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991
and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994.) , the G20 (an intergovernmental forum works to address major issues
related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change
mitigation and sustainable development.) , BRICS, Organization of Ibero-American States and the
Organization of American States.

History of Brazil’s Flag

 Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1816–1822)

In 1815, Brazil was elevated to the rank of kingdom, and the kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil and
the Algarves were united as a single state. The Charter Act of 1816 established the insignia of the new
kingdom. It specified that the arms of the Kingdom of Brazil was to be composed of a gold armillary
sphere on a blue field.
  Flag of the independent Kingdom of Brazil (18 September – 1 December 1822)

 First flag of the Empire of Brazil with 19 stars (1822–1853). On 29 August 1853, Imperial Law
No. 704 created the Province of Paraná, resulting in the addition of a 20th star.

 Second flag of the Empire of Brazil with 20 stars (1853–1889)

The flag of Brazil was designed by Jean-Baptiste Debret as the Royal Standard of the Prince Royal of
the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, Pedro I.
After the Brazilian Declaration of Independence, and with the coronation of Pedro I as Emperor of
Brazil, the Royal Standard was modified to become the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The new flag
featured the imperial coat of arms within a yellow rhombus, on a green field.[5] The green and yellow
colors represented the dynastic houses of Pedro I and his consort Maria Leopoldina of Austria.[2]
The imperial flag was slightly modified during the reign of Pedro II, when an extra star was added to the
imperial arms to conform to the new territorial organization of the country.
  Provisional flag of the Republic of the United States of Brazil (15–19 November 1889)

Upon the proclamation of the Republic, one of the civilian leaders of the movement, the jurist Ruy
Barbosa, proposed a design for the nation's new flag strongly inspired by the flag of the United States. It
flew from 15 to 19 November 1889, when Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca (acting as provisional president of
Brazil) vetoed the design, citing concerns that it looked too similar to the flag of another country.

 First flag of the Republican Brazil with 21 stars (1889–1960)

 Second flag of the Republican Brazil with 22 stars (1960–1968)

 First flag of the Federative Republic of Brazil with 23 stars (1968–1992)

 Second flag of the Federative Republic of Brazil with 27 stars (1992–present)

Raimundo Teixeira Mendes presented a project in which the imperial coat of arms replaced by a
blue celestial globe and the positivist motto. It was presented to Fonseca, who promptly accepted. A
group formed by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares
designed the flag. Officially adopted on 19 November 1889. The flag was modified on three occasions to
add additional stars intended to reflect newly created states: 1960 (22 stars), 1968 (23 stars) and 1992 (27
stars).

A list of constellations and stars on the map:

1. Procyon (α Canis Minoris)
2. Canis Major: five stars, the largest depicting Sirius
3. Canopus (α Carinae)
4. Spica (α Virginis)
5. Hydra: two stars, the larger being Alphard
6. Crux Australis: five stars, the largest depicting Alpha Crucis
7. Sigma Octantis (σ Octantis, south pole star)
8. Triangulum Australe: three stars of similar size
9. Scorpius: eight stars, the largest depicting Antares
Did you know? The flag of Brazil contains 27 stars, representing the Brazilian states and
the Federal District. The creators of the republican flag intended to represent the stars in the sky at Rio
de Janeiro at 8:37 in the morning on 15 November 1889, the moment at which the constellation of the
Southern Cross was on the meridian of Rio de Janeiro and the longer arm [of the cross] was vertical.
According to Brazil's national act number 5,700 of 1 September 1971, the flag portrays the stars, as an
imaginary observer an infinite distance above Rio de Janeiro standing outside the firmament in which
the stars are meant to be placed would see them.

Flag Motto
 In 2021, the movement "Amor na Bandeira" (in English, Love in the Flag) proposed to update
the flag's motto from "Ordem and Progresso" to "Amor, Ordem e Progresso" (Love, Order and
Progress), in allusion to the motto of positivism "L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le
progrès pour but" (Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal), formulated
by the French philosopher Augusto Comte, which inspired the original motto in the flag. One of
the main collaborators of the movement was the politician Eduardo Suplicy, who had already
supported the bill project PL 2179/2003 with the same goal, by Deputy Chico Alencar: replace the
expression on the Brazilian flag to Love, Order and Progress.
 Map of Brazil

 Brazil (officially, the Federative Republic of Brazil) comprises of the union of 26 states (estados,
singular - estado) and 1 Federal District (distrito federal). In alphabetical order, the states are:
Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso,
Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro,
Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo,
Sergipe and Tocantins. These states are further subdivided into a total of 5,570 municipalities.
The Federal District has no municipalities but is divided into 31 administrative regions.
 Covering an area of 8.5 million sq.km, Brazil is the world's 5th largest country as well as the
largest country in South America and in the Southern hemisphere. It is also the 6th most
populous country in the world. Located in the central--west region of the country, at the top of
the Brazilian Highlands is, Brasilia - the federal capital city of Brazil. Situated on a plateau of the
Brazilian Highlands in southeastern Brazil is Sao Paulo - the largest and the most populous city in
Brazil, as well as in the Americas and in the Western and Southern hemispheres. Sao Paulo is the
major cultural, financial, economic and industrial center of Brazil and the world's largest
Portuguese-speaking city. Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's most famous city.
 Located in the central-eastern part of South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It occupies
almost half of the continent's landmass and is dissected by both the Equator and the Tropic of
Capricorn. It is hence geographically positioned in the Northern, Southern and Western
hemispheres of the Earth, with its major portion lying in the south of the Equator.