Brazilian Catholic Empire

The Catholic Empire of Brazil

National Flag National Seal
National motto: In Hoc Signo Vinces
National anthem: N/A
N/A
Region	American Continent
Capital	Rio de Janeiro
Official languages	Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish
Demonym	Brazilian
Population	Over 1 Billion
Government  -Executive  -Legislative  -Judicial	The Emperor and Council of Ministries The General Assembly The Imperial Tribunal
Important Dates  -Independence -Monarchy abolished -Early Republics -First Collapse	7 September 1822 15 November 1889 1889-1991 5 October 1992
Ethnic Groups  -White  -Mulatto  -Black  -Other  -Unspecified	53.7% 38.5% 6.2% 0.9% 0.7%
Geography  -Area  -Highest Point	????
Currency	Latinum
NS

The Empire of Brazil (Império do Brasil) traces its origins to the Empire under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II. Founded in 1822 it was replaced by a republic in 1889, then the Vargas Dictatorship 1937, and finally a fully democratic state by 1985 before collapsing as a stable political unit by the 1990s. The Napoleonic occupation of Portugal resulted in the Portuguese royal family, the Braganzas, going into exile in Brazil, the most important of Portugal's colonies. What followed was a period when Brazil became the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and enjoyed self-government under the Braganza dynasty with no reference to the authorities in Lisbon. This nurtured a distaste for the idea of returning to status quo ante upon the overthrow of Napoleon's influence over Portugal. Brazil came to be independent of Portugal albeit under the rule of a member of the Portuguese royal family.

After its independence from the Portuguese on 7 September 1822, Brazil became a monarchy and established the first Empire of Brazil, which lasted until the establishment of a republican government on 15 November 1889. Two emperors occupied the throne in that period: Pedro I from 1822 to 1831; and Pedro II from 1831 to 1889. King João VI of Portugal held the title of Emperor of Brazil as stipulated by the treaty recognizing Brazilian independence. The end of the first Empire in 1889 and the foundation of the republic was a reactionary development following the abolition of slavery in 1888 which had created a serious threat to the interests of the economic and political oligarchy. The early republican government was little more than a military dictatorship however, and the army dominated affairs both at Rio de Janeiro and in the states. Freedom of the press disappeared and elections were controlled by those in power. In 1894 the republican civilians rose to power, opening a prolonged cycle of civil war, financial disaster, and government incompetence. By 1902, the government began a return to the policies pursued during the Empire, policies that promised peace and order at home and a restoration of Brazil's prestige abroad and was successful in negotiating several treaties that expanded and secured the Brazilian boundaries.

In the 1920s the country was plagued by several rebellions caused by young military officers and by 1930, the regime was weakened and demoralized, which allowed the defeated presidential candidate Getúlio Vargas to lead a coup d'état and assume the presidency. Although Vargas was supposed to assume the presidency temporarily, he instead closed the National Congress, extinguished the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers and replaced the states' governors with his supporters. This began the Vargas dictatorship that would last in Brazil until the end of World War II when Vargas's position became unsustainable and he was swiftly overthrown in a military coup. Democracy was reinstated and General Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president and took office in 1946. Vargas returned to power in 1951, this time democratically elected, but he was incapable of either governing under a democracy or of dealing with an active opposition, and he committed suicide in 1954. Several brief interim governments succeeded after Vargas's suicide, including the Kubitscheck government which moved the capital of Brazil to the newly constructed capital city of Brasília, which was inaugurated in 1960. It wasn't until General Ernesto Geisel became president in 1974 that a path to true democracy in Brazil was started. It was under Geisel that a project of re-democratization through a process that Geisel himself said would be "slow, gradual and safe" was begun. This process lasted well into the 1980 when it was believed that Brazil was finally establishing a stabilized, democratic nation. However, economic instability rocked the nation and the national government formally fell apart due to civil war in the early 1990s.

While Brazilian would be host to several political governments following the fall of the democratic government, including the communist state of Espanora and a confederate Brazilian state, all these political institutions would fail to hold onto power. Following the fall of the Russian West Indies, Panama would declare its independence which the Russian Empire would recognize following international pressure. Panama would come under the leadership of the future Emperor of the new Brazilian Empire, Dom Rafael of Braganza. Dom Rafael I, along with his political and spiritual adviser Cardinal Ricardo Antonio Perez , would use diplomacy to take back Brazilian territory which rightfully belonged to Rafael by birth. It would be a deal brokered between the Falkland Confederation and the Rafael that would return the city of Rio de Janeiro to Braganza rule and finally given Rafael the power to create a restored Brazilian Empire. However in its infancy years the Brazilian Empire, an attempted assassination of the Doge of Venice by Brazilian agents would send the Empire to war not only against the Republic of Venice, but also the Russian Empire. Though the Russian Empire would attempt to invade and conquer the Panama territory from the Brazilians, the Brazilians would retain it with help from the Latin Republic of El Dejarbo. However, the war would see the death of Dom Rafael I and with him, the death of the Brazilian Empire itself. Civil unrest in Panama would force the Brazilians to reclassify their relationship with Panama. In the end Brazil, under the regent Dona Mariana I, would elevate Panama to the status of Kingdom and together the two territories would become the United Catholic Kingdom of Brazil and Panama. Continued unrest led to the collapse of the United Kingdom and Brazil fell into a brief period of anarchy. This ended when the heir and son of Dom Rafael I, Dom Miguel II was brought from El Dejarbo back to Brazil, ushering in a new era for the Brazilian people.

Today, the Catholic Kingdom of Brazil is a model Catholic country with a strong military as well as a vibrant industrial economy. Its economic power makes it one of the largest in the South American region as well as making it one of the fastest growing economies globally. A devoutly Genesian Catholic state, Brazil serves the Americas as a bastion for the faith as well as a leading voice in the spread the faith to the rest of the Americas and globally. Politically, the Brazilian Empire is a borderline absolute monarchy. A one-party state, most power seems to reside within the Emperor as both the party and the church give their full support. Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.

The History of the Brazilian Empire

Pre-Cabraline era

The earliest human remains found in the Americas, Luzia Woman, were found in the area of Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais and provide evidence of human habitation going back at least 11,000 years. Around the time of the Portuguese arrival, the territory of current day Brazil had an estimated indigenous population of 7 million people, mostly semi-nomadic who subsisted on hunting, fishing, gathering, and migrant agriculture. The indigenous population of Brazil comprised several large indigenous ethnic groups. The Tupí people were subdivided into the Tupiniquins and Tupinambás, and there were also many subdivision of the other groups. Before the arrival of Europeans, the boundaries between these groups and their subgroups were marked by wars that arose from differences in culture, language and moral beliefs. These wars also involved large-scale military actions on land and water, with cannibalistic rituals on prisoners of war. While heredity had some weight, leadership status was more subdued over time, than allocated in succession ceremonies and conventions. Slavery among the Indians had a different meaning than it had for Europeans, since it originated from a diverse socio-economic organization, in which asymmetries were translated into kinship relations.

Portuguese colonization

The land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral.The Portuguese encountered indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family, and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization was effectively begun in 1534, when King Dom João III of Portugal divided the territory into the fifteen private and autonomous Captaincy Colonies of Brazil. However, the decentralized and unorganized tendencies of the captaincy colonies proved problematic, and in 1549 the Portuguese king restructured them into the Governorate General of Brazil, a single and centralized Portuguese colony in South America. In the first two centuries of colonization, Indigenous and European groups lived in constant war, establishing opportunistic alliances in order to gain advantages against each other. By the mid-16th century, cane sugar had become Brazil's most important exportation product, and slaves purchased in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the slave market of Western Africa (not only those from Portuguese allies of their colonies in Angola and Mozambique), had become its largest import, to cope with plantations of sugarcane, due to increasing international demand for Brazilian sugar.

By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline, and the discovery of gold by bandeirantes in the 1690s would become the new backbone of the colony's economy, fostering a Brazilian Gold Rush which attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal and all Portuguese colonies around the world. This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers. Portuguese expeditions known as Bandeiras gradually advanced the Portugal colonial original frontiers in South America to approximately the current Brazilian borders. In this era other European powers tried to colonize parts of Brazil, in incursions that the Portuguese had to fight, notably the French in Rio during the 1560s, in Maranhão during the 1610s, and the Dutch in Bahia and Pernambuco, during the Dutch–Portuguese War, after the end of Iberian Union. The Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil had two objectives that would ensure colonial order and the monopoly of Portugal's wealthiest and largest colony: to keep under control and eradicate all forms of slave rebellion and resistance, such as the Quilombo of Palmares, and to repress all movements for autonomy or independence, such as the Minas Conspiracy.

United Kingdom with Portugal

In 1808, the army of French Emperor Napoleon I invaded Portugal, forcing the Portuguese royal family—the House of Braganza, a branch of the thousand-year-old Capetian dynasty—into exile. They re-established themselves in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which became the unofficial seat of the Portuguese Empire. In 1815, the Portuguese crown prince Dom João (later Dom João VI), acting as regent, created the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, which raised the status of Brazil from colony to kingdom. He ascended the Portuguese throne the following year, after the death of his mother, Maria I of Portugal. He returned to Portugal in April 1821, leaving behind his son and heir, Prince Dom Pedro, to rule Brazil as his regent. The Portuguese government immediately moved to revoke the political autonomy that Brazil had been granted since 1808. The threat of losing their limited control over local affairs ignited widespread opposition among Brazilians. José Bonifácio de Andrada, along with other Brazilian leaders, convinced Pedro to declare Brazil's independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822. On 12 October, the prince was acclaimed Pedro I, first Emperor of the newly created Empire of Brazil, a constitutional monarchy. The declaration of independence was opposed throughout Brazil by armed military units loyal to Portugal. The ensuing war of independence was fought across the country, with battles in the northern, northeastern, and southern regions. The last Portuguese soldiers to surrender did so in March 1824, and independence was recognized by Portugal in August 1825.

Pedro I encountered a number of crises during his reign. A secessionist rebellion in the Cisplatine Province in early 1825 and the subsequent attempt by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (later Argentina) to annex Cisplatina led the Empire into the Cisplatine War: "a long, inglorious, and ultimately futile war in the south". In March 1826, João VI died and Pedro I inherited the Portuguese crown, briefly becoming King Pedro IV of Portugal before abdicating in favor of his eldest daughter, Maria II. The situation worsened in 1828 when the war in the south ended with Brazil's loss of Cisplatina, which would become the independent republic of Uruguay. During the same year in Lisbon, Maria II's throne was usurped by Prince Miguel, Pedro I's younger brother. Other difficulties arose when the Empire's parliament, the General Assembly, opened in 1826. Pedro I, along with a significant percentage of the legislature, argued for an independent judiciary, a popularly elected legislature and a government which would be led by the emperor who held broad executive powers and prerogatives. Others in parliament argued for a similar structure, only with a less influential role for the monarch and the legislative branch being dominant in policy and governance. The struggle over whether the government would be dominated by the emperor or by the parliament was carried over into debates from 1826 to 1831 on the establishment of the governmental and political structure. Unable to deal with the problems in both Brazil and Portugal simultaneously, the Emperor abdicated on behalf of his son, Pedro II, on 7 April 1831 and immediately sailed for Europe to restore his daughter to her throne.

The Liberal Regency Years

Following the hasty departure of Pedro I, Brazil was left with a five-year-old boy as head of state. With no precedent to follow, the Empire was faced with the prospect of a period of more than twelve years without a strong executive, as, under the constitution, Pedro II would not attain his majority and begin exercising authority as Emperor until 2 December 1843. A regency was elected to rule the country in the interim. Because the Regency held few of the powers exercised by an emperor and was completely subordinated to the General Assembly, it could not fill the vacuum at the apex of Brazil's government. The hamstrung Regency proved unable to resolve disputes and rivalries between national and local political factions. Believing that granting provincial and local governments greater autonomy would quell the growing dissent, the General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment in 1834, called the Ato Adicional (Additional Act). Instead of ending the chaos, these new powers only fed local ambitions and rivalries. Violence erupted throughout the country. Local parties competed with renewed ferocity to dominate provincial and municipal governments, as whichever party dominated the provinces would also gain control over the electoral and political system. Those parties which lost elections rebelled and tried to assume power by force, resulting in several rebellions.

The politicians who had risen to power during the 1830s had by then become familiar with the difficulties and pitfalls of power. According to historian Roderick J. Barman, by 1840 "they had lost all faith in their ability to rule the country on their own. They accepted Pedro II as an authority figure whose presence was indispensable for the country's survival." Some of these politicians (who would form the Conservative Party in the 1840s) believed that a neutral figure was required—one who could stand above political factions and petty interests to address discontent and moderate disputes. They envisioned an emperor who was more dependent on the legislature than the constitutional monarch envisioned by Pedro I, yet with greater powers than had been advocated at the beginning of the Regency by their rivals (who later formed the Liberal Party). The liberals, however, contrived to pass an initiative to lower Pedro II's age of majority from eighteen to fourteen. The Emperor was declared fit to rule in July 1840.

Return of Conservative Power

To achieve their goals, the liberals had allied themselves with a group of high-ranking palace servants and notable politicians: the "Courtier Faction". The courtiers were part of the Emperor's inner circle and had established influence over him, which enabled the appointment of successive liberal-courtier cabinets. Their dominance was short-lived, though. By 1846, Pedro II had matured physically and mentally. No longer an insecure 14-year-old swayed by gossip, suggestions of secret plots, and other manipulative tactics, the young emperor's weaknesses faded and his strength of character came to the fore. He successfully engineered the end of the courtiers' influence by removing them from his inner circle without causing any public disruption. He also dismissed the liberals, who had proved ineffective while in office, and called on the conservatives to form a government in 1848. The abilities of the Emperor and the newly appointed conservative cabinet were tested by three crises between 1848 and 1852. The first crisis was a confrontation over the illegal importation of slaves. Importing slaves had been banned in 1826 as part of a treaty with Britain. Trafficking continued unabated, however, and the British government's passage of the Aberdeen Act of 1845 authorized British warships to board Brazilian ships and seize anyone who was found to be involved in the slave trade. While Brazil grappled with this problem, the Praieira revolt, a conflict between local political factions within Pernambuco province (and one in which liberal and courtier supporters were involved), erupted on 6 November 1848, but was suppressed by March 1849. It was the last rebellion to occur during the monarchy, and its end marked the beginning of forty years of internal peace in Brazil. The Eusébio de Queirós Law was promulgated on 4 September 1850 giving the government broad authority to combat the illegal slave trade. With this new tool Brazil moved to eliminate the importation of slaves, and by 1852 this first crisis was over, with Britain accepting that the trade had been suppressed.

The third crisis was a conflict with the Argentine Confederation over ascendancy in territories adjacent to the Río de la Plata and free navigation of that waterway. Since the 1830s, Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas had supported rebellions within Uruguay and Brazil. The Empire was unable to address the threat posed by Rosas until 1850, when an alliance was forged between Brazil, Uruguay and disaffected Argentines, leading to the Platine War and the subsequent overthrow of the Argentine ruler in February 1852. The Empire's successful navigation of these crises considerably enhanced the nation's stability and prestige, and Brazil emerged as a hemispheric power. Internationally, Europeans came to see the country as embodying familiar liberal ideals, such as freedom of the press and constitutional respect for civil liberties. Its representative parliamentary monarchy also stood in stark contrast to the mix of dictatorships and instability endemic in the other nations of South America during this period. At the beginning of the 1850s, Brazil was enjoying internal stability and economic prosperity. The nation's infrastructure was being developed, with progress in the construction of railroads, the electric telegraph and steamship lines uniting Brazil into a cohesive national entity. After five years in office, the successful conservative cabinet was dismissed and in September 1853, Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná, chieftain of the Conservative Party, was charged with forming a new cabinet. Emperor Pedro II wanted to advance an ambitious plan, which became known as "the Conciliation", aimed at strengthening parliament's role in settling the country's political disputes.

Paraná invited several liberals to join the conservative ranks and went so far as to name some as ministers. The new cabinet, although highly successful, was plagued from the start by strong opposition from ultraconservative members of the Conservative Party who repudiated the new liberal recruits. They believed that the cabinet had become a political machine infested with converted liberals who did not genuinely share the party's ideals and were primarily interested in gaining public offices. Despite this mistrust, Paraná showed resilience in fending off threats and overcoming obstacles and setbacks. However, in September 1856, at the height of his career, he died unexpectedly, although the cabinet survived him until May 1857. The Conservative Party had split down the middle: on one side were the ultraconservatives, and on the other, the moderate conservatives who supported the Conciliation. The ultraconservatives were led by the Joaquim Rodrigues Torres, Viscount of Itaboraí, Eusébio de Queirós and Paulino Soares de Sousa, 1st Viscount of Uruguai—all former ministers in the 1848–1853 cabinet. These elder statesmen had taken control of the Conservative Party after Paraná's death. In the years following 1857, none of the cabinets survived long. They quickly collapsed due to the lack of a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The remaining members of the Liberal Party, which had languished since its fall in 1848 and the disastrous Praieira rebellion in 1849, took advantage of what seemed to be the Conservative Party's impending implosion to return to national politics with renewed strength. They delivered a powerful blow to the government when they managed to win several seats in the Chamber of Deputies in 1860. When many moderate conservatives defected to unite with liberals to form a new political party, the "Progressive League", the conservatives' hold on power became unsustainable due to the lack of a workable governing majority in the parliament. They resigned, and in May 1862 Pedro II named a progressive cabinet. The period since 1853 had been one of peace and prosperity for Brazil: "The political system functioned smoothly. Civil liberties were maintained. A start had been made on the introduction into Brazil of railroad, telegraph and steamship lines. The country was no longer troubled by the disputes and conflicts that had racked it during its first thirty years."

Paraguayan War

This period of calm came to an end when the British consul in Rio de Janeiro nearly sparked a war between Great Britain and Brazil. He sent an ultimatum containing abusive demands arising out of two minor incidents at the end of 1861 and beginning of 1862. The Brazilian government refused to yield, and the consul issued orders for British warships to capture Brazilian merchant vessels as indemnity. Brazil prepared itself for the imminent conflict, and coastal defenses were given permission to fire upon any British warship that tried to capture Brazilian merchant ships. The Brazilian government then severed diplomatic ties with Britain in June 1863. As war with the British Empire loomed, Brazil had to turn its attention to its southern frontiers. Another civil war had begun in Uruguay which pitted its political parties against one another. The internal conflict led to the murder of Brazilians and the looting of their Uruguayan properties. Brazil's progressive cabinet decided to intervene and dispatched an army, which invaded Uruguay in December 1864, beginning the brief Uruguayan War. The dictator of nearby Paraguay, Francisco Solano López, took advantage of the Uruguayan situation in late 1864 by attempting to establish his nation as a regional power. In November of that year, he ordered a Brazilian civilian steamship seized, triggering the Paraguayan War, and then invaded Brazil. What had appeared at the outset to be a brief and straightforward military intervention led to a full-scale war in South America's southeast. However, the possibility of a two-front conflict (with Britain and Paraguay) faded when, in September 1865, the British government sent an envoy who publicly apologized for the crisis between the empires. The Paraguayan invasion in 1864 led to a conflict far longer than expected, and faith in the progressive cabinet's ability to prosecute the war vanished. Also, from its inception, the Progressive League was plagued by internal conflict between factions formed by former moderate conservatives and by former liberals.

The cabinet resigned and the Emperor named the aging Viscount of Itaboraí to head a new cabinet in July 1868, marking the return of the conservatives to power. This impelled both progressive wings to set aside their differences, leading them to rechristen their party as the Liberal Party. A third, smaller and radical progressive wing would declare itself republican in 1870—an ominous signal for the monarchy. Nonetheless, the "ministry formed by the viscount of Itaboraí was a far abler body than the cabinet it replaced" and the conflict with Paraguay ended in March 1870 with total victory for Brazil and its allies. More than 50,000 Brazilian soldiers had died, and war costs were eleven times the government's annual budget. However, the country was so prosperous that the government was able to retire the war debt in only ten years. The conflict was also a stimulus to national production and economic growth.

The Golden Years

The diplomatic victory over the British Empire and the military victory over Uruguay in 1865, followed by the successful conclusion of the war with Paraguay in 1870, marked the beginning of the "golden age" of the Brazilian Empire. The Brazilian economy grew rapidly; railroad, shipping and other modernization projects were started; immigration flourished. The Empire became known internationally as a modern and progressive nation, second only to the United States in the Americas; it was a politically stable economy with a good investment potential. In March 1871, Pedro II named the conservative José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco as the head of a cabinet whose main goal was to pass a law to immediately free all children born to female slaves. The controversial bill was introduced in the Chamber of Deputies in May and faced "a determined opposition, which commanded support from about one third of the deputies and which sought to organize public opinion against the measure." The bill was finally promulgated in September and became known as the "Law of Free Birth". Rio Branco's success, however, seriously damaged the long-term political stability of the Empire. The law "split the conservatives down the middle, one party faction backed the reforms of the Rio Branco cabinet, while the second—known as the escravocratas (English: slavocrats)—were unrelenting in their opposition", forming a new generation of ultraconservatives. T

he "Law of Free Birth", and Pedro II's support for it, resulted in the loss of the ultraconservatives' unconditional loyalty to the monarchy. The Conservative Party had experienced serious divisions before, during the 1850s, when the Emperor's total support for the conciliation policy had given rise to the Progressives. The ultraconservatives led by Eusébio, Uruguai and Itaboraí who opposed conciliation in the 1850s had nonetheless believed that the Emperor was indispensable to the functioning of the political system: the Emperor was an ultimate and impartial arbiter when political deadlock threatened. By contrast, this new generation of ultraconservatives had not experienced the Regency and early years of Pedro II's reign, when external and internal dangers had threatened the Empire's very existence; they had only known prosperity, peace and a stable administration. To them—and to the ruling classes in general—the presence of a neutral monarch who could settle political disputes was no longer important. Furthermore, since Pedro II had clearly taken a political side on the slavery question, he had compromised his position as a neutral arbiter. The young ultraconservative politicians saw no reason to uphold or defend the Imperial office.

Decline and fall of the Brazilian Empire

The weaknesses in the monarchy took many years to become apparent. Brazil continued to prosper during the 1880s, with the economy and society both developing rapidly, including the first organized push for women's rights (which would progress slowly over the next decades). By contrast, letters written by Pedro II reveal a man grown world-weary with age, increasingly alienated from current events and pessimistic in outlook. He remained meticulous in performing his formal duties as Emperor, albeit often without enthusiasm, but he no longer actively intervened to maintain stability in the country. His increasing "indifference towards the fate of the regime" and his inaction to protect the imperial system once it came under threat have led historians to attribute the "prime, perhaps sole, responsibility" for the dissolution of the monarchy to the emperor himself. The lack of an heir who could feasibly provide a new direction for the nation also threatened the long-term prospects for the Brazilian monarchy. The Emperor's heir was his eldest daughter, Isabel, who had no interest in, nor expectation of, becoming the monarch. Even though the Constitution allowed female succession to the throne, Brazil was still a very traditional, male-dominated society, and the prevailing view was that only a male monarch would be capable as head of state. Pedro II, the ruling circles and the wider political establishment all considered a female successor to be inappropriate, and Pedro II himself believed that the death of his two sons and the lack of a male heir were a sign that the Empire was destined to be supplanted.

A weary Emperor who no longer cared for the throne, an heir who had no desire to assume the crown, an increasingly discontented ruling class who were dismissive of the Imperial role in national affairs: all these factors presaged the monarchy's impending doom. The means to achieve the overthrow of the Imperial system would soon appear within the Army ranks. Republicanism had never flourished in Brazil outside of certain elitist circles, and had little support in the provinces. A growing combination of republican and Positivist ideals among the army's junior and mid-level officer ranks, however, began to form a serious threat to the monarchy. These officers favored a republican dictatorship, which they believed would be superior to the liberal democratic monarchy. Beginning with small acts of insubordination at the beginning of the 1880s, discontent in the army grew in scope and audacity during the decade, as the Emperor was uninterested and the politicians proved incapable of re-establishing the government's authority over the military. The nation enjoyed considerable international prestige during the final years of the Empire and had become an emerging power in the international arena. While Pedro II was receiving medical treatment in Europe, the parliament passed, and Princess Isabel signed on 13 May 1888, the Golden Law, which completely abolished slavery in Brazil. Predictions of economic and labor disruption caused by the abolition of slavery proved to be unfounded. Nonetheless, the end of slavery was the final blow to any remaining belief in the crown's neutrality, and this resulted in an explicit shift of support to Republicanism by the ultraconservatives—themselves backed by rich and powerful coffee farmers who held great political, economic and social power in the country.

To avert a republican backlash, the government exploited the credit readily available to Brazil as a result of its prosperity to fuel further development. The government extended massive loans at favorable interest rates to plantation owners and lavishly granted titles and lesser honors to curry favor with influential political figures who had become disaffected. The government also indirectly began to address the problem of the recalcitrant military by revitalizing the moribund National Guard, by then an entity which existed mostly only on paper. The measures taken by the government alarmed civilian republicans and the positivists in the military. The republicans saw that it would undercut support for their own aims, and were emboldened to further action. The reorganization of the National Guard was begun by the cabinet in August 1889, and the creation of a rival force caused the dissidents among the officer corps to consider desperate measures. For both groups, republicans and military, it had become a case of "now or never". Although there was no desire among the majority of Brazilians to change the country's form of government, republicans began pressuring army officers to overthrow the monarchy. They launched a coup and instituted the republic on 15 November 1889. The few people who witnessed what occurred did not realize that it was a rebellion. Historian Lídia Besouchet noted that, "[r]arely has a revolution been so minor." Throughout the coup Pedro II showed no emotion, as if unconcerned about the outcome. He dismissed all suggestions put forward by politicians and military leaders for quelling the rebellion. The Emperor and his family were sent into exile on 17 November. Although there was significant monarchist reaction after the fall of the Empire, this was thoroughly suppressed, and neither Pedro II nor his daughter supported a restoration. Despite being unaware of the plans for a coup, once it occurred and in light of the Emperor's passive acceptance of the situation, the political establishment supported the end of the monarchy in favor of a republic. They were unaware that the goal of the coup leaders was the creation of a dictatorial republic rather than a presidential or parliamentary republic.

The Republic Era

The "early republican government was little more than a military dictatorship, with army dominating affairs both at Rio de Janeiro and in the states. Freedom of the press disappeared and elections were controlled by those in power". In 1894, following the unfolding of two severe crises, an economic along with a military one, the republican civilians rose to power. By the turn of the 1900's even the Kingdom of Portugal had fallen. On 1 February 1908, the king Dom Carlos I of Portugal and his heir apparent, Prince Royal Dom Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza, were murdered in Lisbon. Under his rule, Portugal had twice been declared bankrupt – on 14 June 1892, and again on 10 May 1902 – causing social turmoil, economic disturbances, protests, revolts and criticism of the monarchy. Manuel II of Portugal became the new king, but was eventually overthrown by the 5 October 1910 revolution, which abolished the regime and instated republicanism in Portugal. In Brazil, little by little, a cycle of general instability sparked by these crises undermined the regime to such an extent, that in the wake of the murder of his running mate, the defeated opposition presidential candidate Getúlio Vargas supported by most of the military, successfully led the Brazilian Revolution of 1930. Vargas was supposed to assume power temporarily, but instead closed the Congress, extinguished the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers and replaced the states' governors with his own supporters.

In the 1930s, three major attempts to remove Vargas and his supporters from power occurred. The first was the failed Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932, the second was the anti-fascist Brazilian uprising of 1935 led by communists, and the fascist Integralist Movement attempted a coup in May 1938. The 1935 uprising created a security crisis in which the Congress transferred more power to the executive. The 1937 coup d'état resulted in the cancellation of the 1938 election, installed Vargas as a dictator, and began the Estado Novo era, noted for government brutality and censorship of the press.In foreign policy, the success in resolving border disputes with neighboring countries in the early years of the republican period, was followed by a failed attempt to exert a prominent role in the League of Nations, after its involvement in World War I. In World War II Brazil remained neutral until August 1942, when the country entered on the allied side, after suffering retaliations undertaken by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, due to the country having severed diplomatic relations with Axis powers in the wake of the Pan-American Conference. With the allied victory in 1945 and the end of the Nazi-fascist regimes in Europe, Vargas's position became unsustainable and he was swiftly overthrown in another military coup. Vargas committed suicide in August 1954 amid a political crisis and Juscelino Kubitschek became president in 1956. Kubitschek assumed a conciliatory posture towards the political opposition that allowed him to govern without major crises. The economy and industrial sector grew remarkably, but his greatest achievement was the construction of the new capital city of Brasília, inaugurated in 1960. His successor was Jânio Quadros, who resigned in 1961 less than a year after taking office. His vice-president, João Goulart, assumed the presidency, but aroused strong political opposition and was deposed in April 1964 by a coup that resulted in a military regime.

The Creation of the Contemporary Brazilian Kingdom

With yet another military regime in power in Brazil, many conservatives whose families had once supported a Brazilian monarchy, were now prepared to restore the crown. Operating in Rio, these new monarchists looked to Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza as their best claimant to the Brazilian crown. After the revolution of 1910, King D. Manuel II settled in England until his death in 1932. He was childless, and descendants of Dom Miguel (the usurper of 1826) claimed the throne. In 1920–22, the two (of the now four) branches of the House of Braganza negotiated a pact under which Dom Manuel named as his heir Dom Duarte Nuno of Braganza, grandson of Dom Miguel. In 1942, the Duarte Nuno married Princess Maria Francisca of Orléans-Braganza, daughter of Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará. Pedro de Alcântara was the first-born son of Dona Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, and her husband Gaston of Orléans, count of Eu, and, as such, was born second-in-line to the Imperial throne of Brazil, during the reign of his grandfather, Emperor Dom Pedro II, until the empire's abolition. He went into exile in Europe with his mother when his grandfather was deposed in 1889, and grew up largely in his father's castle, the Château d'Eu in Normandy. The marriage of Duarte Nuno and Princess Maria Francisca reconciled two branches of the House of Braganza, in two different ways, reuniting the Portuguese and Brazilian Brigantine houses and specifically reuniting the Miguelist and Liberal Braganzas, which had been estranged since 1828, when the War of Two Brothers was waged between King-Emperor Pedro IV & I, founder of the Liberal Braganzas, and King Miguel I, founder of the Miguelist Braganzas. The couple had three sons, the eldest of whom is Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, who also had claims to the Portuguese throne.

The young Dom Duarte Pio, who was in his twenties at the time, swore support and gladly accept the Brazilian throne. While in exile, Dom Duarte Pio's Grandfather Pedro de Alcântara had gained favors within the papal court of the royal Dos Santos Aveiro-Medici, the blood royale of the Papal monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church (Genesisian Church). It was with the Papacy help than Dom Duarte Pio landed in Rio with a personal army at his command. What result from Dom Duarte Pio's landing was a short war between the monarchists and the military regime. In the early stages of the civil war, the Militarists put the monarchists on a constant defensive battle. Slowly however, the wear and tear of years of the war eroded their position and the monarchists gained grown. Furthermore, the military dictatorships inability to deal with the economic crises that developed at home become of the war, the inevitable collapse of the military's hold on power was inevitable. By 1970 the military was quickly replaced with a new civilian leadership that called for democracy in Brazil and peace with the growing monarchy in the south. For the monarchists in Rio, negotiations for peace were welcomed as their superior military position ensured their demands would be meant. In march of 1971 the Kingdom of Brazil was officially proclaimed with Rio as its capital and the country itself controlling much of Brazil's southern territories. Dom Duarte Pio was proclaimed King of this new Brazil and began a new Brazilian dynasty. Reforms were swift within the new Brazilian Kingdom that became heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, given their unwavering support for the monarchists.

The Government

The Catholic Kingdom of Brazil is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. The throne of Brazil is under the rule of the House Orléans-Braganza—a branch of the House Braganza which is a branch of the thousand-year-old Capetian dynasty. The country's parliament is a bicameral institution known as the the General Assembly, which is divided into the Chamber of Peers and the Chamber of the Senate

Brazil's Constitution holds both the Emperor and the General Assembly, which is composed of 50 peers and 102 senators, are the nation's representatives. This endows the Assembly with both status and authority. The Constitution creates legislative, moderating, executive and judicial authorities as "delegations of the nation" with the separation of those powers envisaged as providing balances in support of the Constitution and the rights it enshrined.

• For info on Emperors of Brazil, see: Sovereigns of Brazilian Kingdom
• For info on political parties in Brazil, see:Political Parties of the Brazilian Kingdom

The Emperor of Brazil (The Executive)

The Brazilian Emperor is the head of state and executive of the Brazilian Kingdom. The Kings of Portugal were once Monarchs over Brazil until the invading army of Napoleon I forced the Portuguese government to flee to Brazil in 1807. On 16 December 1815 the prince regent John, the future king John VI raised Brazil to the status of a kingdom, thus making his mother, Maria I, the reigning Queen, the first Monarch of Brazil. Having proclaimed independence from Portugal in 1822, Pedro I, son of John VI, was crowned Emperor of Brazil on 01 December 1822. The Most Serene House of Braganza was the dynasty which ruled the Kingdom of Portugal. It is a branch of this house which founded and governed the Empire of Brazil as the Brazilian Imperial Family. Since the return of an heir to the Braganza family, Dom Rafael of Orléans-Braganza I, the house of Braganza or more specifically, the house Orléans-Braganz has once again established themselves as the Brazilian Imperial Family, along with claiming the long-lost Portuguese throne as well.

A Constitutional balance of power exists between the General Assembly and the executive branch under the Eperor. The Assembly cannot operate alone and the monarch cannot force their will upon the Assembly. The system functions smoothly only when both Assembly and Emperor act in a spirit of cooperation for the national good. According to the Constitution, the Emperor is tasked with ensuring national independence and stability. The Constitution limits the Emperor's ability to impose his will upon the General Assembly. His main recourse is the right to dissolve or extend legislative sessions. In the Chamber of Peers, the Emperor has the power to appoint nobles to the chamber but given that Peers hold their offices for life, they are freed from government pressure once appointed. If the Chamber of the Senate is dissolved, new elections are required to be immediately held. Thus the power is most effective when used as leverage against the Senate as it cannot be repeatedly used within the span of a year. Only the Emperor exercises the moderating power as chief executive and thus he has the final say and holds ultimate control over the national government. In foreign policy the Constitution requires that the General Assembly be consulted about declarations of war, treaties and the conduct of international relations.

The Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers of the Brazilian Kingdom is not only a privy council to the monarch, of whom he or she consults on matters of state, but also a very active executive cabinet of high ranking members of the monarch's government. A powerful organ within the executive branch of government, second only the Emperor, the duties and responsibilities of the Council vary, as each member of the council represents the highest ranking minister of a variety of Ministries. While the Emperor is the de jure head of the Council of Ministers as well as the government itself, a Prime Minister is the de facto leader of both the Council of Ministers and of the government.

The Council is composed of members who are nominated by the Emperor. According the constitution, the Emperor has the authority to nominate any person deemed qualified to a position within the Council of Ministers. However, in practice the Emperor usually consults with leaders of the Assembly on candidate choices. Once nominated, candidates are voted upon by both houses of the Assembly in a special joint-session vote. Once elected, members of the council remain until replaced by the Emperor. Although the Emperor has expressed authority to replace a council member for any reason or at any time, in practice this is done in consultation with the Prime Minister.

List of the Royal Ministries

• Prime Ministry
• Foreign Ministry
• Health Ministry
• Defense Ministry
• Treasury Ministry
• Commerce Ministry
• Education Ministry
• Transportation Ministry
• Energy Ministry

The General Assembly

The General Assembly (Portuguese: Assembléia Geral) is the supreme legislative body of the Brazilian Kingdom and its international territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other legislative bodies in the Empire and its territories. The parliament is bicameral, with an upper house, the Chamber of Peers, and a lower house, the Chamber of the Senate.

The Emperor exercises moderating power as chief executive and thus he has the final say and holds ultimate control over the national government. Even so, the prerogatives and authority granted to the legislature within the Constitution means that it can and does play a major and indispensable role in the functioning of the government an thus is not mere a rubber stamp. The Assembly alone can enact, revoke, interpret and suspend laws. The legislature also holds the power of the purse and is required to annually authorize expenditures and taxes. It alone approves and exercises oversight of government loans and debts. Other responsibilities entrusted to the Assembly include setting the size of the military's forces, the creation of offices within the government, monitoring the national welfare and ensuring that the government is being run in conformity to the Constitution. This last provision allows the legislature wide authority to examine and debate government policy and conduct.

In foreign policy, the Constitution requires that the General Assembly be consulted about declarations of war, treaties and the conduct of international relations. A determined legislator could exploit these Constitutional provisions to block or limit government decisions, influence appointments and force reconsideration of policies. A unique aspect of the Assembly is that during the first month of its first, four-month session the Assembly conducts public debates. These are widely reported and form a national forum for the expression of public concerns from all parts of the country. It is frequently a venue for expressing opposition to policies and airing grievances. During this time, both chambers of the Assembly remain in joint-session. Members of both chambers enjoy immunity from prosecution for speeches made from the floor and in the discharge of their offices. Only their own chambers can order the arrest of a member during their tenure.

The Chamber of Peers

The Chamber of Peers (Portuguese: Câmara dos Pares) is the upper house of the General Assembly of the Brazilian Kingdom. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Kingdom in 1824, it was inspired in United Kingdom's House of Lords. Currently, the Chamber comprises 50 members known as lords (Ladies). The Senate like the Chambers of Deputies assembles in a chamber within the Government Palace of Rio de Jeneiro. Unlike in other nations with a noble class, nobility in Brazil is not hereditary. Instead, the nobility of Brazil form a type of meritocracy with titles granted in recognition of an individual's outstanding service to the Empire or for the public good. Members of the Chamber are appointed by the Emperor although through practice, the Emperor's appointments come through consultation with the Prime Minister. Once appointed to the Chamber of Peers, a Lord or Lady serves for life and are only removed through retirement or death.

The Chamber of Peers has much of the same parliamentary proceedings as does the Chamber of the Senate. At the beginning of each new year's session, the Chamber of Peers chooses a speaker for the Chamber from among its membership. The speaker is generally the oldest among the Chamber's membership, although there is no law in the constitution which states that this must be the case. This however, has been adopted by the Chamber through tradition, recognize its senior most member for their life-long service to the Emperor, the chamber, and the people of Brazil. The Speaker of the Chamber then sets the agenda for the Chamber of Peers for the coming sessions. Unlike in the Senate, a member of the Chamber of Peers does not require the acknowledgment of the Speaker to speak during sessions and speeches although it is customary never to interrupt the speaker. It is also tradition that members give courtesy to a member when they are delivering speech, waiting until after their initial arguments are made to question or offer rebuttal. Voting in the Chamber is done by secret ballot, the results of which are always announced by the speaker.

The Chamber of Peers establishes at the beginning of each secession both Grand Committees and Select Committees. Any member of the Chamber may participate in either type of committee though one can only sit on one committee at a time. Grand Committee are formed to review certain bills before they come to the Chamber, as a whole, to be voted upon. No divisions are held in Grand Committees, and any amendments to the bill requires the unanimous consent of the Chamber. Hence, the Grand Committee procedure is used only for uncontroversial bills. Select Committee memberships are appointed by the Speaker at the beginning of each session, and continue to serve until the next parliamentary session begins. Most Select Committees are permanent, but the Chamber may also establish ad hoc committees, which cease to exist upon the completion of a particular task. The primary function of Select Committees is to scrutinize and investigate Government activities. To fulfill these aims, they are permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence.

List of Committees established by the Senate

• Topical
  • Communications Select Committee
  • Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Select Committee
  • Economic Affairs Committee
    • Economic Affairs Finance Bill Select Sub-Committee
  • American Affairs Committee
    • Economic and Financial Affairs, Trade and International Relations
    • Internal Market
    • Foreign Affairs, Defense and Development Policy
    • Environment and Agriculture
    • Law and Institutions
    • Home Affairs
    • Social Policy and Consumer Affairs
  • Hybrid Instruments Committee
  • Intergovernmental Organizations Select Committee
  • Lords Liaison Committee
  • Merits of Statutory Instruments Select Committee
  • Select Committee on Regulators
  • Science and Technology Committee
• Internal
  • House Committee
  • Committee for Privileges
  • Procedure Committee
  • Committee of Selection
• Domestic
  • Administration and Works Select Committee
  • Refreshment Select Committee

The Chamber of the Senate

The Chamber of the Senate (Portuguese: A Câmara do Senado) or simply the Senate, is the lower house of the General Assembly of Brazilian Kingdom. The Senate is a democratically elected body, consisting of 102 members, who are known as Senators. Membership to the Senate is based on population, which each province receiving a number of seeks based on the amount of citizens living with their border. The constitution, however, guarantees each province at least two seats within the Senate. Elections are held every five years for the Senate, unless the Senate is dissolved sooner by the Emperor. Senators are elected by popular vote from among the residence of the Province they indeed to represent. There are no term limits for the amount of times a candidate may be elected to the Senate. Candidacy for the Senate is available for anyone who: is a natural born citizen of Brazil, is twenty-five years of age or older, and has lived in the province they wish to represent for at least the past ten years.

The Senate has much of the same parliamentary proceedings as does the Chamber of Peers. At the beginning of each New Year’s session, the Senate chooses a speaker for the Chamber from among its membership. Generally, the Speaker of the Senate presents the political party which holds a majority in the Chamber. When a majority is not clearly created by a single party, parties will often join in coalitions in order to create the majority needed to elect a Speaker. The Speaker heads the Senate and sets the agenda for the coming session. Unlike in the Chamber of Peers, Senators may not speak directly to one another nor can they speak without recognition from the Speaker. Any Senator who wishes to speak must first be recognized by the Speaker and then must address his or her speech to the Speaker directly. Fellow Senators who wish to give rebuttal or ask questions over remarks made must also be recognize by the speaker and speak only to them. These rules are tradition and not found in the constitution. The understanding is that by addressing the speaker, arguments between Senators are cut down and Senate operating time is maintained. A Senator who address a Fellow Senator or speaks without being recognized by the Speaker can been thrown out of the Senate for that day's session.

In the Senate, as in the Chamber of Peers, two types of Committees are created: Standing Committees and Select Committees. Standing Committees are established to review bills before they come to a vote of the entire Chamber. The membership of each Standing Committee roughly reflected the strength of the parties. The membership of Standing Committees changed constantly; new Members are assigned each time the committee considered a new bill. Select Committee's memberships may also reflect the strength of the parties in the Chamber. Select Committees are usually formed to investigate a certain government department or issue of interest.

List of Committees of the Congress of Councilors

• Departmental
  • Business and Enterprise Select Committee
  • Children, Schools and Families Select Committee
  • Communities and Local Government Select Committee
  • Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
  • Defense Select Committee
  • Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
  • Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
  • Foreign Affairs Select Committee
  • Health Select Committee
  • Home Affairs Select Committee
  • Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee
  • International Development Select Committee
  • Justice Select Committee
  • Transport Select Committee
  • Treasury Select Committee
  • Work and Pensions Select Committee
• Topical
  • Environmental Audit Select Committee
  • American Scrutiny Committee
  • Public Accounts Select Committee
  • Public Administration Select Committee
  • Arms Export Controls Committee
  • Regulatory Reform Committee
  • Select Committee on Statutory Instruments
• Internal
  • Committee on Members' Allowances
  • Select Committee on Standards and Privileges
  • Procedure Committee
  • Select Committee of Selection
• Domestic
  • Administration Committee
  • Finance and Services Committee

Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch of the Holy Catholic Kingdom of Brazil is a complex and unique branch of the Brazilian government. It operates under the primary principle of Guilty until proven innocent, that is to say, individuals found to have committed a crime as deemed guilty unless proven innocent during the questions by the inquisition. Brazilian law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions and civil law concepts prevail over common law practice. All of Brazilian law is codified with the legal system being based on the Imperial Constitution which is the fundamental law of Brazil. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules and the rights of the people therein. Much of the Rights and Laws provided by the Imperial Constitution are inspired by or taken directly from biblical scriptures and Catholic dogma.

The Judicial branch is made up of two distinct branches: The Honorable and Holy Office of the Justicars and the Imperial Office of the Holy Catholic Inquisition. The Justicars are specially trained agents, usually former Catholic priests that have been hired by the Empire, who are specially trained to act both as Judge, Jury, and Executioner in court proceedings. It is the job of the inquisition to discern the facts of any case of law and bring those facts before a Justicar. It is the duty of a Justicar to then weigh the facts presented and make a judgement of innocence against an accused or make a decision in cases of arbitration. In criminal cases, Justicars have the ability to not only render a verdict upon an accused but also carry out sentencing in cases of execution. All first degree and premeditated offenses get the death penalty, along with many second degree offenses. All sentencing is up to the discretion of the Justicar handling the case and can only be overruled by a pardon from the National Assembly.

Justicars operate alone and outside any official court rooms or houses. Justicars are summoned by the inquisition and rulings are usually made at the jail houses or sometimes in public squares depending on the severity and nature of the crime. In cases of arbitration or litigation, Justicars can be summoned by the plaintiff to either their place of residence or work, depending on the nature of the case. The only court house in all the Brazilian Kingdom in the building for the High Tribunal of Justice, a special council of Justicars. The Tribunal also serves as the chief administrative body of the entire Honorable and Holy Office of the Justicars. It should also be noted that there are no prison systems within the Brazilian Kingdom. Instead the Empire operates Prison Farms where convicted felons of lesser crimes are put into penal labor for the economic benefit of the state. The Brazilian Kingdom does not provide parole of criminals and all crimes that don't warrant the death penalty instead warrant a life on a prison farm.

The High Tribunal of Justice

The high Tribunal of Justice (Alto Tribunal de Justiça) is a type of court of last resort for the Brazilian Kingdom, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. The Court consist of the Chief Justiciar and four associate Justiciars. Their authority is almost completely unrivaled when it comes to legal affairs, as only the Emperor himself can overturn the decision made by the Tribunal. Justiciars seated on the Court are highly respected, as they are the highest ranking Justicars among the Honorable and Holy Office. In fact, the High Tribunal of Justice also acts as the administrative body for all Justicars. It oversees the training and distribution of Justicars through the entire Brazilian Kingdom. The Tribunal focus is on cases that raise points of law of general public importance. Appeals from commercial disputes, family matters, judicial review claims against public authorities and issues of heresy which is among the most important cases, are heard by the Tribunal and deliberated on by the membership. The Court also hears some criminal appeals, however very few criminal cases and the resulting sentences are overturned.

Justiciars of the Tribunal are appointed by the Emperor upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Brazil and must be confirmed by the Senate of the National Assembly. Each Justicar on the Tribunal serves until the age of 70, when it is made mandatory that they retire. The Chief Justicar of the Tribunal is elected by their peers for a term of ten years by secret ballot. Re-election for a consecutive term is not allowed. By tradition, the members of the Tribunal always elect as Chief Justicar the most senior member of the Tribunal that has not yet served. If all members currently sitting on the Tribunal have already served as Chief Justicar, the rotation starts all over again; however, due to the existence of a compulsory retirement age, and the consequent appointment of new Justicars to fill those vacancies, it is very rare for the cycle to be completed and re-started, and some Justicar are forced to retire before their turn in the presidency arrives.

Once appointed to the Tribunal the Chief Justiciar along with the four associate Justiciars administer, appoint, and oversee the other Justiciars and the districts that they are appointed to. To become a Justiciar a candidate must have priest training within the Genesisian Catholic Church of Brazil. A candidate must at least be 18 years of age or older to be recruited as a Justicar. Once trained and given extensive knowledge of the law and constitution of the Brazilian Kingdom, a Justicar can serve for life.

Imperial Office of the Holy Catholic Inquisition

Uniform of the Inquisition

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The Holy Office of the Catholic Inquisition of the Brazilian Kingdom or simply, the Inquisition, is an organization within the Empire of Brazil in collaboration with the Genesisian Catholic Church of Brazil that serves the Imperial State. It operates and acts as the secret police of the Empire, hunting down any and all threats to the stability of the realm which includes heretics and spies. While the Justiciars of the Empire act as the Judge and jury, the Inquisition operates as the police force ensuring that the law is obeyed and that those who break the law are brought to justice. Though their primary function is to seek out and apprehend all heretics, the inquisition also seeks out other law violations for such crimes as treason, espionage, and sabotage. They also are charged with protecting against criminal attacks on the Church, the Emperor and the Imperial Family, as well as Brazil itself. The Inquisition is given full authority in law enforcement manners and thus retains full clearance and jurisdiction throughout all realms within the borders of the Empire. Acting as a national police force, the inquisition ensure internal safety and the enforcement of the law for not only a single city, town, or village but also for the entire empire.

The Inquisition is considered a branch of the Brazilian government and thus is under the authority of the Brazilian Emperor. However, more precisely the Inquisition is a collaboration of both the Brazilian government and the Genesisian Catholic Church of Brazil. The organization is led by a Grand Inquisitor of whom is selected and appointed to the position by the Emperor of Brazil from candidates selected by the Brazilian Cardinal of the Genesisian Catholic Church. The remaining staff of the Catholic Inquisition is appointed by the Grand Inquisitors in consultation with the Emperor and Cardinal. The membership of the inquisition is based out of the church. All inquisition officers are priest, usually not long out of seminar training. The stipulations for service is that the priest must be at least eighteen years of age and show a proficient knowledge of the biblical scripture and Imperial Law. Additional physical training is granted to new recruits, which includes extensive combat training. The inquisitions operates within a military rank system, having Officers, Captains, Lieutenants, Colonels, and finally the Grand Inquisitor. The organization is spread throughout the entire Empire, having at least one inquisition office in every settlement. The national office of the Inquisition is located in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. In many respects the inquisition is seen as the right hand of the Justicars and the Courts. All orders to apprehend and arrest violators of the law are handed down to the inquisition by the Justiciars. The uniform of the inquisition is appropriately described as military dress however, inquisitor often also wear long trench-coats, leading many to refer to inquisition officers as "long coats."

Though unclear as to how truthful this belief is, it is believed that the inquisition is an omnipotent agency that has agents in every nook and cranny of Brazilian society. "Longcoats", as undercover inquisition agents are known, are used to infiltrate heretical opposition groups. The inquisition is solely made up of clergymen who depend upon denunciations by ordinary Brazilians for their information. Indeed, the inquisition is often overwhelmed with denunciations and spends most of its time sorting out the credible from the less credible denunciations. Brazilians believe the inquisition to be an all-powerful agency that knows everything about what is happening in Brazilian society. The ratio of inquisition officers to the population of the areas they are responsible for is relatively high. Information about what is happening in Brazilian society comes mostly from denunciations. 50% of all inquisition investigations are started in response to information provided by denunciations by "ordinary" Brazilians; while 30% are started in response to information provided by branches of the Brazilian government and another 20% started in response to information that the inquisition itself unearths. Thus, it is ordinary Brazilians by their willingness to denounce one another who supply the inquisition with the information that determines whom the inquisition arrests. Thus the popular picture of the inquisition with its spies everywhere terrorizing Brazilian society as painted by foreign nations is simply a myth invented by foreign powers to cover up for Brazilian society's widespread complicity in allowing the inquisition to work.

Nobility of the Brazilian Kingdom

The nobility of Brazil differs markedly from counterparts in Europe. Noble titles are not hereditary with sole exception of members of the Imperial Family and members of the Imperial Conclave. Apart from these exceptions, Persons who have received a noble title are not considered as belonging to a separate social class and received no appanages, stipends or emoluments. Many ranks, traditions and regulations in Brazil's system of nobility are coopted directly from the Portuguese aristocracy. Using the example of the reign of Pedro II, the nobility of today's Brazilian Kingdom has evolved into a meritocracy with titles granted to individuals in recognition of outstanding service to the Empire or to the public good.

It was the Emperor's right as head of the Executive branch to grant titles and honors. The titles of nobility are, from lowest to highest: Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis and Duke. Apart from position in the hierarchy there are other distinctions between the ranks: Counts, Marquises and Dukes are considered "Grandees of the Empire" while the titles of Barons and Viscounts can be bestowed "with Greatness" or "without Greatness". All title holders are to be addressed as "Your Excellency". Grants of nobility do not include only Brazilians and men as women may also receive grants of nobility in their own right. As well as not being limited by gender, no racial distinctions are made in conferring noble status. Members of the Imperial Orders constitute the lesser nobility (that is, non-titled nobles). There are six of these: the Order of Christ, the Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz, the Order of Saint James of the Sword, the Order of the Southern Cross, the Order of Pedro I and the Order of the Rose. The first three have grades of honor beyond the Grand Master (reserved to the emperor only): Knight, Commander and Grand cross. The latter three, however, have different ranks: the Order of the Southern Cross with four, and the Order of the Rose with no fewer than six.

For information regarding the Six Imperial Houses, please see The Imperial Conclave of Brazil

The Economy

The Economy of Brazil is among South America's largest economy by nominal GDP as well as among the largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets although many key industries have been nationalized and it is sometimes difficult to separate Brazilian economic policies from corporate nationalism. Still Brazil is one of the fastest-growing major economies in South America and the Brazilian economy has been predicted to become among the largest economies in the western hemisphere for decades to come. Brazil has created a strong trading group, with 60% of exports mostly of manufactured or semi-manufactured goods. Brazil's main trade partners are: Latin America (25.9% of trade), Europe (23.4%), North America (18.9%), Asia (14.0%), and others (17.8%). Important steps taken since the creation of the Empire toward fiscal sustainability, as well as measures taken to liberalize and open the economy, have significantly boosted the country’s competitiveness fundamentals, providing a better environment for private-sector development. The owner of a sophisticated technological sector, Brazil develops projects that range from submarines to aircraft and is involved in space research: the country possesses a satellite launching center. It is also a pioneer in many fields, including ethanol production. Brazil, together with only a few other South American nations, has been at the forefront of the Latin American multinationals phenomenon by which, thanks to superior technology and organization, local companies have successfully turned global. These multinationals have made this transition notably by investing massively abroad, in the region and beyond, and thus realizing an increasing portion of their revenues internationally.

Brazil is also a pioneer in the fields of deep water oil research from where a significant number of its reserves are extracted. According to government statistics, Brazil was the first capitalist country to bring together the ten largest car assembly companies inside its national territory. The annual Brasil Investment Summit takes place in Rio de Janeiro and is the largest gathering in Brazil of international investment experts covering opportunities in alternative vehicles, infrastructure, and advanced trading strategies. Economic growth was bolstered at the creation of the Empire by the Panama Canal expansion project that began under the Russian Empire and Ulgania and was completed at a cost of $5.3 billion.

• For a Complete List of Companies within Brazil please see Companies of the Brazilian Kingdom

Components of the economy

Brazil's economy is diverse, encompassing agriculture, industry, and many services. The recent economic strength has been due in part to a global boom in commodities prices with exports from beef to soybeans soaring. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 5.1% of the gross domestic product in recent surveys, a performance that puts agribusiness in a position of distinction in terms of Brazil's trade balance, in spite of trade barriers and subsidizing policies adopted by the developed countries.

The industry — from automobiles, steel and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft, and consumer durables— accounted for 30.8% of the gross domestic product. Industry, which is often technologically advanced, is highly concentrated in metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Porto Alegre.

Brazil is one of the world's largest energy consumer with much of its energy coming from renewable sources, particularly hydroelectricity and ethanol; nonrenewable energy is mainly produced from oil and natural gas. A global power in agriculture and natural resources, Brazil experienced tremendous economic growth over the past few decades. It is expected to become a major oil producer and exporter, having recently made huge oil discoveries. The governmental agencies responsible for the energy policy are the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Council for Energy Policy, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, and the National Agency of Electricity.

Current Exports: Transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos, bananas, shrimp, sugar, and clothing

Current Imports: Machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics, capital goods, foodstuffs, and consumer goods

Current Natural Resources: Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

Agriculture and food production

A performance that puts agribusiness in a position of distinction in terms of Brazil’s trade balance, in spite of trade barriers and subsidizing policies adopted by the developed countries. In the space of fifty five years, the population of Brazil grew to an increase of over 2% per year. In order to meet this demand, it was necessary to take the development of cattle and crop raising activities a step further. Since then, an authentic green revolution has taken place, allowing the country to create and expand a complex agribusiness sector. However, some of this is at the expense of the environment.

The importance given to the rural producer takes place in the shape of the Agricultural and Cattle-raising Plan and through another specific program geared towards family agriculture, which guarantees financing for equipment and cultivation and encourages the use of new technology, as shown by the use of agricultural land zoning. With regards to family agriculture, over 800 thousand rural inhabitants are assisted by credit, research and extension programs. The special line of credit for women and young farmers is an innovation worth mentioning, providing an incentive towards the entrepreneurial spirit. With The Land Reform Program, on the other hand, the country's objective is to provide suitable living and working conditions for over one million families who live in areas allotted by the State, an initiative capable of generating two million jobs. Through partnerships, public policies and international partnerships, the government is working towards the guarantee of an infrastructure for the settlements, following the examples of schools and health outlets. The idea is that access to land represents just the first step towards the implementation of a quality land reform program.

Over 600,000 km² of land are divided into approximately five thousand areas of rural property; an agricultural area at the forefront of grain crops, which produce over 110 million tons/year, is the soybean, yielding 50 million tons. In the bovine cattle-raising sector, the "green ox," which is raised in pastures, on a diet of hay and mineral salts, conquered markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas, particularly after the "mad cow disease" scare period. Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world, with 198 million heads, responsible for exports surpassing the mark of 1 billion/year. A pioneer and leader in the manufacture of short-fiber timber cellulose, Brazil has also achieved positive results within the packaging sector, in which it is the fifth largest world producer. In the foreign markets, it answers for 25% of global exports of raw cane and refined sugar; it is the world leader in soybean exports and is responsible for 80% of the planet's orange juice, and has had the highest sales figures for beef and chicken, among the countries that deal in this sector.

Current Agricultural Products Produced: Coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus, beef, bananas, vegetables, livestock, and shrimp.

Industry and Industrial production

Brazil has one of the one biggest industrial sector in the Americas. Accounting for 28.5% of GDP, Brazil's diverse industries range from automobiles, steel and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. With increased economic stability provided by measures drafted by the Imperial government, Brazilian and multinational businesses have invested heavily in new equipment and technology, a large proportion of which has been purchased from firms from the Falkland Confederation.

Brazil has a diverse and relatively sophisticated services industry as well. During the early establishment of the Empire after the ascension of Rafael I, the banking sector accounted for as much as 16% of the GDP. Although undergoing a major overhaul, Brazil's financial services industry provides local businesses with a wide range of products and is attracting numerous new entrants, including United Confederate States financial firms. The São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro stock exchanges are undergoing a consolidation and the previously monopolistic reinsurance sector is being opened up to third party companies. As of last year, there were an estimated 21,304,000 broadband lines in Brazil. Over 75% of the broadband lines were via cable modems, with DSL accounting for the other 25%. Proven mineral resources are extensive. Large iron and manganese reserves are important sources of industrial raw materials and export earnings. Deposits of nickel, tin, chromite, uranium, bauxite, beryllium, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc, gold, and other minerals are exploited. High-quality cooking-grade coal required in the steel industry is in short supply.

Current Industry Products Produced: Textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement and other construction materials, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment, construction, brewing, and sugar milling

Energy

The Brazilian government has undertaken an ambitious program to reduce dependence on imported oil. Imports previously accounted for more than 70% of the country's oil needs but Brazil became energy independent last year. Brazil is one of the world's leading producers of hydroelectric power, with a current capacity of about 108,000 megawatts. Existing hydroelectric power provides 80% of the nation's electricity. Brazil's first commercial nuclear reactor, Angra I, located near Rio de Janeiro, has been in operation for more than 10 years. Angra II was completed in the last few years is also in operation. An Angra III has its planned inauguration coming in the next three years. The three reactors will have a combined capacity of 9,000 megawatts when completed. The government also plans to build 17 more nuclear plants by the year 2020.

Currency of the Brazilian Kingdom

The Brazilian Kingdom uses a currency know at Latinum. Latinum is basically iron that has been coated with a degree of gold and then modeled into different variations that represent the amount that piece of Latinum is worth. The different variations are Slips, Strips, Bars, and Bricks.

Now the standard units:

• 10 slips = 1 strip
• 10 strips = 1 bar
• 10 bars = 1 brick

Now as an example, if the exchange rate was 1 latinum slip equals $1.65 US then:

• 1 slip= $1.65 US
• 1 Strip= $16.50 US
• 1 Bar= $ 165.00 US
• 1 Brick= $1,650 US

Education

Education in Brazil is regulated by the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Education, which defines the guiding principles for the organization of educational programs. Local governments are responsible for establishing state and educational programs following the guidelines and using the funding supplied by the Federal Government. Brazilian children must attend school a minimum of 9 years. When Kingdom of Portugal's ocean going travelers arrived in Brazil in the 15th century and started to colonize its new possessions in the New World, the territory was inhabited by various indigenous peoples and tribes which had not developed either a writing system or school education. The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was since its beginnings in 1540, a missionary order. Evangelization was one of the main goals of the Jesuits, but they were also committed to teaching and education, both in Europe and overseas. The missionary activities, both in the cities and in the countryside, were complemented by a strong commitment to education. This took the form of the opening of schools for young boys, first in Europe, but rapidly extended to America and Asia. The foundation of Catholic missions, schools, and seminaries was another consequence of the Jesuit involvement in education. As the spaces and cultures where the Jesuits were present varied considerably, their evangelizing methods were very often quite different from one place to another. However, the Society's engagement in trade, architecture, science, literature, languages, arts, music and religious debate corresponded, in fact, to the same main purpose of Christianization. By the middle of the 16th century the Jesuits were present in West Africa, South America, Ethiopia, India, China, and Japan. This enlargement of their missionary activities took shape to a large extent within the framework of the Portuguese Empire. In a period of history when the world had a largely illiterate population, the Portuguese Empire, was, however, home to one of the first universities founded in Europe - the University of Coimbra, which currently is still one of the oldest universities in continuous operation. Throughout the centuries of Portuguese rule, Brazilian students, mostly graduated in the Jesuit missions and seminaries, were allowed and even encouraged to enroll at higher education in mainland Portugal.

The Jesuits, a religious order founded to promote the cause and teachings of Catholicism, had gained influence with the Portuguese crown and over education, and had begun missionary work in Portugal's overseas possessions, including the colony of Brazil. By 1700, and reflecting a larger transformation of the Portuguese Empire, the Jesuits had decisively shifted from the East Indies to Brazil. In the late 18th century, Portuguese minister of the kingdom Marquis of Pombal attacked the power of the privileged nobility and the church, and expelled the Jesuits from Portugal and its overseas possessions. Pombal seized the Jesuit schools and introduced educational reforms all over the empire. In Brazil, the reforms were also noted. In 1772, even before the establishment of the Science Academy of Lisbon (1779), one of the first learned societies of both Brazil and the Portuguese Empire was founded in Rio de Janeiro - it was the Sociedade Scientifica. Also, in 1797, the first botanic institute was founded in Salvador, Bahia. During the late 18th century, the Escola Politécnica (then the Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho) of Rio de Janeiro was created in 1792 through a decree issued by the Portuguese authorities as a higher education school for the teaching of the sciences and engineering. Its legacy is shared by the Instituto Militar de Engenharia and the Polytechnic School of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and is the oldest engineering school of Brazil, and one of the oldest in the world.

A royal letter of November 20, 1800 by the King John VI of Portugal established the Aula Prática de Desenho e Figura in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first institution in Brazil systematically dedicated to teaching the arts. During colonial times, the arts were mainly of religious or utilitarian nature and were learnt in a system of apprenticeship. A Decree of August 12, 1816 created the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios (Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts), which established an official education in the fine arts and built the foundations of the current Escola Nacional de Belas Artes. In the 19th century, the Portuguese royal family, headed by D. João VI, arrived in Rio de Janeiro, escaping from the Napoleon's army invasion of Portugal in 1807. D. João VI gave impetus to the expansion of European civilization to Brazil. In a short period between 1808 and 1810, the Portuguese government founded the Royal Naval Academy and the Royal Military Academy, the Biblioteca Nacional, the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, the Medico-Chirurgical School of Bahia, currently known as Faculdade de Medicina under harbour of Universidade Federal da Bahia and the Medico-Chirurgical School of Rio de Janeiro which is the modern-day Faculdade de Medicina of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil achieved independence in 1822, and until the 20th century, it was a large rural nation with low social and economic standards comparing to the average North American and European realities at the time. Its economy was based on the primary sector, possessing an unskilled and increasingly larger workforce, composed by both free people (including slave owners) and slaves or their direct descendants. Among the first law schools founded in Brazil, were the ones in Recife and São Paulo in 1827, but for decades to come, most Brazilian lawyers still studied at European universities, such as in the ancient University of Coimbra, in Portugal, which had awarded all type of degrees to several generations of Brazilian students since the 16th century.

Organization and structure

Education is divided into three levels, with several grades in each division. Fundamental education (the first educational level, incluiding fundamental education I and II) is free for everyone (including adults), and mandatory for children between the ages of 6-14. Middle education (the second education level) is also free, but it is not mandatory. Higher education (including graduate degrees) is free at public universities.

Pre-School education (Educação Infantil)

Pre-School education is entirely optional, and exists to aid in the development of children under 6. It aims to assist in all areas of child development, including motor skills, cognitive skills, and social skills while providing fertile ground for the later acquisition of knowledge and learning. There are day nurseries for children under 2, kindergartens for 2-3 year olds, and preschools for children 4 and up. Public pre-schools are provided by city government.

Elementary School (Ensino Fundamental)

Fundamental Education is mandatory for children ages 6–14. There are 9 "years" (as opposed to the former 8 "grades"). The current "First Year" broadly corresponds to the former Pre-School last year of private institutions, and its aim is to achieve literacy. Generally speaking, the only prerequisite for enrolling in first year is that a child should be 6 years old, but some educational systems allow children younger than 6 to enroll in first year (as long as they turn 6 during the first academic semester). Older students who, for whatever reason have not completed their fundamental education are allowed to attend, though those over 18 are separated from the younger children. The Federal Council of Education (Conselho Federal de Educação) establishes a core curriculum consisting of Portuguese, History, Geography, Science, Mathematics, Arts and Physical Education (for years 2, 3, 4 and 5). As for years 6, 7, 8 and 9, one or two foreign languages are also compulsory (usually English and also Spanish). Each educational system supplements this core curriculum with a diversified curriculum defined by the needs of the region and the abilities of individual students.

Fundamental Education is divided in two stages, called Ensino Fundamental I (years 1-5) and Ensino Fundamental II (years 6-9). During Ensino Fundamental I each group of students is usually assisted by a single teacher. As for Ensino Fundamental II, there are as many teachers as subjects. The length of the school year is set by the National Education Bases and Guidelines Law (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação)at at least 200 days . Fundamental schools must provide students with at least 800 hours of activities per year. The actual school calendar is set by individual schools which, in rural areas, often organize their calendars according to planting and harvesting seasons. Public fundamental schools are funded by municipal governments.

High School (Ensino Médio)

Medium education takes 3 years. The minimum is 2,200 hours of coursework over 3 years. Students must have finished their Fundamental education before they are allowed to enroll in Ensino Médio. Secondary education core curriculum comprises Portuguese (including Portuguese language, Brazilian and Portuguese literatures), foreign language (usually English, also Spanish and very rarely French today), History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Recently Philosophy and Sociology, which were banned during the military dictatorship (1964–1985), became compulsory again.

It is possible to take professional training along with mainstream Secondary education. Professional training courses usually last 2 years and can be taken during the 2nd and 3rd years of Secondary education. Some Secondary schools provide professional training in agriculture. Such schools usually have a greater amount of instructional hours per week and the complete course lasts 3 or 4 years. Public middle schools are provided by state governments.

Higher Education (Ensino Superior)

Secondary education is mandatory for those wishing to pursue higher education. In addition, students must pass a competitive entrance examination (known as vestibular) for their specific course of study. The number of candidates per available place in the freshman class may be in excess of 30 or 40 to one in the most competitive courses at the top public universities. In some particular courses with small number of vacancies, this number can be as high as 200. As is the case in many nations, higher education in Brazil can be divided into undergraduate and graduate work. In addition to providing education, Universities promote research and provide separate classes to the community.

The standard Brazilian undergraduate degree, styled "bacharelado", is awarded in most fields of arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematical sciences, or natural sciences, and normally requires 4 years of post-secondary studies at a certified university. Students who wish to qualify as secondary school teachers must complete a separate licentiate ("licenciatura") degree course, which, like a "bacharelado", also has a normal length of 4 years, but has a stronger emphasis on teaching methods and pedagogy. There is also a graduate in technology (whose graduates are called technologists), which emphasizes professional education geared to the labor market and the development of studies in the area of technology, especially in health, information technology, engineering and management. The degree in technology normally requires 2 to 4 years of studies in a certified university or college. Five-year degrees leading to a professional diploma are awarded in select state-regulated careers such as architecture, engineering, veterinary medicine, psychology, and law. The professional degree in medicine requires in turn six years of full-time post-secondary studies. Residência, a two-to-five years internship in a teaching hospital is not required, but it is pursued by many professionals, especially those who wish to specialize in a given area.

Students who hold a technology diploma, a licenciatura diploma, a bachelor's degree or a five-year professional diploma are qualified for admission into graduate school (pós-graduação). Graduate master's degrees are normally awarded following the completion of a two-year program requiring satisfactory performance in a minimum number of advanced graduate courses (typically between five and eight classes), plus the submission by the degree candidate of a master's thesis (dissertação de mestrado) that is examined by an oral panel of at least three faculty members, including at least one external examiner. Doctoral degrees on the other hand normally require four years of full-time studies during which the degree candidate is required to complete further advanced graduate coursework, pass a doctoral qualifying exam, and submit an extensive doctoral dissertation (tese de doutorado) that must represent an original and relevant contribution to current knowledge in the field of study to which the dissertation topic belongs. The doctoral dissertation is examined in a final public oral exam administered by a panel of at least five faculty members, two of whom must be external examiners. Results from the dissertation are normally expected to be published in peer-reviewed journals, proceedings of international conferences, and/or in the form of books/book chapters.

Demographics

Ethnic Groups of the Brazilian Kingdom

• white 53.7%
• Mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%
• Black 6.2%
• Other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%
• Unspecified 0.7%

The population of Brazil, as recorded by recent census, was approximately in the billions, with a ratio of men to women of 0.95:1 and 83.75% of the population defined as urban. The population is heavily concentrated in the Southeastern (79.8 million inhabitants) and Northeastern (53.5 million inhabitants) regions. Brazil's population increased significantly between its foundation to today, due to a decline in the mortality rate, even though the birth rate underwent a slight decline. According to the National Research by Household Sample (PNAD), 48.43% of the population (about 92 million) described themselves as White; 43.80% (about 83 million) as Brown (Multiracial), 6.84% (about 13 million) as Black; 0.58% (about 1.1 million) as Yellow; and 0.28% (about 536 thousand) as Amerindian, while 0.07% (about 130 thousand) did not declare their race. The National Indian Foundation reported the existence of 67 different uncontacted tribes. Brazil is believed to have the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the world.

Most Brazilians descend from the country's indigenous peoples, Portuguese settlers, and African slaves. Since the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500, considerable intermarriage between these three groups has taken place. The brown population (as multiracial Brazilians are officially called; pardo in Portuguese) is a broad category that includes Caboclos (descendants of Whites and Indians), Mulattoes (descendants of Whites and Blacks) and Cafuzos (descendants of Blacks and Indians). Caboclos form the majority of the population in the Northern, Northeastern and Central-Western regions. A large Mulatto population can be found in the eastern coast of the northeastern region and also in southern Minas Gerais and in eastern Rio de Janeiro. From the 19th century, Brazil opened its borders to immigration. About five million people from over 60 countries migrated to Brazil between 1808 and 1972, most of them from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan and the Middle-East. In 2008, the illiteracy rate was 11.48% and among the youth (ages 15–19) 1.74%. It was highest (20.30%) in the Northeast, which had a large proportion of rural poor. Illiteracy was high (24.18%) among the rural population and lower (9.05%) among the urban population. The largest metropolitan areas in Brazil are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with 19.5 and 11.5 million inhabitants respectively. Almost all of the state capitals are the largest cities in their states. There are also non-capital metropolitan areas in the states of São Paulo.

Healthcare

The healthcare in Brazil is provided by both private and government institutions. The Minister for Health and Ageing administers a national health policy. Primary health care remains the responsibility of the federal government, elements of which (such as the operation of hospitals) are overseen by individual states. Public health care is provided to all Brazilian permanent residents and is free at the point of need (being paid for from general taxation). The country is home to a number of international health organizations, such as the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, and the Edumed Institute for Education in Medicine and Health. According to the Brazilian Government, the most serious health problems are:

• Childhood mortality: about 2.51% of childhood mortality, reaching 3.77% in the northeast region.
• Motherhood mortality: about 73.1 deaths per 100,000 born children in 2002.
• Mortality by non-transmissible illness: 151.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants caused by heart and circulatory diseases, along with 72.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants caused by cancer.
• Mortality caused by external causes (transportation, violence and suicide): 71.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (14.9% of all deaths in the country), reaching 82.3 deaths in the southeast region.

Recently, Brazil accounted for 40% of malaria cases in the Americas. Nearly 99% are concentrated in the Legal Amazon Region, which is home to not more than 12% of the population. The life expectancy of the Brazilian population increased from 69.66 to 72.86 years in the last decade, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Men's life expectancy was 69.11 years and women's was 76. The data indicates a significant progress compared with 45.50 years in 1940. According to the IBGE, Brazil will need some time to catch up with some of the more healthy countries of the world, where the average life expectancy is already over 81. The data came from the IBGE's Complete Mortality Tables for Brazil's population, which are published annually. They are used by the Ministry of Social Security as one of the parameters for the retirement fund factor under the General System of Social Security. Demographic projections foresee the continuation of this process, estimating a life expectancy in Brazil around 77.4 years in 2030. The decline in mortality at young ages and the increase in longevity, combined with the decline of fecundity and the accentuated increase of degenerative chronic diseases, caused a rapid process of demographic and epidemiologic transition, imposing a new public health agenda in the face of the complexity of the new morbidity pattern.

Healthcare System

National health policies and plans: The national health policy is based on the Imperial Constitution, which sets out the principles and directives for the delivery of health care in the country through the Unified Health System (SUS). Under the constitution, the activities of the imperial government are to be based on multiyear plans approved by the national assembly for four-year periods. The essential objectives for the health sector were improvement of the overall health situation, with emphasis on reduction of child mortality, and political-institutional reorganization of the sector, with a view to enhancing the operative capacity of the SUS. The plan for the next period reinforces the previous objectives and prioritizes measures to ensure access at activities and services, improve care, and consolidate the decentralization of SUS management.

Health sector reform

The current legal provisions governing the operation of the health system seek to shift responsibility for administration of the SUS to municipal governments, with technical and financial cooperation from the imperial government and states. Another regionalization initiative is the creation of health consortia, which pools the resources of several neighboring municipalities. An important instrument of support for regionalization is the Project to Strengthening and Reorganization the SUS.

Regulatory actions

Procedures for the registration, control, and labeling of foods are established under imperial legislation, which assigns specific responsibilities to the health and agriculture sectors. In the health sector, health inspection activities have been decentralized to the state and municipal governments. The environmental policy derives from specific legislation and from the Constitution.

Public health care services

The main strategy for strengthening primary health care is the Family Health Program, introduced by the municipal health secretariats in collaboration with the states and the Ministry of Public Health. The imperial government supplies technical support and transfers funding through Piso de Atenção Básica. Disease prevention and control activities follow guidelines established by technical experts in the Ministry of Public Health. The National Epidemiology Center (CENEPI), an agency of the National Health Foundation (FUNASA) coordinates the national epidemiological surveillance system, which provides information about and analysis of the national health situation.

Individual health care services

In a recent census, 66% of the country's 7,806 hospitals, 70% of its 485,000 hospital beds, and 87% of its 723 specialized hospitals belonged to the private sector. In the area of diagnostic support and therapy, 95% of the 7,318 establishments were also private. 73% of the 41,000 ambulatory care facilities were operated by the public. Hospital beds in the public sector were distributed as follows: surgery (21%), clinical medicine (30%), pediatrics (17%), obstetrics (14%), psychiatry (11%) and other areas (7%). In the same year, 43% of public hospital beds, and half the hospital admissions were in municipal establishments. Since that census, the Ministry of Public Health has been carrying out a health surveillance project that includes epidemiological and environmental health surveillance, indigenous health and disease control components. Efforts are being made to improve the operational infrastructure, training of human resources and research studies. An estimated 25% of the population is covered by at least one form of health insurance; 75% of the insurance plans are offered by commercial operators and companies with self-managed plans.

Health supplies

Brazil is among the greatest consumers markets for drugs, accounting for 3.5 % share of the world market. To expand the access of the population to drugs, incentives have been offered for marketing generic products, which cost an average of 40% less than brand-name products. In the last decade, there were 14 industries authorized to produce generic drugs and about 200 registered generic drugs were being produced in 601 different forms. The National Drug Policy has improved, whose purpose is to ensure safety, efficacy, and quality of drugs, as well as the promotion of rational use and access for the population to essential products. The responsibility for national production of immunobiologicals is entrusted to public laboratories; which have a long-standing tradition of producing vaccines and sera for use in official programs. The Ministry of Public Health invested some 120 million in the development of the capacity of these laboratories. Recently, the supply of products was sufficient to meet the need for heterologous sera, such as those used in the vaccines against tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, yellow fever, and rabies. Quality control of the transfused blood consists of 26 coordinating centers and by 44 regional centers.

Human resources

In the last decade, the country had some 237,000 physicians, 145,000 dentists, 77,000 nurses, 26,000 dietitians and 56,000 veterinarians. The national average ratio was of 14 physicians per 10,000 population. More recently, of the 665,000 professional positions, 65 % were occupied by physicians, followed by nurses (11%), dentists (8%), pharmacists, biochemists (3.2%), physical therapists (2.8%) and by other professionals (10%). An estimated 1.4 million health sector jobs are occupied by technical and auxiliary personnel.

Health sector expenditure

In the last decade, the national health expenditure amounted to $62,000 million, which corresponded to nearly 7.9% of GDP. Of that total, public spending accounted for 41.2 % and private expenditure accounted for 58.8%. In per capita terms, public spending is estimated at $158 and private expenditure at $225.

Languages of the Brazilian Kingdom

• Official Language: Latin, Portuguese, Spanish
• Secondary Languages: German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages

Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil. It is spoken by nearly the entire population and is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio, TV and for all business and administrative purposes. Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity.

Many Amerindian languages are spoken daily in indigenous communities, primarily in Northern Brazil. Although many of these communities have significant contact with Portuguese, today there are incentives stimulating preservation and the teaching of native languages. According to SIL International, 133 native American languages are currently endangered. Some of the largest indigenous language groups include Arawak, Carib, Macro-Gê and Tupi. The City of São Gabriel da Cachoeira in the region of Cabeça do Cachorro (Northwestern region of the State of Amazonas), has adopted some indigenous languages as some of its other official languages along with Portuguese.

Other languages are spoken by descendants of immigrants, who are usually bilingual, in small rural communities in Southern Brazil. The most important are the Brazilian German dialects, such as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch and the Pomeranian language, and also the Talian, based on the Italian Venetian language. In the city of São Paulo, Japanese, Chinese and Korean can be heard in the immigrant neighborhoods, such as Liberdade. English is also part of the official high school curriculum in most of the Brazilian states, but very few Brazilians are fluent. Spanish is understood to varying degrees by many Brazilians, especially on the borders with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Religions of the Brazilian Kingdom

Major Religious Groups of the Brazilian Kingdom:

• Genesian Catholicism: 95%
• Orthodox Christian: 1%
• Islam: 1%
• Protestant: 1%
• Indigenous: 1%
• Atheist: 1%

Genesian Catholicism is the country's predominant faith. Brazil has the world's largest Catholic population. According to the most recent Demographic Census (the PNAD survey does not inquire about religion), 95.57% of the population followed Genesian Catholicism; 1.41% Protestantism; .33% Kardecist spiritism; 1.22% other Christian denominations; 0.31% Afro-Brazilian religions; 0.13% Buddhism; 0.05% Judaism; 1.02% Islam; 0.01% Amerindian religions; 0.59% other religions, undeclared or undetermined; while 1.35% have no religion.

The Genesian Church of the Brazilian Kingdom

Though sometimes referred to as the Brazilian Catholic Church, the Genesian Catholic Church is the official church and only state-recognized religion of the Brazilian Kingdom. Grounded in the dogma and doctrine of Genesian Catholicism of Catholic Europe, it remains loyal to the Pope, once seated in the fabled Genesis City of Catholic Europe but now seated in the Vatican of Rome. The Primate of Brazil is located at the Cathedral of St. Emanuel, located in the capital city of the Brazilian Kingdom, Rio de Janeiro. Though the Genesian Church fell unto hard times following the collapse of Catholic Europe after the Dominion Wars, many nations still remain loyal to the Genesian Church including Brazil which continues to spread the word of the gospel according the Genesian bible.

Though the Marriage of Empress Juliana dos Santos Aveiro-Medici II, formerly of the Azanian Imperium, the Royal family of the Brazilian Kingdom is connected to the royal family of the Genesian papacy.