World Stroll
Flag of Brazil
Family roots

Discover your Brazilian roots

The Amazon rainforest, samba and Carnival, golden beaches, thundering waterfalls and a country as big as a continent.

Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest in the world. It covers roughly half of the continent and borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. The north is covered by the Amazon rainforest and the Amazon River; the long Atlantic coast has most of the big cities; and inland lie the grassy highlands of the cerrado and the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on Earth.

Indigenous peoples lived here for thousands of years before the Portuguese arrived in 1500. For more than three centuries Brazil was a Portuguese colony, built on sugar, gold and coffee, and on the labour of millions of enslaved Africans. Brazil declared its independence in 1822, became an empire, abolished slavery in 1888 and became a republic in 1889. In 1960 the capital moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, a new city built in the middle of the country.

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

  1. Which town or region of Brazil did our family come from? Was it near São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador?
  2. Who was the first in the family to leave Brazil, when, and why?
  3. Which dishes from Brazil were cooked at home? Did anyone make Feijoada or Farofa?
  4. Does anyone in the family still speak Portuguese, or use a few words of it?
  5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from Brazil that the family kept?
  6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from Brazil? Who has them?
  7. If you could visit Brazil together, where would you go first?

A short history of Brazil

Brazil's recorded history begins in 1500, when a Portuguese fleet reached its coast, but Indigenous peoples had lived here for thousands of years before. Portugal ruled Brazil for more than three centuries, first for sugar and brazilwood, then for gold and diamonds, and brought millions of enslaved Africans to work the land and the mines. In 1808 the Portuguese royal family moved to Rio de Janeiro, and in 1822 Brazil declared its independence. It was an empire until 1889, then a republic, and in 1960 it moved its capital to Brasília, a new city in the heart of the country.

  1. 1494

    The Treaty of Tordesillas

    Spain and Portugal agreed on a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. New lands to the east of it would belong to Portugal. That line later gave Portugal the eastern part of South America.

  2. 1549

    Salvador becomes the capital

    Tomé de Sousa founded Salvador on the Bay of All Saints in 1549 as the seat of the colonial government. It stayed Brazil's capital until 1763.

  3. 1630

    The Dutch take Pernambuco

    The Dutch West India Company captured the rich sugar lands of the northeast and ruled them from Recife until 1654. Under Johan Maurits of Nassau, artists and scientists came to paint and describe Brazil.

  4. 1763

    The capital moves to Rio

    The colonial capital moved from Salvador south to Rio de Janeiro, closer to the gold and diamond region of Minas Gerais. Rio stayed the capital for almost 200 years.

  5. 1822

    Independence is declared

    On 7 September 1822, by the Ipiranga brook in São Paulo, Prince Pedro, son of King João VI, declared Brazil independent from Portugal. He was crowned Emperor Pedro I in December 1822.

  6. 1889

    Brazil becomes a republic

    On 15 November 1889 Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca led a military coup that deposed Emperor Pedro II. The imperial family went into exile in Europe, and Brazil became a republic.

  7. 1960

    Brasília becomes the capital

    On 21 April 1960 President Juscelino Kubitschek inaugurated Brasília, a new capital built in about 41 months on the high plateau of central Brazil. Rio de Janeiro stopped being the capital after almost two centuries.

  8. 1985

    Civilian rule returns

    In 1985 an electoral college chose a civilian president, ending military rule. A new constitution, still in force, was adopted in 1988.

Family recipes to cook together

FeijoadaFeijoada 3 h 30 min · serves 6FarofaFarofa 15 min · serves 4Pão de queijoCheese bread 45 min · serves 6MoquecaMoqueca 50 min · serves 4BrigadeiroBrigadeiro 40 min · serves 6

Portuguese words to teach the grandchildren

Greetings

  • oláoh-LAHhello
  • oiOYhi (friendly)
  • obrigado / obrigadaoh-bree-GAH-doo / oh-bree-GAH-dahthank you (by tradition a man says obrigado and a woman says obrigada)
  • tchauCHOWbye

Basics

  • simSEENG (the ending is nasal, through the nose)yes
  • nãoNOWNG (nasal, through the nose)no, not

Food and drink

  • águaAH-gwahwater
  • pãoPOWNG (nasal)bread
  • cafékah-FEHcoffee
  • cafezinhokah-feh-ZEEN-yooa small cup of strong coffee
  • arrozah-HOHS (the double r sounds like an English h)rice
  • feijãofay-ZHOWNG (zh as the s in 'measure')beans

Towns and regions

  • Brasília, Federal District: Modern architecture by Oscar Niemeyer, The Cathedral and the National Congress.
  • São Paulo, São Paulo: Liberdade, the heart of the largest Japanese community outside Japan, Paulista Avenue and the MASP art museum.
  • Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.
  • Salvador, Bahia: The Pelourinho historic centre, Afro-Brazilian music, food and religion.
  • Manaus, Amazonas: The Amazon Theatre opera house, The Meeting of Waters.
  • Belém, Pará: The Ver-o-Peso market, The Círio de Nazaré procession.
  • Recife, Pernambuco: Rivers and bridges, Frevo music and dance.
  • Fortaleza, Ceará: Praia do Futuro and Iracema beaches, Forró music.
  • Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais: Baroque churches from the gold rush, The sculptor Aleijadinho.
  • Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná: The Iguaçu Falls, The Itaipu Dam.
  • Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul: Gaúcho culture, Churrasco.
  • Barreirinhas, Maranhão: The gateway to Lençóis Maranhenses, Four-wheel-drive trips into the dunes.

A heritage evening with the family

Cook one of the recipes, print the large-print pack about Brazil, and finish with the big-screen quiz or the words crossword. Grandchildren can colour the flag.

More about Brazil