The Brazil Culture and History Podcast

Today we’re going to talk about Pedro I’s successor, his son, Pedro II. He will rule the Empire of Brazil for 58 years, until its demise in 1889—making him one of the longer ruling monarchs in all of history. e will guide Brazil through a series of revolts to prosperity then through a devastating war and beyond. Like many of his peers in this group, he became a monarch young, at age 5.

Photos

Portrait of Teresa Cristina. c1843.

Teresa Cristina at age 55, 29 March 1877

Map of the conjunction of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina and the contested territories at the time of the Paraguayan War.

Leopoldina, Pedro II, Teresa Cristina (around age 41) and Isabel, c. 1863

Sources

Brazil: Five Centuries of Change by Thomas Skidmore

Brasil: Uma Biografia by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz and Heloisa Murgel Starling

A brief update on the on-going corruption investigations and current political situation in Brazil. Thousands, sometimes millions of people have protested against (in some combination): corruption, the currently-in-power Workers’ Party, President Rousseff, and ex-President Lula.There have been counter-protests, but in general they have been smaller as the Workers’ Party’s support has plummeted as a result of the scandal. Impeachment seems imminent.

See the full episode notes here: http://brazilcultureandhistory.com/bchp-011-lava-jato-2/

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. A few years ago, Brazil was the darling of the BRICS countries: host of the World Cup and Olympics, 7% annual growth, lifting millions out of poverty...  now, inflation if up, growth is not just down but negative, joblessness is on the rise, the government is barely functioning, and people are questioning whether Brazil can manage the Olympics.How did it all go so wrong so fast? It's a complex question with a complex answer, and part of the answer has been brewing for longer than you might think.

The 18th century brings unforeseen prosperity to the Portuguese Empire and Brazil in particular. People, political power, economic power and attitudes would all soon be on the move.Gold and diamonds spill from the backcountry. Much is smuggled, but much makes into the crown's coffers. The crown takes barely a look at the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution and conservatively buries its head in precious minerals.The riches are in the southeast, until this point little more than a hinterland. But they would draw people and slaves not only from Portugal and its empire, but from within Brazil itself. The shift was seismic and Brazil would be forever altered. As if to counter this, Lisbon used the windfall to remain as much the same as it could.But change is the only constant. Read the full post here.

We cover the rest of the 17th century in this episode. The Dutch recover from their initial failures to conquer Portugal's Atlantic colonies and conquer northern Brazil along with several other colonies, including Angola. The Dutch were pretty decent rulers, but there were too many cultural differences. In the midst of this, Portugal decides to reestablish its crown separate from Spain and must fight for its existence against Spanish, leaving Brazil and the colonies largely on their own in fighting the Dutch. Exciting times!See the full show notes here.

Three national holidays - Good Friday, Easter and Tiradentes - in one weekend? What craziness is this? Spend a few minutes learning about Easter in Brazil as well as how a martyr for independence earned the nickname Teeth-puller.TermsDia de Tiradentes - national holiday that commemorates the execution of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, aka Tiradentes.Joaquim José da Silva Xavier - a member of the Minas Gerais conspiracy, earned the nickname Tiradentes at his trial because he practiced dentistry.Ouro Preto - a center of the gold rush in the 18th century; today a small city famous for its colonial architecture and Páscoa and Carnaval traditions.Páscoa - EasterSemana Santa - Holy Week, the week before PáscoaSexta-Feira Santa - Holy Friday (Good Friday)Minas Gerais Conspiracy - (Inconfidência Mineira in Portuguese), a failed attempt to start a rebellion against the Portuguese crownTiradentes - a derogatory term for a dentist, literaly "teethpuller"Páscoa PhotosCarpeted street in Ouro Preto Carpeted street in Ouro Preto Religious procession in Ouro Preto Religious procession in Ouro Preto Chocolate Egg roof in a supermarket In case you are overwhelmed by the Páscoa products selection, the store has friendly Páscoa Consultants to help! Street vendors display their Páscoa wares. The Porto Alegre Fish Fair, which takes place the day before Sexta-Feira Santa.  There is a LOT of fish for sale.

A short, impromptu episode about Carnaval that grew longer than I intended. It covers the origins of the holiday and its history in Brazil including the differences between Rio's Carnaval and how Carnaval is celebrated further north in cities such as Salvador.Terms used in the podcast:ala - wing or section, a section of a Carnaval processionaxé - a popular fusion music style developed in the 80s that quickly made its way into Carnaval.Bacchus - the Roman god of wine and drinkingbateria - the drum sectionbloco - block, as in a group not a city blockcapoeira - an Afro-Brazilian martial art famous for its kicks and acrobaticscarnaval - Portuguese for Carnivalcarnavalesco - the person in the school with overall responsibility for that school's Carnaval preparationscarro alegórico - literally, allegorical car, a float.Dionysus - the Greek god of wine and drinkingEntrudo - a pagan festival celebrated in Spring in Portugal and Spain that was the precursor to Carnaval in Brazilfrevo - a fast past musical style associated with Carnaval in the north, played on wind instrumentsmaracatu - a mid tempo music associated with Carnaval in the north, played on drumsmestre-sala - the "room master", position in a samba procession whose job it is to honor and direct attention to the porta-bandeiraporta-bandeira - the woman who carries the flag of the samba school in its processionpasso - the capoeira-based dance of frevorainha de bateria - the queen of the drum, the dancer who leads the percussion section of a Carnaval processionSalvador - the capital of the state of Bahiasamba - the most common dance style associated with Carnaval, especially in the south.Saturn - A Roman god with many associations, but relevant to spring festivals are renewal and timeSanturnalia - a spring festival that honored Saturntrio eléctico - a soundstage on wheels MediaAs promised in the podcast, I've including some photos as well as links to some videos.Carros alégoricosPhoto by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Photo by Boneysp Photo by Léo Pinheiro Trio elétricosAn undecorated trio elétrico (photo by Tennessee7). A trio elétrico decorated and in action (photo by Wmourac).FrevoPasso, just a little physically demanding. Yep. (Photo by Andre bispo.)MaracatuA small Maracatu block procession. A traditional Maracatu dance. (Photo by Pcoke.)VideosA typical Frevo street performance in Recife (the capital of the state of Pernambuco)."Learn Frevo dancing for Carnaval", in Portuguese, but it's dance, so it's the visuals that matter.Brilliant Star Maracatu Nation procession in Carnaval 2012 in Recife.A clip from the 20 year anniversary DVD of the Pernambuco Maracatu NationBrilliant Star Maracatu Nation in Recife's Carnaval, 2009And, in the category of "who knew they had not just Carnaval that far north, but frevo too", the Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2008 - Sambic Frevo dancing performace

What was Brazil like before the arrival of the Portuguese? How did the early Amazonians live? Where did they come from and when?Why did Europe finally sail into the west? What was going on in Spain and Portugal that prompted people to make the first dangerous voyages into the Atlantic?It's a lot to cover, but, with a lot of reading, writing, recording, agonizing over what details to put in, which prompted some rewriting and rerecording, episode 2 is complete.I almost split this into two episodes, but I really want to get through the 'quick history' stuff so we can start exploring various aspects Brazil's history and culture. There are many topics in this episode alone that are worthy of more thorough treatment, so please let me know in the comments if any of them in particular pique your interest.Also, a map of Iberia at the beginning of the 14th. Surely easier to understand than my verbal attempt at describing the locations of the 5 kingdoms of Portugal, Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Granada. As promised in the podcast, I included the list of sources I used for this episode. It's a long list, but most of them are articles of only a few pages long. Unless you want to dig into the academic articles, I would instead recommend the two books in the list, "1491" and "1494". They're well researched but also well written so quite accessible. Enjoy!Finally, there is some annoying background noise at times in the audio. I cleaned things up as best I could, but it's still noticeable here and there (although I did get manage to erase or record all the spots where my neighbor's fantastically annoying dog was barking). My apologies for the iffy quality here and there. SourcesCharles C. Mann, "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus", Alfred A. Knopf, 2005 (book)Stephen R. Bown, "1494: How a Family Feud in Medieval Spain Divided the World in Half", Thomas Dunne Books, 2012 (book)Michael J. Heckenberger, et al., "Amazonia 1492: Pristine Forest or Cultural Parkland?", Science, September 19, 2003, http://www.sciencemag.org/content/301/5640/1710Michael J. Heckenberger, et al., "The legacy of cultural landscapes in the Brazilian Amazon: implications for biodiversity", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 28 February 2007, vol. 362 no. 1478, http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/362/1478/197.fullWilliam M. Denevan, "The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 82, No. 3, September 1992, http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~alcoze/for398/class/pristinemyth.htmlAnna C. Roosevelt, "Paleoindian Cave Dwellers in the Amazon: The Peopling of the Americas", http://library.worldtracker.org/Science/Science%20Magazine/science%20magazine%201995-1996/root/data/Science%201995-1996/pdf/1996_v272_n5260/p5260_0373.pdfW. George Lovell, “Heavy Shadows and Black Night: Disease and Depopulation in Colonial Spanish America", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Volume 82, Issue 3, 1992, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1992.tb01968.xNicholas Wade, "Tools Suggest Earlier Human Exit From Africa", New York Times, 27 January 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/science/28africa.html?pagewanted=allCharles C. Mann, "The Real Dirt on Rainforest Fertility", Science, Vol. 297, 9 AUGUST 2002, http://www.sciencemag.org/content/297/5583/920Pena SDJ, Di Pietro G, Fuchshuber-Moraes M, Genro JP, Hutz MH, et al. (2011),  "The Genomic Ancestry of Individuals from Different Geographical Regions of Brazil Is More Uniform Than Expected", PLoS ONE, http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0017063Bruce Bower, "Disputed finds put humans in South America 22,000 years ago", Science News, April 20, 2013, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/disputed-finds-put-humans-south-america-22000-years-agoUniversity Of South Carolina, "New Evidence Puts Man In North America 50,000 Years Ago", ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041118104010.htmAthena Review, An interview with Drs. Niède Guidon, "Pedra Furada, Brazil: Paleoindians, Paintings, and Paradoxes" http://www.athenapub.com/10pfurad.htmDallas Morning News, "Central Texas site holds North America’s oldest proof of human settlement, researchers say", March 24, 2011, http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20110324-central-texas-site-holds-north-americas-oldest-proof-of-human-settlement-researchers-say.eceBBC documentary "Unnatural Histories", Episode 3: "Amazon". http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0122njp

Today we cover a very tiny amount of the geology & geography of South American and a more substantial, but still limited, amount of Brazil's physical and political geography. I also tacked on a thumbnail sketch of how the government is organized today since it seemed to go well enough after the political geography.Go the the web site to read more.Going forward I'll provide lists of unfamiliar terms and names in the podcast descriptions. This episode's terms & people are:Iquitos, Peru - the furthest city upstream from the ocean than can be reached by ocean-going vessels via the Amazon.Pantanal - a huge, perrenial wetland in the west.Cerrado - the grasslands of the south.Caatinga - the dry scrubland of the northeast.Mata Atlântica - the forest of the southern coast.Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer - the president and vice-president respectively.Henrique Eduardo Alves - president of the lower legislature, the Chamber of DeputiesRenan Calheiros - president of the upper legislation, the Federal Senate.Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF - the supreme court.Joaquim Barbosa - president of the STF.If a picture is worth a thousand words, these three maps are worth more than the text of the episode itself (which came in at 2,250 words).The South American tectonic plate, its neighbors, and directions of movement  The 5 regions of Brazil and the states that comprise them. The green line marks the limit of the Amazon Basin while the yellow the limit of the Rainforest.

Wherein I introduce myself and the podcast.For more information about this episode and the podcast in general, visit the website, http://brazilcultureandhistory.com/.-Cary