From Cabral to the Real · 11 stories
Brazilian History
The moments every Brazilian quotes, and the twists nobody told you.
Phrases you’ll meet
- Independence or death
- Tell the people I’m staying
- Freedom, even if late
Journey 1 · 1500 to 1792
The Colony
A fleet bound for India finds a land already home to millions. Nearly three centuries later, a tax on gold sparks a conspiracy.
By the end of it, you can tell why Brazil is named after a tree, and where Tiradentes got a beard he never wore.
Journey 2 · 1808 to 1888
Independence and Empire
The Portuguese court flees to Brazil, a prince shouts by a stream and a two-line law ends slavery.
By the end of it, you can tell why Dom Pedro gave his famous cry from the back of a mule, and why Brazilians say a law was made “for the English to see”.
Journey 3 · 1889 to 1940
The Republic
The Empire falls in a morning, a town in the backlands holds out to the end, and a cangaceiro becomes the king of the sertão.
By the end of it, you can tell what the people really saw on 15 November, why the Republic needed four expeditions to defeat Canudos, and how Lampião got a captain’s commission.
Journey 4 · 1930 to 1994
The Twentieth Century
A revolution and a letter, a capital built in 41 months, twenty-one years of generals, then the squares fill and a new currency finally holds.
By the end of it, you can tell why Vargas left the presidency “to enter history”, and how the Real ended a decade of runaway prices.
