什麼是巴西

正式名稱巴西聯邦共和國（Federative Republic of Brazil）

南美洲中部國家。面積約8,511,965平方公里。人口約172,118,000（2001）。首都︰巴西里亞。巴西的種族在殖民時期早期就已開始混合，未混血的人種極少，這些印第安人多半居住在移民難以到達的亞馬遜河盆地最僻遠地區。語言︰葡萄牙語（官方語）。宗教：天主教和傳統的印第安人及非洲的宗教信仰。貨幣︰雷阿爾（real）。巴西可分爲好幾個地形，但主要是亞馬遜河盆地和巴西高地（高原）。巴西高原平均海拔1,000公尺，主要位於東南部，而位於北部的亞馬遜盆地海拔不到250公尺。亞馬遜盆地（已知約有1,000多條支流）佔有該國面積的45%左右。境內其他的河流包括聖弗朗西斯科河、巴納伊巴河、巴拉圭河、上巴拉那河和烏拉圭河。沿大西洋的海岸線外除了亞馬遜河河口的馬拉若島、卡維亞納島以及北部的馬拉卡島之外，沒有大的島嶼。優良港口有貝倫、薩爾瓦多、里約熱內盧、聖多斯和阿雷格里港。巴西廣大的森林是許多產品的來源，而稀樹草原是飼養牛隻的優良場地。農業佔有重要地位，礦物資源也十分豐富。巴西屬開發中的市場經濟，以製造、金融服務和貿易業爲主。政府形式爲共和國，兩院制。國家元首暨政府首腦是總統。

對於巴西早期原住民的情況知之甚少。雖然從理論上講，根據1494年的「託德西利亞斯條約」該地區歸屬葡萄牙，但直到1500年卡布拉爾偶然到達這塊土地後才正式宣佈對它的所有權。1530年代初葡萄牙人首先在東北海岸和聖維森特（今聖保羅附近）定居；在下一個世紀裏，法國人和荷蘭人也建立了一些小的居民點。1640年建立了總督轄區，1673年裏約熱內盧成爲首都。1808年當拿破崙入侵葡萄牙時，巴西成爲葡萄牙國王約翰六世的避難所及政府所在地；最終宣佈成立葡萄牙、巴西和阿爾加維（Algarves）聯合王國，1815～1821年約翰在巴西實行統治。約翰回到葡萄牙後，佩德羅一世宣佈巴西獨立。1889年他的繼承人佩德羅二世被廢黜，採用託管聯邦共和國的憲法。20世紀移民增加，製造業成長，同時又經常發生軍事政變並中斷人民的自由。在巴西里亞建設新首都，意在促進內陸地區的發展，卻加劇了通貨膨脹。1979年以後，軍事政府逐漸採取民主措施，1989年舉行二十九年來的第一次總統普選。1990年代末遭遇嚴重的經濟危機。

Brazil

Nation, central South America. Area: 3,284,426 sq mi (8,506,663 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 159,691,000. Capital: Brasília. Brazil's ethnic groups have intermixed since the earliest days of its colonial history. Unmixed elements are rare, with those Indians untouched by immigration restricted to the most remote parts of the Amazon Basin. Language: Portuguese (official). Religions: Roman Catholicism, traditional Indian and African beliefs. Currency: real. Brazil may be divided into many regions, but the Amazon River Basin and the Brazilian Highlands (or Plateau) dominate the landscape. The Highlands, a plateau with an average elevation of 3,300 ft (1,000 m), lies primarily in the southeast, while the Amazon Basin, which lies at elevations of less than 800 ft (250 m), is in the north. The Amazon Basin, with its more than 1,000 known tributaries, comprises about 45% of the nation's total territory. Brazil's other rivers include the S?o Francisco, Parnaíba, Paraguay, Alto Paraná, and Uruguay. Except for the islands of Marajó and Caviana at the mouth of the Amazon and Maracá to the north, there are no large islands along the 4,603 mi (7,406 km) of its Atlantic coastline. There are good harbors at Belém, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, and P?rto Alegre. The country's immense forests are a source of many products, while its savannas support cattle raising. Agriculture is important; mineral reserves are large. Brazil has a developing market economy based mainly on manufacturing, financial services, and trade. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state and government is the president. Little is known about Brazil's early indigenous inhabitants. Though the area was theoretically allotted to Portugal by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, it was not formally claimed by discovery until Pedro Alvares Cabral accidentally touched land in 1500. It was first settled by the Portuguese in the early 1530s on the northeastern coast and at S?o Vicente (near modern S?o Paulo); the French and Dutch created small settlements over the next century. A viceroyalty was established in 1640 and Rio de Janeiro became the capital in 1673. In 1808 Brazil became the refuge and seat of the government of John VI of Portugal when Napoleon invaded Portugal; ultimately the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algrave was proclaimed, and John ruled from Brazil 1815-21. On John's return to Portugal, Pedro I proclaimed Brazilian independence. In 1889 his successor, Pedro II, was deposed, and a constitution mandating a federal republic was adopted. The 20th century saw increased immigration and growth in manufacturing along with frequent military coups and suspensions of civil liberties. Construction of a new capital at Brasília, intended to spur development of the country's interior, worsened the inflation rate. After 1979 the military government began a gradual return to democratic practices, and in 1989 the first popular presidential election in 29 years was held. The late 1990s brought a severe economic crisis.