58 / 64
1500
On April 22, Pedro Álvares Cabral, sailing from Portugal to the East
Indies, lands on the eastern coast of South America (what is now Brazil);
he claims the land for Portugal.
1531
King João III of Portugal sends the first settlers to Brazil.
1549
Jesuit priests arrive in Brazil; eventually they will provide some
protection for the indigenous people.
1690s
Gold is discovered in Minas Gerais.
1763
Brazil’s colonial capital is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.
1822
Pedro, the son of King João VI, declares Brazil’s independence from
Portugal and crowns himself Pedro I, emperor of Brazil.
1831
Pedro I abdicates his Brazilian throne as a result of an unsuccessful war
with Argentina.
1888
Slavery is abolished in Brazil; over the next decade, a large influx of
European immigrants arrives.
1889
The monarchy is overthrown, and a federal republic is established in
Brazil with the central government controlled by coffee interests.
1930
A popular uprising places Getúlio Vargas at the head of a revolutionary
government which attempts to reform politics and modernize Brazil.
1954
Vargas commits suicide amid political and economic turbulence.
1956–61
Brazil’s economy grows rapidly under President Juscelino Kubitschek.
1960
Kubitschek moves capital to Brasília.
1964
A military coup ushers in 25 years of non-democratic rule.
1985
Military hands back power to the civilian government.
1989
Fernando Collor de Mello is elected president.
58
Chronology