Discovering South America: Brazil

(Opposite) Each year thousands of people participate in parades through Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, Brazil’s most famous festival. It is celebrated just before the start of the Christian season of Lent. (Right) Brazilian star Neymar celebrates a goal during the 2014 World Cup tournament, which the country hosted. Soccer ( futebol ) is a passion for many Brazilians. 4

A Stew of Peoples and Cultures

BRAZIL’S POPULATION IS very diverse. This diversity is the result of intermingling between Amerindians, Portuguese settlers, and African slaves. Likewise, Brazilian culture has been shaped not only by the Portuguese— who gave the country its principal common religion and language—but also by Indians, descendants of African slaves, and settlers from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Brazil is the only Latin American country settled by the Portuguese. Before the Portuguese arrived in 1500, many Amerindian tribes sparsely populated the land. In the mid-16th century the Portuguese began to import African slaves to work in mines and on plantations. The ethnic mix among these three groups, along with other European peoples who immigrated to

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