Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The culture of Brazil has been shaped by the amalgamation of diverse indigenous cultures, and the cultural fusion that took place among Indigenous communities, Portuguese colonists, and Africans, primarily during the Brazilian colonial period.
Brazil, country of South America that occupies half the continent’s landmass. It is the fifth largest and fifth most-populous country in the world. Brazil contains most of the Amazon River basin, which has the world’s largest river system and the world’s most-extensive virgin rainforest.
Brazil - Culture, Diversity, Music: The cultures of the indigenous Indians, Africans, and Portuguese have together formed the modern Brazilian way of life. The Portuguese culture is by far the dominant of these influences; from it Brazilians acquired their language, their main religion, and most of their customs.
Nevertheless, Brazilians share a national culture—making Brazil a true case of unity in diversity. The legacy of the Portuguese in language, religion, and law serves to unify this vast land and its people.
Brazil’s cultural diversity has been shaped by the dominant presence of European settlers who brought along ideas, innovations, beliefs, and African enslaved people, who influenced the local cultures with their customs and ideas.
From the 16th to the early 19th century, Brazil was created and expanded as a colony, kingdom and an integral part of the Portuguese Empire. Brazil was briefly named "Land of the Holy Cross" by Portuguese explorers and crusaders before being named "Land of Brazil" by the Brazilian-Portuguese settlers and merchants dealing with brazilwood.
Europeans explored the Brazilian coastline only after mapping parts of the Caribbean Sea and the northeastern coast of South America; moreover, intensive exploration of Brazil resulted indirectly from Portugal’s efforts to expand its colonies in Africa and Asia.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Brazilian History and Culture brings together a variety of specialists from around Latin America, Europe, and the United States. The encyclopedia’s 115 entries range from the nation’s prehistory until the beginning of the 21st century and feature original research on the history and legacies of slavery, political ...
However, Brazil differs in various ways from its neighbours due to the country’s colonisation by Portugal. Although independence was achieved in 1822, many elements of Portuguese culture have shaped Brazilian culture, such as naming practices, languages, artistic expressions and attitudes.
Inhabited for more than 600 centuries, Brazil endured a turbulent history from the time of its colonization. Eviction of Amerindian culture, widespread use of slavery and unbalanced development are its major upheavals.