Brazil (A Better Brazil)

Empire of Brazil Império do Brasil Timeline: A Better Brazil OTL equivalent: Brazil, French Guiana, Paraguay, Uruguay, north Argentina, north and east Bolivia
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto:  Independência ou Morte! "Independence or Death!"
Anthem:  Hino da Indepedência do Brasil "Anthem of the Independence of Brazil"
Capital		Rio de Janeiro
Largest city		São Paulo
Official languages		Portuguese
Other languages		Spanish Guarani Others
Religion		88.8% Christianity - 64.6% Catholicism - 22.2% Protestantism - 2.0% other Christian 8.0% no religion 2.0% Spiritism 1.2% other
Demonym(s)		Brazilian
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Emperor	Pedro IV
-	Prime Minister	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
-	President of the Senate	Rodrigo Pacheco
-	President of the Chamber of Deputies	Arthur Lira
-	President of the Supreme Court	Rosa Weber
Legislature		General Assembly
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Establishment		Independence from Portugal
-	Declared	7 September 1822
-	Recognized	29 August 1825
-	Current Constitution	20 June 1919
Area
-	Total	10,482,805 km2 (2nd) 4,047,434 sq mi
Population
-	Estimate	240,561,497 (5th)
-	census	2022
GDP (PPP)		estimate
-	Total	$7,54 trillion
-	Per capita	$31,343
GDP (nominal)		estimate
-	Total	$6,124 trillion
-	Per capita	$25,457
Currency		Real (R$) (BRL)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.br
Calling code		+55

Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil; Brazilian Portuguese: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Empire of Brazil (Portuguese: Imperio do Brasil), is the largest country in the Americas. At 10.5 million square kilometers and with over 240 million people, Brazil is the world's second-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Its capital is Rio de Janeiro, and its most populous city is São Paulo. It is the only country in the Americas to have Portuguese as an official language. Brazil is also the only country in South America to be a monarchy and the only monarchy in the Americas, whose monarch resides on the continent. It is one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world, and the most populous Roman Catholic-majority country.

It borders all other countries and territories in South America except Ecuador and covers roughly half of the continent's land area.

The territory which would become known as Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the discovered land for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808 when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. Slavery was abolished in 1874.

Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1919, defines it as a democratic and unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. its royal family is the Imperial House of Braganza. It is one of only two countries in the world, whose head of state is styled as emperor, the other being Japan. Its head of state is Dom Pedro IV. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Brazil is a regional power as well as a great power. It is considered a potential superpower. Brazil has the largest share of global wealth in South America, and it is one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

History

Elevation to kingdom

In late 1807, Spanish and Napoleonic forces threatened the security of continental Portugal, causing Prince Regent John, in the name of Queen Maria I, to move the royal court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. There they established some of Brazil's first financial institutions, such as its local stock exchanges and its National Bank, additionally ending the Portuguese monopoly on Brazilian trade and opening Brazil's ports to other nations. In 1809, in retaliation for being forced into exile, the Prince Regent ordered the conquest of French Guiana.

With the end of the Peninsular War in 1814, the courts of Europe demanded that Queen Maria I and Prince Regent John return to Portugal, deeming it unfit for the head of an ancient European monarchy to reside in a colony. In 1815, to justify continuing to live in Brazil, where the royal court had thrived for six years, the Crown established the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, thus creating a pluricontinental transatlantic monarchic state. However, the leadership in Portugal, resentful of the new status of its larger colony, continued to demand the return of the court to Lisbon (see Liberal Revolution of 1820). In 1821, acceding to the demands of revolutionaries who had taken the city of Porto, John VI departed for Lisbon. There he swore an oath to the new constitution, leaving his son, Prince Pedro de Alcântara, as Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil.

Independent empire

Тensions between Portuguese and Brazilians increased and the Portuguese Cortes, guided by the new political regime imposed by the Liberal Revolution, tried to re-establish Brazil as a colony. The Brazilians refused to yield, and Prince Pedro decided to stand with them, declaring the country's independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822. A month later, Prince Pedro was declared the first Emperor of Brazil, with the royal title of Dom Pedro I, resulting in the founding of the Empire of Brazil.

The Brazilian War of Independence, which had already begun along this process, spread through the northern, northeastern regions and in the Cisplatina province. The last Portuguese soldiers surrendered on 8 March 1824; Portugal officially recognized Brazilian independence on 29 August 1825.

On 7 April 1831, worn down by years of administrative turmoil and political dissent with both liberal and conservative sides of politics, including an attempt of republican secession and unreconciled to the way that absolutists in Portugal had given in the succession of King John VI, Pedro I departed for Portugal to reclaim his daughter's crown after abdicating the Brazilian throne in favor of his five-year-old son and heir (who thus became the Empire's second monarch, with the royal title of Dom Pedro II).

As the new Emperor could not exert his constitutional powers until he came of age, a regency was set up by the National Assembly. In the absence of a charismatic figure who could represent a moderate face of power, during this period a series of localized rebellions took place, such as the Cabanagem in Grão-Pará, the Malê Revolt in Salvador, the Balaiada (Maranhão), the Sabinada (Bahia), and the Ragamuffin War, which began in Rio Grande do Sul and was supported by Giuseppe Garibaldi. These emerged from the provinces' dissatisfaction with the central power, coupled with old and latent social tensions peculiar to a vast, slaveholding and newly independent nation state. This period of internal political and social upheaval, which included the Praieira revolt in Pernambuco, was overcome only at the end of the 1840s, years after the end of the regency, which occurred with the premature coronation of Pedro II in 1841.

In 1844, the finance secretary of the city of Rio, which was Brazil’s largest port at the time, created a tax of 40% to 60% on British consumer goods in order to increase the city government’s revenue. Emperor Pedro II does not budge to British pressure to abolish the Alves Branco Tariff. The emperor stands up to Britain, expanding the tariff to all Brazilian ports, and creating the Imperial Steel Company, providing a basis for the Brazilian industry to develop, and making the Imperial Family wealthier in the process.

The War of the Triple Alliance started in 1864 between Brazil and Argentina and Paraguay and Uruguay. Being the only industrialized country in the region, Brazil would quickly mobilize its armies and swiftly pacify Uruguay and Paraguay, annexing both countries before Argentina, who joined the war for territorial gain, could do anything about it. The Brazilian government would not give any territory to Argentina, who was late to join the conflict effectively, resulting in a brief war between the two states, where Brazil decisively defeats the former and annexes all the lands east and north of the Parana River. Following an alliance between Chile and Brazil, the unstable Bolivian republic would be partitioned between the two states.

In 1867, following diplomatic conflicts with the government of the Second French Empire over their interference in Mexico, French Guiana would be annexed by Brazil.

Modern history

By the beginning of the 20th century, Brazil had established itself as the dominant nation of South America and was considered a great power in global affairs.

Brazil remained neutral throughout both of the World Wars, but materially supported the Central Powers during WWI and the Allies during WWII.

Between the 1890s and the 1940s, Brazil and the United States of America were in a state of cold war, vying for dominance in American affairs. This state of affairs was solidified during the Thousand Days' War, when Brazil backed Colombia in retaining Panama against the USA-backed revolt in the province. Ultimately a peace-settlement was reached, and Panama remained a part of Colombia, while a joint Brazilian-American venture opened the Panama Canal, which was made free to Brazilian and US shipping. Since then, Panama, or rather Colombia's northern border, marked the division of the two great powers' spheres of influence. A cold war of sorts remained in effect due to the ideological differences of the two countries as well as their economic and political interests.

After the start of the Cold War between the Capitalistic West and the Soviet Union, US President Harry Truman and Emperor João I signed the New Orleans pact, which signified the end of hostilities and an alliance against communist and socialist revolutionaries in their spheres of influence. Both great powers were concerned with the rise of communist insurgencies in the Americas.

Government

Monarchy

The monarchy's royal family is the Imperial House of Braganza, a cadet branch of the Portuguese royal family. It began with Dom Pedro I, who fought for and liberated Brazil from Portugal. The current monarch is Dom Pedro IV. His heir is his eldest son João, Prince Imperial.

The monarch is the head of state. Until 2021, the succession was determined by male-preference primogeniture. Since then, it is by absolute primogeniture.

The Emperor's full style and title are "His Imperial Majesty Dom Pedro IV, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil"

List of monarchs:

Dom Pedro I (1822-1831);

Dom Pedro II (1831-1891);

Dom Pedro III (1891-1912);

Dom Afonso I (1912-1914);

Dom Fernando I (1914-1944);

Dom João I (1944-1988);

Dom Afonso II (1988-2018);

Dom Pedro IV (2018-present)