Brazilian History

The indigenous Indian population in Brazil was widely scattered when Admiral Pedro Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, reached the coast of Brazil on April 22, 1500. During the first permanent Portuguese settlement in Brazil history the Portuguese found a widely scattered group of about one million people, all indigenous to the country. The initial important economic cycle in Brazil history was based upon sugarcane which was in great demand in Europe at the time. The sugarcane fields which were found along the coastline were worked fiercely by native labor and so sugarcane planted its roots in Brazilian economy and society with many people prospering greatly from the crop. Once the Portuguese realised that the number of indigenous people they had toiling in the fields for them would not be enough they started importing millions of slaves from Africa and history began writing quite an interesting story.

According to Brazilian history the field laborers and common slaves became really unhappy with their situations and started revolting against their superiors. They started escaping from the plantations and tried to build their own settlements in more secluded regions so they could have their own communities. The largest settlement of runaway slaves in the Americas was in the 1670's and 1680's and grew into a kingdom of roughly 30,000 people. Eventually the settlements that the previous slaves erected were destroyed by armed troops and government which in some cases ended in violence and bloodshed. The end of slavery as it was known ended in 1888 and by then the Africans had started to mix with the European Brazilian population through work rights and and basic merging of cultures and they became a significant section of the Brazilian population.

In Brazilian history during the first two centuries of the colonial period, other European powers took a stab at establishing their own colonies in several areas of Brazilian territory. There was a major attraction to the abundant natural resources and massive area of virgin land. As the history of colonial Brazil played out, Spanish and Portuguese looked for new land to colonize in defiance of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which essentially created a deep rift between the Portuguese and the Spanish.. From 1555 to 1567 French colonists made an attempt to settle in present-day Rio de Janeiro and again from 1612 to 1614 in the area which is now São Luís.

In the history of colonial Brazil their was yet another invasion, this time by the Dutch. This attempt the Dutch made at colonizing the area went on for some time was seen as a major problem to the Portuguese who had already settle on the land and thought of it as exclusively theirs. . The Dutch began pillaging the coast and between 1630 and 1654 and they managed to set up a more permanent and well controlled stretch of the coast. The Dutch receded from the area in 1661 after many years of open and sometimes vicious war. The initial Brazil attraction was said to be the tropical soil as it was believed to be extremely fertile according to the first Portuguese settlers. In present day Brazil's soils produce 70 million tons of grain crops per year but the output is attributed more to the amount of land being worked and not so much because of the fertility of the soil. A more present-day Brazil attractionwould include their plentiful natural resources which are in abundance and consist of timber, petroleum, uranium, tin, platinum, phosphate, nickel iron, ore, gold and bauxite.

Amazon Jungle Tours

Click here for fullscreen Amazon Jungle Tours virtual tour

Brazilian Amazon jungle tours bring you face-to-face with one of the biggest influences on the world's fragile eco-system - the Brazil's rainforest. The import role the rainforest plays on the world's eco-system is one of major reasons why more and more travelers are taking the adventure of a life time and going on Brazilian Amazon jungle tours - to get back to nature and come into contact with over 15,000 different species of animals, an array of amazing fauna and plants, and a variety of birds that are a sight to behold.

Some of the highlights that you can experience on Brazilian Amazon jungle tours include a visit to the Caratinga Biological Station; Lake Janauari Ecological Park; Adolpho Ducke Botanical Garden; and river tours.

Caratinga Biological Station An important Rain Forest preservation area, Caratinga Biological Station, located on the outskirts of the city of Ipanema, was previously a coffee plantation and cattle ranch that has now been converted into a nature preserve. Jungle tours here include the chance to hike the trails around the station, where if you are fortunate enough you'll come across the muriquis and buffy-headed marmoset (both now considered endangered and rarely seen anywhere but here). Aside from the chance to see truly endanger species in their natural habitat, jungle tours here also afford you the chance to bask in a variety of Amazon bird species.

Lake Janauari Ecological Park Located approximately an hour from Manus, the jumping off destination into the Amazon jungle, Lake Janauari Ecological Park is located in 9,000 acres of wooded land forest. Famous for its wild flowers and plants, visitors to Lake Janauari Ecological Park can take day treks from Manus or spend longer periods jungle trekking through the park to see the many animals and birds that have made this their habitat.

Adolpho Botanical Garden Unlike most botanical gardens you may have previously visited, Adolpho Botanical Garden is a sizeable 100 square kilometers in size! Located to the east of Manus, the gardens have a variety of trails that visitors can trek as part of their Amazon jungle tour experience. The gardens are also fairly conveniently located near to Lake Janauari Ecological Park - meaning that visitors can take in the specialness of both at the same time.

If you do decide to trek through the Adolpho Botanical Garden and Lake Janauari Ecological Park, make sure you take care to arrange adequate sleeping arrangements and don't think you can sleep under the stars in a sleeping-bag: remember, you are still in a wild, animal and insect infested jungle!

River Tours For those of you who would prefer to do your Brazilian Amazon jungle tour on the water, rather than trekking the land, a number of tour operators do river water tours through the Amazon along the Rio Negro and Rio Solimones. Brazilian Amazon jungle tours by river usually start from Manus and last anywhere up to a week. On the boat you should have opportunity to see a large number of the bird species living in the jungle and possibly some of the land-based animals as they come to the water for a drink. Just stay away from the anaconda and piranha!

THE AMAZON

The South American continent is home to the largest tropical rainforest in the world - The Amazon Rain Forest. 6 countries are part of this enormous maze of natural diversity.

Portuguese, Spanish and English are the three more widely spoken languages in Brazil. These countries are host to many visitors every year and most cities have a very metropolitan grace about them.

High in the Andes the river begins - hundreds of tiny streams trickling down rocks to complete a journey of more than 4,080 miles, flowing down the gentle slope of Brazil's interior out to the Atlantic Ocean.

The combination of nature and culture make discovering the Amazon Basin an unequalled experience. Lodging, Information, Tours, and other fellow travelers make the bustling port of Manaus an excellent introduction to the waterways that crisscross the nation of Brazil. This city is a common starting point for adventurers from all parts of the world who come to discover the Amazon.

Here at Manaus, more 1000 miles from the mouth of its humble beginnings, the Amazon splits in two rivers, the colors of the two rivers side by side are clearly visible. The whitewater side of the river flows from Peru, and the dark waters of Rio Negro (Black River) journey from Venezuela. This dramatic intersection where the rivers come together is known as the Meeting of the Waters.

At Manaus you can explore many options for your Amazon rain forest tours. Adventure/Travel, Eco-Tours, larger riverboat or small boat toursare some of the many options to choose from. Whatever your tastes, every tours highlight is the majesty of the rainforest. The experience is unsurpassed in marine voyages.

A constant cycle of evaporation and rainfall keeps the rainforest cool and regulates the temperature. 70% of all known plant and animal species call the Amazon rainforest home. The Rainforest is home to some well-known Amazon animals such as the Nocturnal Jaguar or the chilling Boa Constrictor. Some lesser-known creatures, also as distinctive share the enormous multi-level tropical environment.

As you glide through the sea of green beneath the canopy you might catch a glimpse of eye catching color - black and iridescent pastel hues, marked against the brilliant green that is the background wash in this exotic watercolor forest painting. This is the Urania Butterfly, a prized butterfly that has fascinated scientists with the iridescent reflection of its wings.

If you see a large colorful parrot eating sand near the banks, it might be a Scarlet Macaw, which eats the clay for its rich salt and mineral content. An Amazon tour or Amazon cruise is the serene way to relax and take in the wonder of the rainforest.

You may wish to add a tour along the Inca Amazon Trail on to your cruise. Or perhaps visit the unique lodging built by the natives of Ecuador, the Achuar. This culture is known to have inhabited the Amazon basin for thousands of year. A stop at Kapawi will add dimension to the incredible experience that is an Amazon River Tour. Whether you include rafting, a city tour, or visits to one of the many hot springs, you could spend weeks along the Amazon River and never learn of all its splendor.

It's time to fix the world's broken food system

In Kenya I saw how rising food prices, land grabs and lack of investment in small-scale farming turn drought into famine

Hungry locals in Turkana, Kenya asked not for food or aid, but for rain. Photograph: Rankin/Oxfam

Earlier this year I travelled to Turkana in Kenya for a photo shoot. I was there to capture images of the "broken food system" for Oxfam and through my experiences I also captured the reality of what it's like to be living without food security.

When hungry locals, some of whom had not eaten for two, three, sometimes even four days were asked what they needed, not one person asked for food or aid. Instead they suggested: "What we need is to be able to have rain." There has been a drought since 2005.

Awoi Ngasike, 70, holds a day's worth of food in the palm of his hands. Photograph: Rankin/Oxfam

As a special visitor, I was greeted with songs and dancing. The locals used to sing and dance all the time but now Turkana is silent and has been for some years. No one is singing or dancing anymore because they have no food, nothing to celebrate. People appear vibrant and full of life, but many are surviving on one handful of maize a day and water, which they can get just every two days. They are surviving on food that fits into the palm of my hand, just two daily tiny meals. If they have to, they kill one of their few remaining goats but when that last remaining opportunity is gone, they will be completely dependent on food aid.

I met Tede Lokapelo, a pastoralist who described the stark reality of a six-year drought. Tede used to have 200 goats. He has only seven left. He told me that this drought has taught him a hard lesson: it is too difficult to keep animals. His strong dependence on livestock, their traditional way of life, has been completely destroyed. Without the food aid they get, Tede is certain that they would starve because there are no other sources to feed themselves left.

Unfortunately, this story is not unique. Sadly, the same could be heard in almost any developing country around the world. Almost one billion people go to bed hungry each night. The food system is broken. In Turkana, sufficient rain hasn't fallen since 2005. They measure rainfall not in days or weeks but in minutes. While severe drought has undoubtedly led to the huge scale of the disaster, this crisis has been caused by people and policies, as much as by weather patterns. Climate change, rising food prices, lack of investment in small-scale farming and the grabbing of land being used to grow food for local people by speculative investors has resulted in communities just not being able to grow enough food to survive. More and more people are being forced to rely on food aid, but people like Tede don't want handouts. They want to work, they want to create their own economy, their own sustainability. It doesn't have to be about charity, it's our responsibility – governments, investors, civil society – to fix the system so that they can sustain their own lives.

Drought is inevitable but famine is manmade, and unless sufficient funding is provided to develop basic infrastructure for people in the region, thousands more lives are sure to be lost. The response to the current crisis in east Africa is too little too late. I'm writing for Blog Action Day to call upon politicians, campaigners and businesses to address the food system and how we can fix it to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.

BP allowed back into the bidding for gulf oil drilling rights

US regulator declines to enforce 'death penalty' on oil 


company despite environmentalists' fury

The Deepwater Horizon disaster last year cost 11 lives. Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters

The Obama administration has infuriated environmentalists by giving BPthe green light to bid for new drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico.

The move – seen as a major step in the company's political rehabilitation as an offshore driller following the Deepwater Horizon accident – was revealed by the head of the US safety regulator after a congressional hearing in Washington.

"They don't have a deeply flawed record offshore," said Michael Bromwich, head of the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. "The question is: 'Do you administer the administrative death penalty based on one incident?', and we have concluded that's not appropriate."

Drilling rights are sold off on a regular basis but many believed BP would be ruled out as unsuitable after the gulf well blowout that killed 11 workers and polluted the beaches of southern states. The next sale comes up in December, when more than 8m hectares (20m acres) of offshore rights will come up for grabs.

BP declined to comment, but Friends of the Earth said it was appalled. "Governments should be administering the death penalty to all deepwater drilling rather than waiting for yet more devastating incidents like the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico or in any other part of the world," argued Craig Bennett, director of policy and campaigns at the environmental group.

"It is not just BP operations that are deeply flawed," he added. "There is not a single oil company that can say with a high degree of confidence that it can drill safely and how it will clear up if something goes wrong. It is clear in the context of climate change we need to develop new clean technologies, not hunt for fossil fuels in ever more remote and hard-to-reach areas."

BP has already introduced changes to its offshore safety regime that it claims now leaves it with tougher standards than the regulator demands, but it has yet to gain approval to drill new wells.

The oil company has for many years been the biggest operator in the gulf, but it was pilloried by politicians after the Deepwater Horizon spill and its former chief executive, Tony Hayward, was said to be the most hated person in the US.

Over the last 18 months, BP has gradually seen some of its reputation rebuilt, not least because several studies have suggested that US contractors on the project, such as Transocean and Halliburton, ought to share some of the blame. BP has also helped itself by paying for a massive clean-up and compensation programme, but it still faces huge lawsuits and even possible criminal charges.

On Thursday BP, Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, and well-cementing specialist Halliburton were formally charged with breaches of offshore regulations on 15 separate occasions. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $35,000 per violation per day but the real threat to BP is if it is found guilty of gross negligence by any court – which would trigger billion-dollar claims under the US's Clean Water Act.

BP, now with its first American chief executive in Bob Dudley, was keen to emphasise the significance of the two contractors being drawn into the legal net, because those firms have argued that BP was at the heart of the Gulf accident. BP is trying to convince them to contribute their share of the compensation it has paid out already. "The issuance today of notices of non-compliance to BP, Transocean and Halliburton makes clear that contractors, like operators, are responsible for properly conducting their deepwater drilling activities and are accountable to the US government and the American public for their conduct," said BP in a statement.

Prince Charles announces funding scheme to protect rainforests

The Prince of Wales in the Indonesian rainforest. Photograph: Getty

A global emergency funding scheme to drastically reduce the destruction of tropical rainforests over the next five years was announced by the Prince of Wales today, with the US pledging $275m (£165m) towards rainforest protection.

The plan relies on developed countries paying rainforest nations such asBrazil and Indonesia to reduce rates of deforestation and thereby cutcarbon emissions.

Currently, the lucrative trade in logging, cattle grazing and palm oil, means tropical forests are worth substantially more dead than alive to developing countries. The plan, agreed by 35 governments of the Informal Working Group (IWG) and published at a meeting at St James's Palace, aims to make trees worth more alive. The group hopes to achieve a 25% reduction in annual deforestation rates by 2015. The felling of forests causes almost a fifth of global carbon emissions.

However, environment groups last night said the "devil was in the detail" and expressed concern over whether the scheme could achieve its aims. There were calls for the UK government to pledge money to the scheme.Tony Juniper, special adviser to the Prince's Rainforests Project (PRP) and former director of Friends of the Earth, described the agreement as a breakthrough and said: "This is the first time there has been a consensus among governments on a mechanism to deal with the underlying causes of deforestation, which are mainly economic."

Funding for the plan, which was set up by world leaders after a meeting convened by Prince Charles in London in April, would cost between £13.5bn and £22bn over the next five years. The money will initially be sought from governments.

Addressing delegates, including Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, and Guyana's president, Bharrat Jagdeo, Prince Charles said: "I have been enormously encouraged to hear the findings from the IWG report. It does seem that we have arrived at a consensus on how emergency funding might be deployed in the near future."

Miliband said a deal at next month's crunch UN climate talks in Copenhagen on funding for reducing deforestation – a key theme – was "now closer than it's ever been".

Issues of land rights, indigenous people, risk of corruption and verification have dogged the deforestation talks.

An example of how the scheme could work was given as the historic agreement between Norway and Guyana last week, in which Oslo pledged $250m to the forest nation by 2015 to continue to prevent deforestation.

Simon Counsell, executive director of the Rainforest Foundation, said:  "We have to be very careful that any emergency funding will result in a real reductions in deforestation or forest damage. The example of Guyana could show that it is possible to be paid and not reduce, or to even increase emissions from forests. The Norwegian-funded scheme assumes a fictitiously high baseline deforestation rate, so Guyana would not actually have to reduce deforestation at all in order to be paid."

In the memorandum of understanding between the two nations, the base annual rate of deforestation set by Norway for Guyana is 0.45 per cent. However Guyana's actualy rate of deforestation is currently below
that, at between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent, which means that the South American country could be paid if it increased deforestation up to 0.45 per cent.
At the ceremony, US Ambassador Louis Susman read out a letter from chair of the US Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Senator Patrick Leahy, to the prince in which he pledged to contribute $275m to a forest protection fund in 2010.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: "The US Government has today promised a substantial amount of money for forest protection, and now there is real pressure on the British Government to do the same."

But UK officials said the Government had already put money on the table, with £50 million going to efforts to save the Congo Basin Rainforest in Africa, and £115 million contributed to World Bank schemes to cut
deforestation.

• This article was amended on Friday 20 November 2009. In the story above the final four paragraphs were added after initial publication.

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The Amazonas theatre was inaugurated on December 31st 1896, and it is the most important architectonic building from the prosperous rubber period and main artistic cultural patrimony of the Amazonas State. It works regularly as an opera house, presenting regional, national and international events.

Praça São Sebastião, s/n
Visits from Mondays to Saturdays from 09:00h to 17:00h
Closed on Sundays
Price US$ 7.00 - Phone: +55 92 3622-1880/3232-1768