Brazil covers almost half of South America, from the Guiana Highlands and the Amazon basin to the dry sertão of the northeast, the savannas of the central plateau, the Atlantic forest of the coast and the grasslands of Rio Grande do Sul. For thousands of years its lands belonged to hundreds of Indigenous peoples, from the hunters who painted the rock shelters of Serra da Capivara to the mound builders of Marajó and the Tupi and Guarani farmers of the coast.

Pedro Álvares Cabral claimed the land for Portugal in 1500. Sugar plantations worked by enslaved Africans made the colony rich, the Dutch held the northeast for a generation, and the gold of Minas Gerais drew settlers deep into the interior. In 1808 the Portuguese court fled Napoleon to Rio de Janeiro, and in 1822 Prince Pedro declared independence and became emperor.

The Empire lasted until 1889, a year after Brazil became the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery. The republic that followed passed through coffee oligarchies, the long rule of Getúlio Vargas, the building of Brasília and a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. Since the Constitution of 1988, democracy has survived hyperinflation, two presidential impeachments and the attack on the institutions in Brasília on 8 January 2023.

Explore the ten ages below through selected events from the timeline.