Now brought up to date in a new edition, Brazil traces the history of Brazil over the last 500 years. Considered one of the most lively and informative of it's kind, this text employs a political and economic narrative while still including relevant information on society and culture. Beginning with the discovery of Brazil by Pedro Alvares Cabral, the text covers the colonization by the Portugese in the face of Spanish, French, and Dutch competition. It then moves to the creation of the repubilc of Brazil, including coverage of the emergence of the coffee trade and the issue of slavery, with the resulting movement towards abolition. The twentieth century includes in-depth coverage of the revolution and Vargas's rise to power; the ensuing unstable democratic period and the military coups that followed; and the reemergence of democracy in 1985, concluding with the recent presidency of Luiz Inacio 'Lula' da Silva.