Brazil: A Historical Overview
Objective
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- identify the major epochs in Brazilian history.
- analyze a timeline to determine the significant turning points in Brazilian history.
- hypothesize about the major issues facing Brazil at various points in its history.
Material
Activities
- Divide the class into small workgroups.
- Distribute copies of the student handouts entitled A Timeline of Brazilian History to each group and Brazil: An Historical Overview to each student.
- Direct students to work in their groups and to utilize the information in the handout Brazil: An Historical Overview to fill in the information on the timeline.
- Circulate among the groups and provide guidance and support as needed.
- When all of the groups have completed the timeline, explain that the class is going to utilize the information they have gleaned from the handout to describe the evolution of Brazilian history.
- Ask students to identify the events they placed on the timeline for the dates 1494 & 1600.
- Ask students to summarize, in their own words, what appears to be happening in Brazil during this time period.
- To relate it to American history, place the dates 1607 and 1620 on the chalkboard and ask the class if they can identify what was happening in North America in this time period. (Founding of Jamestown and the Plymouth colony, respectively.)
- Ask students to compare the patterns of colonization. What appears to be similar? What appears to be different?
- Ask students to identify the events they placed on the timeline for the years 1630 and 1654.
- Ask students to summarize what appears to be happening in Brazil during this time period.
- Ask the class to focus on the event(s) listed in their timeline for 1695.
- How did the discovery of gold change the dynamic of colonization? Is there anything similar in American history?
- Ask students to identify the events they placed on the timeline for the period 1788 & 1889.
- Direct students to focus on the event of 1788. What prompted this movement? Is it similar to anything American history? How? Why?
- Direct students to examine the period from 1822 to 1889 as described in the handout. What issue appeared to consume both Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II? How did they deal with issue of slavery? What was happening in the United States at the same time?
- Ask students to identify the events they placed on the timeline for the dates 1917 and 1930.
- Direct students to examine the section of the handout entitled "The Republic."
- Ask students to compare what was happening in Brazil to what was happening in the United States in the same time period. What are the similarities? What are the differences?
- Does Brazil appear to be stable or unstable at this particular time in its history? Why?
- Ask students to identify the events they placed on the timeline for the period 1937 & 1954.
- Ask students to summarize, in their own words, what appears to be happening in Brazil during this time period.
- Does Brazil appear to be stable or unstable at this particular time in its history? Why?
- Ask students to identify the events they placed on the timeline for the period 1960 & 2006.
- Ask students to summarize, in their own words, what appears to be happening in Brazil during this time period.
- Does Brazil appear to be stable or unstable from 1960 & 1994? Why?
- Ask students how they would summarize the current state of Brazil from 1994 & 2006. Does it appear to have achieved a degree of stability? Why or why not?
