More than 200 million people worldwide speak the beautiful and alluring language of Brazilian Portuguese. Tapped as a language with the highest possibility for growth internationally, beginners everywhere have begun to study Portuguese, making it one of the most popular languages in the world! This book is the ideal workbook if you're looking to learn the basics of the language, whether you're a beginner or intermediate student. Featuring interactive exercises and lessons that help you: Study nouns, conjugate verbs, and perfect pronunciations Learn common words and phrases Have a conversation with a native speaker Read and write the language Master past, present, and imperfect tenses Complete with a Portuguese-English glossary and an arsenal of useful vocabulary, this book will have you speaking and writing Portuguese in no time!

Annotation A study of Brazil during a critical formative period which illuminates the causes of her special historical development within Latin America. Professor Maxwell analyzes the shifting relationships between Portugal, England and Brazil during the second half of the 18th Century. Through his study, Professor Maxwell is concerned with the social, economic and political significance of the events he describes. An important part of this work is a study of the Minas Conspiracy of 1788-89.

Looks at the life of Dom Pedro, the first emperor of Brazil.

In a time of terror for Europe’s monarchs—imprisoned, exiled, executed—Napoleon’s army marched toward Lisbon. Cornered, Prince Regent João had to make the most fraught decision of his life. Protected by the British Navy, he fled to Brazil with his entire family, including his deranged mother, most of the nobility, and the entire state apparatus. Until then, no European monarch had ever set foot in the Americas. Thousands made the voyage, but it was no luxury cruise. It took two months in cramped, decrepit ships. Lice infested some of the vessels, and noble women had to shave their hair and grease their bald heads with antiseptic sulfur. Vermin infested the food, and bacteria contaminated the drinking water. Sickness ran rampant. After landing in Brazil, Prince João liberated the colony from a trade monopoly with Portugal. As explorers mapped the burgeoning nation’s distant regions, the prince authorized the construction of roads, the founding of schools, and the creation of factories, raising Brazil to kingdom status in 1815. Meanwhile, Portugal was suffering the effects of abandonment, war, and famine. Never had the country lost so many people in so little time. Finally, after Napoleon’s fall and over a decade of misery, the Portuguese demanded the return of their king. João sailed back in tears in 1821, and the last chapter of colonial Brazil drew to a close, setting the stage for the strong, independent nation that we know today, changing the New World forever.

For two hundred and seventy years, the House of Braganza provided the kings and queens of Portugal. During a period of momentous change, from 1640 to 1910, this influential family helped to establish Portuguese independence from their powerful Spanish neighbors and saved the monarchy and government from total destruction by the marauding armies of Napoleon. The Braganzas also ruled the vast empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889, successfully creating a unified nation and preventing the country from splitting into small warring states. In his fascinating reappraisal of the Braganza dynasty, Malyn Newitt traces the rise and fall of one of the world’s most important royal families. He introduces us to a colorful cast of innovators, revolutionaries, villains, heroes, and charlatans, from the absolutist Dom Miguel to the “Soldier King” Dom Pedro I, and recounts in vivid detail the major social, economic, and political events that defined their rule. Featuring an extensive selection of artworks and photographs, Newitt’s book offers a timely look at Britain’s “oldest ally” and the role of monarchy in the early modern European world.

"Brazil is a colossus without power, a sleeping giant which may one day find its strength. In this authoritative and accessible book Roderick Cavaliero sets out the political and social background to the events which shaped the country's development, from the establishment of the Portuguese Kingdom in Brazil during the Napoleonic Wars to the declaration of Independence and Empire. He explores the international and diplomatic contexts, including the role of the Great Powers - in particular the nineteenth-century British policy of recognition for the former Iberian territories - the domestic policies of Portugal and Spain, and the part played by Brazil itself." "He vividly describes all aspects of social and economic life in Brazil as the country moved towards independence, from horrifying descriptions of the slave trade to colourful accounts of the royal family's extraordinary public and private lives. The Independence of Brazil will be enjoyed by everyone with an interest in Latin American history, general reader and specialist alike."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved