"A Brief History of Brazil offers a concise yet comprehensive account of the rich and varied story of Brazil, focusing on its vibrant African culture and influences from European, Asian, and Middle Eastern immigrants. It places contemporary political, economic, and cultural events into the broader historical context.". "Written for a general audience, the book opens with an overview of precolonial Brazil and goes on to examine Portuguese exploration, the early years of the slave trade between Africa and the Americas, the creation of the largest slaveholding society in the modern world, the short-lived First Republic at the turn of the 20th century, and the more than three decades of military dictatorship that the country experienced before it developed the democracy that characterizes it today."--BOOK JACKET.