Category Story of Nations

          The Portuguese did not go to Brazil with the dream of establishing a settlement. In fact, Brazil provided a safe place to hide for the Portuguese king who had fled from the French army. Surprising, isn’t it?

          In 1808, the French army led by Napoleon invaded Portugal. King Joao IV ran off to Brazil and later established his empire there. The empire came into the hands of his son, Pedro afterwards.

          King Pedro was a kind ruler and he granted independence to Brazil and abolished slavery. This act angered the wealthy landowners of Brazil. As a result, the royal family was forced to flee back to their motherland.

          Modern Brazil is not just about carnivals and natural wonders. The country now has an unstable economy. Brazil was once one of the leading industrial exporters in the world. It faced a great economic crisis in 1929. Though it recovered from the impacts of depression, the country had to face inflation for many years after 1980. The crisis became severe in 2014 as the trade balance was not maintained. In addition, the household consumption increased and the investments were low. The changes in the economic policy of the country too had an adverse effect.

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          Beyond football and pasturelands, Argentina has a history of gory wars. After gaining independence, Argentina faced a situation of political turbulence and a series of military governments.

          The period 1976-83 is known as ‘The Dirty War’ in its history. There was a seven-year campaign by the Argentine government which aimed to chase out Leftism. Thousands of suspected Left wing activists simply disappeared from Argentina.

          In 1982, Argentina went to war with Britain. This time, the dispute was about the ownership of Falkland, an island in the South Atlantic. The Argentines believed that the British had seized the island from them in the nineteenth century. The Falkland war started on 2nd April 1982. The British naval fleet under instructions from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fought against Argentina till the Argentines surrendered on June 14.

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          The Spanish explorers who conquered Argentina gave it the name we all know today. The name is derived from the Latin word for silver-argentum.

         The Spanish came to Argentina hoping to find rich deposits of silver, but they couldn’t find any. But they were not disappointed altogether. The newfound country had lush pasture land and fertile soil.

          Argentina’s treasures turned out to be the land itself! A lot of migrants came to the country for farming and raising cattle. Argentina’s economy was built on the meat and leather industry. It exports large quantities of frozen meat even today.

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          Colombia is named after Christopher Columbus, the legendary Italian explorer. The country was colonized by the Spanish and its people gained independence in 1819.

         Colombians were deeply divided in political thought even after independence. On the one hand, there were the Conservatives who believed in a strong central government and limited voting rights. On the other hand, were the Liberals who demanded universal voting rights and powerful regional governments.

          By the end of the nineteenth century, the price of coffee came down creating an economic crisis. In addition to it, Manuel Antonio Sanclemente, a Conservative leader was elected as the president. The Liberals accused the Conservatives of using unfair means to win the election. This sparked a conflict which later turned into the War of Thousand Days.

          The Liberals were supported by Venezuela with money and arms. The war ended in 1902, with both the parties signing a peace treaty; but the conflict didn’t really stop here.

          The rift between them intensified further which led to a period of unrest in 1940 that is now called ‘The Violence’.

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          Chile looks like a fluttering ribbon in the world map. It’s the world’s longest and thinnest country. Chile gained independence from the colonial clutches of Spain and became independent in 1818.

          Since independence, the political views that governed the country oscillated between the right and left wings. Chile has had economic problems since the twentieth century. Salvador Allende, their elected president tried to resolve many of its problems during his socialist government. The economic problems intensified in the 1970s. Allende was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup and Chile came under the control of the military general Augusto Pinochet.

          Pinochet was a tyrannical dictator. He suspended parliament and banned all sorts of political activity. Chileans did not have civil liberty; thousands of Chileans were imprisoned, tortured and executed without any reason. Many others were either expelled or disappeared. Pinochet’s seventeen year old rule came to an end in 1990.

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          Oil once made Venezuela rich beyond expectations; it was one of the richest Latin American countries which obtained half of its earnings from the oil industry. However, the oil prices began to drop from the 1960s.

         The demand for oil declined day by day. The value of Venezuelan currency came down drastically. The government tried to diversify and develop new industries, but there was no change in the situation. There was a heavy crisis of food supplies and the government did not have enough money to import sufficient food products. The inflation worsened, thus creating an economic emergency. Eighty five percent of the population became poor with minimal food supplies and practically no medical aid.

          Oil prices fell heavily in 2015. Venezuela is facing the highest inflation in the world, even worse than the Great Depression in the US in the 1930s.

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