Temperatures across Brazil average 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Lying on the equator, most of the nation has a tropical climate, divided into five subtypes: equatorial, tropical, highland tropical, temperate and subtropical. The main upland area of Brazil occupies most of the southern half of the country, rising to a mass of low mountain ranges such as the Mantiqueira and Espinhaco, whose highest peaks reach about 4000 feet. Along Brazil's 7500-mile coastline lie a number of archipelagos. Thus, the country has a wide range of tropical and subtropical landscapes, including wetlands, savannahs, jungle-covered plateaus, and low mountains.
Brazil contains most of the Amazon River basin, the world's largest river system as well as the world's largest virgin rainforest. Under a succession of able leaders, Brazil achieved political and economic stability, became a vital and influential member of the international community, and has at last achieved "the treasure of destiny."īrazil is the world's fifth largest country, encompassing half of South America's landmass it is one of 17 nations considered to have a "mega-diverse ecology," home to manifold flora and fauna, habitats, natural resources and terrain. Although the republic would suffer through dictatorships and military juntas over the next century, true democracy returned in the 1980s when the first elected civilian government assumed power after a negotiated transition. With the overthrow of Pedro II, the second and last emperor, in 1889 AD it became a republic.
Full independence was achieved in 1822 when the Empire of Brazil was created with a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government. Brazil was a Portuguese colony from the time of the arrival of Pedro Cabral, who claimed it for his sovereign in 1500 AD, until the royal family in exile from their occupied homeland elevated it to the status of kingdom in 1815. Paulo Coelho, Brazil's greatest novelist, wrote of the history of his people, "They were seeking out the treasure of their destiny, without actually wanting to live out their destiny." Among former colonies, Brazil is unique in the Americas because, beyond gaining its independence through a relatively peaceful path, it did not fragment into separate countries as did British and Spanish possessions. Wait for them to gather cultural power and build wonders, then strike! This way you not only cripple (or even eliminate) the competition, but also acquire their Great Works and wonders (which, of course, will be culturally aimed) and boost your Golden Age meter! Of course, this strategy is a little risky, since it might be too late or too costly to go to war if your rival has become too powerful. The best use of the Brazilians' unique unit, the Pracinha, is to start a war against your major rival for cultural victory immediately after the unit becomes available. Additionally, the Brazilwood Camps don't destroy the jungle, so you will still have additional Science output from jungles after building Universities. This allows the Brazilians to adopt social policies relatively faster, have a great excess of wealth, and expand their own borders faster. Not only do they provide some good early game defenses (thus making Brazil a bit difficult to eliminate early in the game), they also allow the Brazilians to build the unique and valuable Brazilwood Camp, which not only provides Gold, but also Culture upon the discovery of Acoustics. On the other hand, it's advisable to avoid, at any cost, cutting down too many jungle tiles, because of their great usefulness later on. Since they don't have any special abilities to make use of jungles before the Medieval Era, the Brazilians may lag in building many important wonders for cultural victory due to the lack of early Production.
Unfortunately, the Brazilians tend to suffer horribly in the early game due to their jungle start bias. As such, players should emphasize building up a lot of Happiness to trigger Golden Ages more often, in addition to building wonders and producing Great Writers, Artists, and Musicians. The Brazilians are designed for cultural victory thanks to their unique ability that grants double Tourism bonus and increases Great Person generation during Golden Ages.