Cultural Analysis of BrazilBrief HistoryThe Portuguese colonized Brazil in the 1500s. Indigenous tribes originally occupied the land, became slaves along with Africans after colonization. In 1822, Brazil became independent and slavery was abolished. The royal family ended in 1889 and a dictator ruled throughout the 1950s. After much upheaval, civilian rule was established in 1985. GeographyLocation. Brazil is located in South America and is the largest country on the continent, covering 3,286,470 square miles. Brazil borders the Atlantic Ocean and neighbors all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil has four time zones. Climate. The climate is 90% tropical and temperate in the south. Brazil is divided into five climatic regions: equatorial, tropical, semi-arid, high-altitude tropical and subtropical. Topography. Brazil consists of lowland basins, mountains, plateaus, hills and rivers. Social Institutions Family: Brazilians are loyal to family values ​​and defend their beliefs. The children are admired. Nuclear. Nuclear families are rare and the majority of families are extended. Extended. Families include close and distant relatives such as stepchildren, godparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Parental roles. A father influences authority roles on his sons while mothers influence housewife roles on their daughters. Marriage and courtship. Marriages are granted by civil courts or under the Roman Catholic Church. Feminine/masculine roles. Men work and have authority over women and children. Women stay at home and take care of the children, but become independent, employed, more educated than men and take charge of their households. Education. Education is in high demand. Schools are pub...... middle of paper ......zil. In 1998, Social Security was cut by $17 billion. The workers were outraged. Health care. Health care is public and private. Public health care is cheaper but does not meet all needs. Private health care is expensive and only exists regionally. Ill health is common among the poor.LanguageOfficial language. The official language is Portuguese. English is the second most spoken language. Spoken versus written. The written language is Portuguese. Portuguese is the standard throughout the country and follows the country's rules. Written Portuguese and spoken Portuguese differ and only educated people use it correctly. Dialects. There are no Portuguese dialects but there is a difference in accents and vocabularies. Nouns, pronouns and verb conjugations also vary.1: The World Factbook: Brazil http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/br.html