Hello Veeky Forums

Hello Veeky Forums.
Lately I was wondering, why the fuck Brazil didn't end up like USA, but turned into such shithole. Didn't they have similar beginings? Both were colonies of european country that gained independence thru war, and both had big imigration of people from old world. So why the fuck are they not as developed and important to rest of the world as USoA.
Meme answers also welcomed.

Protestant work ethic.

USA was independent in 1783 while Brazil got his independence in 1820.

In 1840 USA have 10 universities(Harvard,Cambrige etc, while Brazil got just one (USP), Portuguese Brazilians needed to go to coimbra to study, while in USA those universities was good enough for them.

In 1900 Brazil have a shy industry, while USA with Henry Ford others, have a heavy industry see how slow is Brazil in developing?

I would argue that their beginnings were very different, actually.

Excluding the fact that both were colonies, & that they both revolted to gain independence, the similarities end there.

Brazil founded an empire following their break from Portugal/Britain- an empire that lasted close to 70 years. The United States was founded on Republican virtues with the goal of revising the government from within by appealing to the masses in every way possible. No such goals existed during the era of the Empire of Brazil.

Another issue was the fact that people were not loyal to the Empire or the Emperor. There was administrative turmoil & political dissensions following the establishment of the Empire. There were both liberal & conservative sides of politics, & there was an attempt of republican secession within a decade of gaining their independence, & 4 more major revolts/wars within its first 25 years. The US had very few problems with keeping the country together following the initial revolution.

Yet another difference is that Brazil was warring through out this period. In its first 58 years, Brazil had fought in three major foreign wars, one of which is still the biggest in Brazil's history. The US was focused on development, progress & economic security in its initial decades, while Brazil faced years of stagnation & cripplingly exhausting wars.

It wasn't until 1889 that the initial "republic" was founded- & it was simply a military dictatorship with full control over the elections & the press. 5 years later, facing an economic & a military crisis, Brazil has another revolution & a true Republican government is established.

It's 1894. The US had its republican independence in 1776, resolved all of its major internal in 1864 & never faces the threat of its union disolving again. Brazil is 120 years behind the US by now. Even now, Brazil still faces civilian & military revolts, as a result of political, social & financial instability, through the 1920's.

"Similar" as in they were both colonies, but while the British were expanding with a focus on colonization, the Portuguese wanted one thing only: money, and nothing else mattered. See England's Central American territories for a better comparison.

A coup took control in 1930. The military government closed the Congress, destroyed the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers & replaced the states' governors with their own supporters.

What followed was a Republican revolt in 1932, a communist revolt in 1935, & a fascist revolt in 1938. Brazil is still yet to be stable. A dictaroship is established through world war 2, when yet another coup takes place & the military gains control again.

It wasn't until 1956 that Brazil finally had an elected ruler that was beloved & successful through out his reign. The economy & industrial sector grew rapidly, a new capital was constructed.

Then, a new president was elected in 1960, he resigned after a year, the vice president took over, & a military coup yet again overthrow the government.

This regime was characterized by a small economic miracle that could not be sustained, it's inability to solve the following crisis, its brutal repression of guerilla fighters, & its repression of political & even civilian opponents.

Democracy was returned in 1985. Brazil is now 209 years behind where the US was, with the exact same form of government finally established for good.

To summarize, Brazil founded a monarchy, had countless rebellions & revolts, numerous martial law declarations & coups, & a general lack of stability, while the US had one major civil dispute, not even over the system of government, & smooth sailing from there on out.

We've failed you.

But then again why did you leave us?!

Brazilian here, back in school the most common explanation was the difference between a settlement colony and an exploitation colony. America & Canada are prime examples of what constitutes as a settlement colony. While Brazil was more focused towards the exploitation of the resources and sending it back to Portugal. Now, I personally think that it's more complex than that, since there were a few(er) obligations that the US had towards Britain. In my opinion, what really fucked Brazil was the rural aristocracy, that didn't invest in industry, but on agriculture instead. I believe the same phenomenon of an agricultural elite can be seen in the south of the US.

Well that is wrong, although the rural aristocracy did fucked Brazil up, it was not because they didn't invest in industry or were too busy investing in agriculture. In fact, the era Mauá was an era of slight industrialization that wouldn't have happened if not the success of agriculture...
What made them fuck it all up was the misuse of the government that was controlled by aristocratic oligarchies back at the time, instead of using it for improving the Brazilian infrastructure to support a large industrialization they used this power to maintain their status quo

fpbp