Few of the early Indian tribes have survived since the invasion of the Portuguese and other Europeans. These remaining natives tend to be found in the Amazon basin. The Portuguese brought African slaves with them. Slavery was later outlawed in 1888. The King, Dom Joao VI, once sought refuge in Brazil during Napoleon's conquest of Europe. After the King returned to his homeland of Portugal, his son proclaimed Brazil's independence in 1822. After much political trading of power, Brazil was ruled by many military strong-men until a democratic regime took over from 1956-64. During that time the capital was moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. Following this time there were five different military Presidents. Censorship was enforced and torture was reported by opposition groups. In 1974 censorship became more relaxed. Brazil has tried to become more and more industrialized and modernized in manufacturing and agricultural products. By the 1970s Brazil was the envy of other Latin American countries with its surprising industrial and agricultural growth. Under civilian rule in 1985, democratic elections were held. Despite all these positive achievements Brazil still suffers from inadequate distribution of income and inflation. Its foreign debt is among the highest in the world. In Feb. 1987 Brazil declared that it was unilaterally suspending payment of interest on these debts to commercial foreign banks. @
