Brazil Capital and Currency History and Facts

Brazil has had a fascinating history with its capital city. The country's capital has changed four times since its independence in 1822, with Rio de Janeiro being the capital for the longest period of time.

The first capital of Brazil was Salvador, which served from 1549 to 1763. Salvador's strategic location on the Atlantic coast made it an ideal choice for the Portuguese colonizers.

The official currency of Brazil is the Real, which has been in use since 1994. Prior to that, the Cruzeiro Real was the official currency, but it was plagued by high inflation and was eventually replaced by the Real.

The Real has undergone several revaluations and redenominations over the years, with the most recent one occurring in 1994.

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The Brazilian currency is the Real, and it's been around since the early 1690s, with the name "Real" surviving to this day. The plural form is "reais", and its sign is "R$".

The modern Real is issued by the Central Bank of Brazil, and its international standard currency code is BRL. At the time of writing, the US Dollar is equivalent to 3.76 reais.

You might see a small stack of ten 10 centavo coins taped together to serve as 1 Real, which is still a valid form of payment.

The Story of Modern Brazil's currency is a fascinating one. The Brazilian real, which was introduced in 1994, replaced the cruzeiro real and cruzeiro, which had been used since 1942.

The real was created to combat inflation, which had been a major issue in Brazil for many years. The country's economy was in shambles, and the old currency was unable to keep up with the high inflation rates.

Since its introduction, the real has been used in conjunction with the US dollar, which is widely accepted in tourist areas and among businesses. This has made it easier for tourists to navigate the country.

The real is subdivided into 100 centavos, and coins are available in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos, as well as 1, 2, and 5 reais.

The current series of Real coins was released in 1998 and is still in circulation today. Although the central bank stopped producing 1 centavo coins in November 2005, they are still legal tender.

Each centavo coin bears the Southern cross constellation on one face. Pedro Álvares Cabral, the discoverer of Brazil, is featured on the one-centavo coin, made from copper-plated steel.

The five-centavo coin, also made from copper-plated steel, bears the face of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, famously known as “Tiradentes.” He was a national hero in Brazil.

The ten-centavo coin features Dom Pedro I, also known as “The Liberator,” who became the first emperor of Brazil in October 1822. It's made from brass-plated steel.

Field Marshall Deodoro da Fonseca, the first president of the Republic of Brazil, is featured on the 25-centavo coin. He led the coup that toppled Emperor Pedro II.

The 50-centavos coin is made from steel and is adorned by the face of José Paranhos Jr, one of Brazil's most revered ministers for foreign affairs. He peacefully resolved all of the problems Brazil had with its neighboring countries regarding the borders.

The 1-real coin is made from an inner coin of steel surrounded by a ring of brass. The outer brass ring is decorated with a Marajoara art pattern, traditional on the Amazon estuary island, Marajó.

Brazilian banknotes are a great way to learn about the country's unique wildlife and ecosystems. The latest series of banknotes, introduced in 2010, features various species that are found in Brazil.

The 2 Real banknote showcases the Hawksbill Turtle, a critically endangered species found in Brazilian waters. These majestic marine creatures were traditionally hunted for their beautiful shells.

The 5 Real banknote features the Great Egret, a large heron-like bird known for its beautiful white plumage. It can spear fish with its long sharp bill.

The 10 Real banknote features the Green-Winged Macaw, a famous symbol of tropical Brazil and one of the largest species of Macaw found in the country.

The 20 Real banknote features the Golden Lion Tamarin, a monkey that calls Brazil's Atlantic rainforest home. Unfortunately, their habitat and numbers are dwindling due to logging and careless human behavior.

The 50 Real banknote features the mythical Jaguar, king of the Pantanal, a majestic cat that can be seen on a trip to this region.

The 100 Real banknote features the dusky grouper, a highly prized fish in the southern coastal states of Brazil.

In Brazil, a period or full-stop is used to mark thousands, and a comma is used to mark fractions. This means that you might see prices like R$ 7,00 on a menu.

A number like 7000 Reais would be marked as R$ 7.000, not with a comma. This can take some getting used to, especially if you're used to seeing prices written with commas in other countries.

The modern Brazilian currency, the Real, uses the sign R$ and the plural form is "reais".

For another approach, see: 10 Reais

The Plano Real was a crucial economic plan introduced in 1994 to control inflation and stabilize the Brazilian currency. It was led by then Minister for Finance, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who later became president. This plan involved creating the "Unidade Real de Valor (URV)" or Unit of Real Value, a non-monetary currency that served as a reference against the cruzeiro-real, thus freeing it from hyperinflation's effects.

The Plano Real replaced the cruzeiro-real with the modern real on July 1, 1994, at an equal rate to the URV. This move was a significant step in the plan's implementation.

One of the key economic reforms included in the Plano Real was controlling expenditure through high interest rates. This measure helped keep inflation under control for the following years.

The plan initially worked, and the real gained value against the US dollar, backed by large capital investments in Brazil, particularly in 1994 and 1995.

The capital of Brazil is Brasília, a city that has been surrounded by controversy since its inception.

The country's currency, the Brazilian real, has also been a point of contention, with some critics arguing that the government's handling of the economy has led to inflation and devaluation of the currency.

One notable controversy surrounding Brasília is the displacement of indigenous people to make way for the city's construction, a fact that is still acknowledged today.

Lula, the left-wing candidate, was expected to overhaul the economy, but he surprised everyone by continuing many of the previous government's policies. He even appointed conservative ministers to key positions.

His critics accused him of going back on his word, as he increased the minimum wage a lot less than he promised during his presidential candidacy. This move sparked concern among his supporters.

The Brazilian currency, the real, was in a precarious state before Lula took office, having tumbled against the dollar from R$2.50 to R$4.00 in November 2002. Investors and the public had lost confidence in the real.

Despite these challenges, Lula's government managed to grow the economy rapidly, with the GDP increasing by 5.7% in 2004 and 3.2% in 2005. This was a significant turnaround from the previous state of the economy.

The value of the real has not improved during 2019, despite Bolsonaro's presidency being seen as a boost for the Brazilian currency.

Investors worldwide experienced increased confidence in the Brazilian currency during Bolsonaro's candidacy, but since he took office, economists have halved their expectations for economic growth in 2019.

The Bolsonaro government blames the country's economic mess on the government of Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached due to accusations of hiding her cabinet's overspending.

Lowering the fiscal debt has been the focus of the Bolsonaro government, with proposed cuts to the pension system, which provides very generous benefits to civil servants who can retire in their 50s.

The Brazilian government claims that if nothing drastic is done, the country's debt will be equal to the size of its economy by 2023, a worrying figure for Brazilians and the world economy alike.

If you're interested in the history of Brazilian currency, you should visit the Money Museum in Brasilia. It's located on the first floor of the central bank.

The museum exhibits coins, banknotes, gold, and other objects that have represented value in some way or other.

One of the highlights of the museum is the largest gold nugget ever found in Brazil, weighing 60.820kg.