Date/Time and Location

Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil gained its independence in 1822. On June 3, 1822, Dom Pedro, known as the “the Liberator,” founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil, convened a legislative and constituent assembly. On September 7 of the same year, on the plain of Ipiranga, a historical district located near the city of São Paulo, Dom Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil. He was crowned emperor on December 1, 1822. The United States officially recognized the new nation in 1824, and the Portuguese acknowledged Brazilian independence the following year, whereupon other European monarchies established diplomatic relations.

Celebrate Brazil’s Independence Day

Independence celebrations in Brazil take place in Brazil's large cities and are marked by parades held by the Brazilian Army. In the capital, Brasília, parades of members of the Armed Forces (Navy, Army, and Air Force) are held, as well as parades of bands and even veterans of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force , who fought in the Second World War.

There is an annual Brazil Independence Day Celebration in Boston every year in September. Massachusetts has the second largest population of Brazilians in the country. As of the 2021 United States Census, 112,446 Brazilians live in Massachusetts with the largest concentrations around Framingham and Boston.1

Facts about Brazil

  1. Brazil is the largest country in South America. Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country and has the sixth most people living there of any country in the world. Over 211 million people live in Brazil.
  2. In Brazil people speak Portuguese. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. To say hello, you say ‘Olá’. It is the only country in South America that speaks Portuguese – other South American countries mainly speak Spanish.
  3. The Brazilian flag has 27 stars on it. The Brazilian flag is green with a yellow diamond in the center filled with a blue globe. In the blue globe are 27 stars and a white banner with the country’s slogan, ‘Ordem e Progresso’, which means Order and Progress.
  4. Brazil is home to the 2nd longest river in the world. The Amazon river flows through Brazil and is the 2nd longest river in the world (the Nile is the longest). It is home to lots of animals including the Amazon river dolphin, electric eel, and the green anaconda snake.
  5. Around 60% of the Amazon Rainforest is in Brazil. Most of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil. The rainforest is full of animals and sometimes called ‘the lungs of the Earth’ because all the trees pump out oxygen which help combat climate change.