Brazil: 500 years of complex and enthralling cultural history. Soccer, Copacabana, Carnival, Favelas, the Amazon-what is behind the prevailing images? Brazil's history spans far more-from the Portugese colonial rule to the aspiring Great Power. The volume provides for the first time a comprehensive cultural history of this diverse country, which has layed claim to a special status for 200 years. It challenges official explanations and offers unadorned views of Brazil. These depict a society containing many contradictions, one that wrote 'Order' and 'Progress' on its national flag.