The exports and imports of Brazil were as follows in the year 1918: Ex ports, $284,275,000; imports, $247,351, 250. The exports were largest to the United States, totaling $98,474,000. The exports to the United Kingdom were valued at $28,700,500, and to Argentina $43,188,250. The imports from the United States were valued at $88,982, 750. For the first seven months of 1919 the exports totaled 1,140,575 tons, amounting to a money value of 1,289, 390,000 milreis; the imports were 1,708, 103 tons, valued at 761,372,000 milreis.
Education.—Elementary education is free and in some of the states compul sory. There are about 13,000 schools with an attendance of 750,000. No uni versity exists, though there are numer ous normal, agricultural, commercial, and technical schools. There are many public libraries, that at Rio de Janeiro having over 400,000 volumes.
Defense.—Military service is univer sal between the ages of 21 and 45. Two years' service is required in the ranks, seven in the reserve, seven in the terri torial army and eight in the national guard. In 1918 the men available in the first line numbered 402,000 and in the second 493,000. The navy has two dreadnoughts, two protected cruisers, two coast defense ships of about 3,200 tons each, an almost obsolete protected cruiser, two river monitors, five torpedo gunboats, four first-class torpedo boats, three submarines, and ten destroyers. There are three naval arsenals.
Railways.—The total railway mileage is 30,101 kilometers, distributed among the various states as follows: no Paulo, 6,706; Rio de Janeiro, 3,131; Minas Geraes, 6,527; Rio Grande do Sul, 2,756; Pernambuco, 2,098; Bahia, 1,839; Matto Grasso, 1,168; Parana, 1,064; Santa Catharina, 1,018; Ceara, 891; Para, 456; Espiritu Santo, 652; Para hyba, 368; Alagoas, 364; Rio Grande do Norte, 313; Sergipe, 292; Federal Dis trict, 187; Goyaz, 179; Maranhao, 91; and Amazonas, 6. 15,251 kilometers are owned by the Federal Government, 2,464 kilometers by the state governments, and 10,051 by private companies.
Revenues.—The revenues and expendi tures of the Government for 1919 were as follows, in milreis (a gold milreis representing 54.6 cents in United States money and a paper rnilreis 27.5 cents) : Revenue, 113,533,434 gold; 502,989,000 paper. Expenditure, 80,369,827 gold; 476,641,194 paper.
For 1920 the budget estimates were 80,953,000 milreis gold and 526,953,000 milreis paper. The foreign indebted ness of the country was 116,434,274 pounds sterling; the internal debt was 1,012,137,000 milreis. The public wealth was figured at 30,000,000 contos (a conto equals 1,000 milreis), including these items: personal property, 7,000, 000; improved property, 5,500,000; un improved property, 10,000,000; railroads and ports, 2,000,000; live stock, 5,000, 000; manufacturing industries, 500,000.
Government.—Executive authority is vested in a president whose term is four years and who is not eligible for re-elec tion for a consecutive period. Legisla tive authority resides with the two chambers of the National Congress, the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The former has 63 members, elected for nine years, and the latter 212 members, elected for a three-year term. The Pres ident in 1920 was Epitacio de Silva Pessoa, whose term expires in 1922. He visited the United States in 1919 after having served in Paris as one of the Brazilian delegates to the Peace Congress.
History.—It was only in 1531 that the Portuguese, busy as they were in India, were planted their first settlement. In 1578 Brazil fell, with Portugal itself, under the power of Spain, a connection which, besides being essentially detri mental, speedily threw it as a prey into the hands of the Dutch Republic, and, though Portugal regained its own inde pendence in 1640, it was not until 1654 that Brazil was entirely recovered from the Hollanders, almost entirely by the efforts of her own soldiers through a war of more than 30 years. In 1807 the royal family of Portugal fled to Brazil; in 1815 the colony was declared a king dom; and the Portuguese court having returned to Europe in 1821, a National Congress assembled at Rio de Janeiro, and on May 13, 1822, Dom Pedro, the eldest son of King JAI) VI. of Portugal, was chosen "Perpetual Defender" of Brazil. He proclaimed the independ ence of the country on Sept. 7, 1822, and was chosen "Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender," on Oct. 12th following. In 1831 he abdicated the crown in favor of his only son, Dom Pedro II., who reigned as Emperor un til Nov. 15, 1889, when, by a revolution, he was dethroned, he and his family exiled, and Brazil declared a Republic, under the title of the United States of Brazil. In recent years Brazil's foreign policy has been of a most liberal char acter and efforts have been made to ce ment friendly relations with their neigh bors in South America and with the United States. Her enlightened atti tude during the World War and her prompt entrance into it by a declaration of war against Germany, following the example of the United States, resulted in friendly relations between the Allied Powers of Europe and Brazil. This was shown by a visit made to Brazil by the King and Queen of Belgium in Septem ber and October, 1919. Dr. Epitacio de Silva Pessoa was elected President on April 13, 1919, to succeed President Alvez who was elected in 1918 and who died in office. Dr. Pessoa, who was in Paris at the time of his election, acting as chief of the Brazilian delegation at the Peace Conference, visited the United States on his way to Brazil to take over the office of the presidency.