This chapter surveys Brazil’s history since it became a republic in 1889. Focusing on the country’s efforts to promote both political stability and economic development, it traces how throughout those years, Latin America’s largest nation has swung dramatically between periods of military dictatorship and popularly elected governments, with neoliberal, radical socialist, and populist authoritarian administrations seeking in turn to address its problems. The world’s fifth largest country in terms of land area, ranked seventh in terms of population, Brazil is rich in natural resources of all kinds. Extending over 5.6% of the world’s landmass, with a population density of just 25.3 people per square kilometre (as opposed to 433.7 per square kilometre in India and 149.1 per square kilometre for China), Brazil might seem enviably well placed to provide all its citizens with an excellent standard of living and social welfare programmes. In practice, although levels of inequality have fallen since 2000, in 2018 Brazil remained the eighth most unequal country in the world, with poverty levels particularly high among women and blacks. This chapter explores why—despite being a founder member of the BRICS grouping—Brazil has so far failed to live up to its potential to become an international great power. It considers the degree to which this relatively poor performance is related to internal factors, and to the country’s earlier history, first as a monarchy and then as a republic. It also discusses the impact of Brazil’s Cold War role as a strong backer of the United States, the influence of its neighbours, and the significance of its more recent situation as a leading target—though not a formal member—of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.