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Federal District (Brazil)

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The Federal District ( Portuguese : Distrito Federal [dʒisˈtɾitu fedeˈɾaw] ) is one of 27 federative units of Brazil. Located in the Center-West Region , it is the smallest Brazilian federal unit and the only one that has no municipalities , being divided into 35 administrative regions . The federal capital of Brazil, Brasília , which is also the seat of government of the Federal District, is located in its territory. The Federal District is almost completely surrounded by the state of Goiás , but it shares a small border with Minas Gerais .

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163-527: From the first republican constitution there was already a device that foresaw the move of the federal capital from Rio de Janeiro , at that time in the former Federal District (1889–1960), to the interior of the country. In 1891 the Exploration Commission of the Central Highlands of Brazil was appointed, led by astronomer Luiz Cruls and composed of doctors, geologists and botanists, who made

326-556: A 2013 autosomal DNA study, the ancestral composition of the state of Minas Gerais can be described as: 59.20% European, 28.90% African and 11.90% Native American During the time of the gold rush, thousands of Portuguese immigrated to Brazil (mainly from the Minho), and many of them to Minas Gerais, the place where the gold rush activities took place. Most of them came from Entre Douro e Minho, in Northern Portugal. The reference book for

489-478: A Black mother and a Portuguese father) and Cabras (people of mixed ancestry, usually with high degree of Amerindian admixture). Black people and "Mulattoes" predominated in the population after the beginning of the colonization. By the 19th century, however, whites were already the largest single group in the Minas Gerais population. Taking the population as a whole (all groups included), European genes account for

652-405: A constitution in general terms was "the arrangement of the offices in a state". In his works Constitution of Athens , Politics , and Nicomachean Ethics , he explores different constitutions of his day, including those of Athens, Sparta , and Carthage . He classified both what he regarded as good and what he regarded as bad constitutions, and came to the conclusion that the best constitution

815-569: A constitution since 1789 is approximately 19 years. The term constitution comes through French from the Latin word constitutio , used for regulations and orders, such as the imperial enactments ( constitutiones principis : edicta, mandata, decreta, rescripta). Later, the term was widely used in canon law for an important determination, especially a decree issued by the Pope , now referred to as an apostolic constitution . William Blackstone used

978-487: A great reduction in the indigenous population, leaving currently only five groups: the Xakriabás, Krenaks, Maxakalis, Pataxós and Pankararus, the latter coming from Pernambuco 's hinterlands. The first European expedition into Minas Gerais' territory was led by Spaniards Francisco Bruza Espinosa and Juan de Azpilcueta Navarro between 1553 and 1555, which left the coast of Bahia and traveled through northern Minas Gerais. In

1141-417: A great social mobility to former slaves, mainly for women. In Tejuco , the percentage of White males who were head of family (37.7%) was very similar to the percentage of Black women who were head of family (38.5%). Many former slaves were able to accumulate goods and many of them became slave owners as well. Some Black people and mainly Mulattos were able to integrate themselves in the highest social stratum of

1304-465: A hybrid nature of state and municipality. Article 32 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution expressly prohibits the Federal District from being divided into municipalities , being considered one. The executive power of the Federal District was represented by the mayor of the Federal District until 1969, when the position was transformed into governor of the Federal District. The legislative power of

1467-622: A large number of these families is "Velhos Troncos Mineiros" (Old Mineiro Branches) by Raimundo Trindade. The Native American population of Minas Gerais was estimated to be at 97,000 in 1500, by the time the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500 (John Hemming in " Red Gold: The Conquest of the Brazilian Indians "). The ancestry of the Africans brought to Minas Gerais was both West African and Bantu, with

1630-555: A larger region. The second interpretation derives the name from the former name of the colonial province, "Minas dos Matos Gerais" ("Mines of the General Woods"), referring to two distinct regions encompassed by the state: the region of the mines (Minas), and the "general" region ("Matos Gerais" or "Campos Gerais", roughly meaning "General Fields"). The latter corresponded to the areas of sertão which were farther and hard to access (with an economy based on farming and agriculture) from

1793-402: A legislature, court cases, and treaties. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign countries to companies and unincorporated associations . A treaty that establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states , a constitution defines the principles upon which the state

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1956-519: A million people, in turn, consider themselves irreligious, of which around seventy thousand are atheists and just over seven thousand are agnostics. Minas Gerais is the second-largest consumer market in Brazil, behind the state of São Paulo. It shares 10.4% of the Brazilian consumer market. Companies of this Brazilian state have access to 49% of the Brazilian consumer market, with estimated consumption potential of 223 billion US dollars. The service sector

2119-430: A peculiar culture, marked by traditional religious manifestations and typical countryside cuisine, in addition to national importance in contemporary artistic productions and also in the sports scene. Two interpretations are given for the origin of the name Minas Gerais. The first interpretation is that the name simply means "General Mines", referring to a number of mines which were located in several spots spread around

2282-584: A period of more than four hundred years, an important aspect of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire . In China , the Hongwu Emperor created and refined a document he called Ancestral Injunctions (first published in 1375, revised twice more before he died in 1398). These rules served as a constitution for the Ming dynasty for the next 250 years. The oldest written document still governing

2445-437: A pivotal role in shifting the economic axis from the Brazilian northeast (based on sugarcane, that starts declining in the 18th century) to the southeast of the country, which still remains the major economic center. The large amounts of gold found in the region attracted the attention of Portugal back to Brazil, progressively turning Rio de Janeiro into an important port city, from where these would be shipped to Portugal and where

2608-440: A predominance of the former initially and a predominance of the latter later. Religion in Minas Gerais (2010) According to the 2010 Brazilian census , most of the population consider themselves to be Catholic, which puts the state in ninth place when considering the percentage of the population belonging to this religion (70.4%). Although the number of Catholics has been gradually decreasing in recent years, Roman Catholicism

2771-511: A result, that same year the Captaincy of Minas Gerais was created after the dismemberment of São Paulo e Minas do Ouro. The first capital of Minas Gerais, and seat of the local see, was the city of Mariana; it was later moved to Vila Rica. In the late 18th century, Vila Rica was the largest city in Brazil and one of the most populous in the Americas. The Portuguese Crown then began to strictly control

2934-487: A second runway in 2005. In 2003, the fourth phase of the passenger terminal expansion was completed. It raised its capacity to 7.4 million passengers a year. The third floor of the main building, with 12 thousand square meters, has a panoramic deck, a food court , shops , four movie theaters with total capacity of 500 people, and space for exhibitions. There are a total of 136 shop spots at the Brasília Airport. There

3097-622: A short stretch along the Preto River with Minas Gerais . The District's eastern boundary is marked by the aforementioned Preto River, an eventual tributary of the São Francisco , and its western boundary by the Descoberto , an eventual tributary of the Río de la Plata . The northern and southern boundaries are roughly straight lines. The Federal District has a tropical savanna climate ( Aw according to

3260-826: A single code until the Codex Theodosianus (438 AD); later, in the Eastern Empire, the Codex repetitæ prælectionis (534) was highly influential throughout Europe. This was followed in the east by the Ecloga of Leo III the Isaurian (740) and the Basilica of Basil I (878). The Edicts of Ashoka established constitutional principles for the 3rd century BC Maurya king's rule in India . For constitutional principles almost lost to antiquity, see

3423-451: A sovereign nation today is that of San Marino . The Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini was written in Latin and consists of six books. The first book, with 62 articles, establishes councils, courts, various executive officers, and the powers assigned to them. The remaining books cover criminal and civil law and judicial procedures and remedies. Written in 1600, the document was based upon

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3586-529: A state council consisting of 21 members while executive authority was vested in the office of " Lord Protector of the Commonwealth ." This position was designated as a non-hereditary life appointment. The Instrument also required the calling of triennial Parliaments , with each sitting for at least five months. The Instrument of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last, codified constitution,

3749-462: A statute or statutory provision, it might have been adopted according to the procedures for adopting legislation. Sometimes the problem is not that a statute is unconstitutional, but that the application of it is, on a particular occasion, and a court may decide that while there are ways it could be applied that are constitutional, that instance was not allowed or legitimate. In such a case, only that application may be ruled unconstitutional. Historically,

3912-685: A study on topography, climate, geology, flora, fauna and other material resources of the region of the Central Highlands The area was known as Quadrilateral Cruls and was presented in 1894 to the Republican Government. In 1922 a commission of the Federal Government established the location in Goiás , but the project was closed. Only in 1955, during a few elections, the then presidential candidate Juscelino Kubitschek said he would transfer

4075-563: A style related to the classical European style , but marked by more a more chordal, homophonic sound, and they usually wrote for mixed groups of voices and instruments. In the 1720s, in the Jequitinhonha valley region, the discovery of diamonds occurred, although its discoverers did not recognize the value of this precious stone for decades. However, the Portuguese Crown, upon recognizing the region's mineral production, soon established

4238-407: A triangular shape. The pillars evoke reversed praying hands that deconstruct the gothic traditional church window pattern, but conserves the triangular vaginal shape of the stained-glasses. The curves present in many of Niemeyer's works pay homage to the beautifully built bodies of Brazilian women. The stained-glasses were designed by Marianne Peretti . Their disposition ensures natural lighting into

4401-452: A way of charging taxes in a similar way to the gold tax. The main diamond exploration center was close to where Arraial do Tijuco (today Diamantina ) emerged. At the height of gold mining, enslaved labor was essential for large landowners. In this way, the trade in slaves brought from the African continent to work in the mines intensified. Many slaves tried and managed to escape, which led to

4564-477: A whole. Monogamy and weddings in churches would only take root in Brazil in the 19th century, fitting the moral standards imposed by the Church. The role of women in colonial Minas Gerais was much more dynamic than it would be allowed by the standards of the time. Many women used to live on their own, were heads of family and worked, particularly the "women of color" and former slaves. The society of Minas Gerais provided

4727-529: Is a rapid transit system, the Federal District Metro , serving some cities. It is operated by Companhia do Metropolitano do Distrito Federal (Metro Company of the Federal District) and was inaugurated in 2001. The system has 29 stations (24 in operation) on two lines, and operates from 06:00 to 23:30, Monday to Friday and from 07:00 to 19:00 on weekends. It serves the southern half of Brasília and

4890-401: Is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights . Changes to constitutions frequently require consensus or supermajority . The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any country in

5053-633: Is considered part of the compilation of Constitutions) until 1716, when Philip V of Spain gave the Nueva Planta decrees , finishing with the historical laws of Catalonia . These Constitutions were usually made formally as a royal initiative, but required for its approval or repeal the favorable vote of the Catalan Courts , the medieval antecedent of the modern Parliaments. These laws, like other modern constitutions, had preeminence over other laws, and they could not be contradicted by mere decrees or edicts of

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5216-690: Is derived from the tribe of the Maxakali . The Maxakalisaurus fossils belonged to an animal about 13 meters (43.3 ft) long, with an estimated weight of 9 tons, although, according to paleontologist Alexander Kellner , it could reach a length of approximately 20 meters (65 ft). It had a long neck and tail, ridged teeth (unusual among sauropods) and lived about 80 million years ago. Because sauropods seem to have lacked significant competition in South America, they evolved there with greater diversity and more unusual traits than elsewhere in

5379-413: Is found to be beyond power will be "invalid" and of no force; this applies to primary legislation, requiring constitutional authorization, and secondary legislation, ordinarily requiring statutory authorization. In this context, "within power", intra vires , "authorized" and "valid" have the same meaning; as do "beyond power", ultra vires , "not authorized" and "invalid". In most but not all modern states

5542-489: Is historically explainable: southern Minas Gerais, in the border with São Paulo , received larger numbers of Portuguese farmers in colonial times. In the late 19th century, Italian immigrants also arrived. The north region, close to Bahia , was a place to the arrival of many African slaves since the 18th century. The central part of the state, where the capital Belo Horizonte is, has a more balanced ratio between White, Black and mixed people. The population of Minas Gerais

5705-606: Is home to two nationally-recognized football clubs: Brasiliense Futebol Clube (from Taguatinga ) and Sociedade Esportiva do Gama (or simply Gama), both of which have played in the first division of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the best result in their history being Brasiliense's runner-up finish in the 2002 edition of the Copa do Brasil. The main soccer stadiums are the Estádio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha ,

5868-515: Is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil , being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 census . Located in the Southeast Region of the country, it is bordered to south and southwest by São Paulo ; Mato Grosso do Sul to the west; Goiás and the Federal District to the northwest; Bahia to

6031-457: Is speculated that vegetable cultivation occurred, in particular corn, and that two thousand years ago, ceramic products were already being manufactured. More than a hundred indigenous groups inhabited the current territory of Minas Gerais at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese. In the valleys of the Doce , Jequitinhonha and Mucuri rivers, people generally known as " botocudos " lived, such as

6194-570: Is still strongly rooted in Minas Gerais' culture, especially in rural areas and inland cities where celebrations and festivities organized by community parishes are common, but religious pluralism has also grown in recent years. Almost four million inhabitants are evangelical. According to the number of followers, the Assembleias de Deus (more than seven hundred thousand followers), the Baptist Church (more than five hundred thousand followers) and

6357-455: Is subdivided into 853 municipalities , the largest number among Brazilian states. The state's terrain is quite rugged and some of Brazil's highest peaks are located in its territory. It is also home to the source of some of Brazil's main rivers, such as the São Francisco and Grande rivers, which places it in a strategic position with regard to the country's water resources. It has a tropical climate , which varies from colder and humid in

6520-415: Is the largest component of GDP at 47.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 44.1%. agriculture represents 8.8% of GDP (2004). Main exports: mineral products 44.4%, metals 15.8%, vegetable products 13%, precious metals 5.5%, foodstuffs 4.9%, transportation 3.5% (2012). Its share of the Brazilian economy in 2005 was 9%. Minas Gerais had an industrial GDP of R $ 128.4 billion in 2017, equivalent to 10.7% of

6683-513: Is the result of an intense mixture of peoples, particularly between Black Africans and Portuguese. In colonial Minas Gerais, the population was divided in five different categories: Whites , mostly Portuguese; Africans , who often did not have a surname and were usually known for their region of origin (for example Francisca Benguela would refer to Benguela ); Crioulos (Black people born in Brazil, usually to both African parents); Mulattoes (people of mixed Black and White ancestry, usually born to

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6846-488: Is to be governed. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution ; if they are encompassed in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution . The Constitution of the United Kingdom is a notable example of an uncodified constitution ; it is instead written in numerous fundamental acts of

7009-741: The 2013 Confederations Cup matches and one of the twelve for the 2014 World Cup, whose matches took place at the Mané Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia. The stadium is located in the Ayrton Senna Multisport Complex (formerly the Sports Sector), which also includes the Nilson Nelson Sports Gymnasium , which has hosted matches for the men's and women's volleyball teams and the 2008 Futsal World Cup. In

7172-563: The Byzantine emperors ' Novellae (most were taken from Justinian 's Novellae). The Nomocanon was a completely new compilation of civil and canonical regulations, taken from Byzantine sources but completed and reformed by St. Sava to function properly in Serbia. Besides decrees that organized the life of the church, there are various norms regarding civil life; most of these were taken from Prohiron. Legal transplants of Roman - Byzantine law became

7335-611: The Code of Ur-Nammu of Ur (c. 2050 BC). Some of the better-known ancient law codes are the code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin , the code of Hammurabi of Babylonia , the Hittite code , the Assyrian code , and Mosaic law . In 621 BC, a scribe named Draco codified the oral laws of the city-state of Athens ; this code prescribed the death penalty for many offenses (thus creating the modern term "draconian" for very strict rules). In 594 BC, Solon ,

7498-543: The Constitution of the United States of America (U.S. Constitution), which is the oldest and shortest written constitution still in force, close to 800 constitutions have been adopted and subsequently amended around the world by independent states. In the late 18th century, Thomas Jefferson predicted that a period of 20 years would be the optimal time for any constitution to be still in force, since "the earth belongs to

7661-702: The Court of Justice of the Federal District and of the Territories only serves the Federal District. Part of the budget of the Federal District Government comes from the Constitutional Fund of the Federal District. In 2012, the fund totaled 9.6 billion reais. By 2015, the forecast was of 12.4 billion Reais, with more than half (6.4% of the total) billion for public security expenditures. Located in Brasília,

7824-606: The Estádio Elmo Serejo Farias (Serejão) and the Estádio Walmir Campelo Bezerra (Bezerrão) . The Edson Arantes do Nascimento Stadium (Pelezão) was the city's first and main stadium at the time of its inauguration, but was abandoned and demolished in 2009. The Federal District is a departing point for the practice of free flying sports , a sport that may be practiced with hang gliding or paragliding wings. Practitioners of such sports say that because of

7987-590: The Foursquare Church (almost three hundred and fifty thousand adherents) stand out. Around 420 thousand people in the state are followers of Spiritism , whose important promoter in Brazil was the Minas Gerais-born medium Chico Xavier . There are also several other religious minorities in the state, including Umbanda and Candomblé , which together have less than twenty thousand followers and whose rituals are sometimes confused with folk traditions. Almost

8150-716: The Grandees of the New Model Army had presented the Heads of Proposals as their alternative to the more radical Agreement of the People presented by the Agitators and their civilian supporters at the Putney Debates . The Instrument of Government was adopted by Parliament on 15 December 1653, and Oliver Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day. The constitution set up

8313-501: The House of Commons . The Nomocanon of Saint Sava ( Serbian : Законоправило/Zakonopravilo ) was the first Serbian constitution from 1219. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of civil law , based on Roman Law , and canon law , based on Ecumenical Councils . Its basic purpose was to organize the functioning of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church . Saint Sava began

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8476-565: The Humble Petition and Advice , proposed by Sir Christopher Packe . The Petition offered hereditary monarchy to Oliver Cromwell , asserted Parliament 's control over issuing new taxation , provided an independent council to advise the king and safeguarded "Triennial" meetings of Parliament. A modified version of the Humble Petition with the clause on kingship removed was ratified on 25 May. This finally met its demise in conjunction with

8639-508: The IBGE census of 2007, there were 2,393,000 people residing in the Federal District. The population density was 410.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,064/sq mi). The Federal District is subdivided into 35 administrative regions. The Federal District is located in the Brazilian Highlands , having an altitude between 600 and 1,100 meters above sea level, with its highest point being

8802-633: The Instrument of Government included elements incorporated from an earlier document " Heads of Proposals ", which had been agreed to by the Army Council in 1647, as a set of propositions intended to be a basis for a constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the First English Civil War . Charles had rejected the propositions, but before the start of the Second Civil War,

8965-610: The Kayapos and Araxás, while the Zona da Mata was populated by the Puri . The region of Minas Gerais close to the border with São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás was occupied by the Bororós . However, during the first centuries of the colonization of Brazil, the indigenous people of this region were captured by the bandeirantes to be enslaved and the groups that revolted were exterminated, which caused

9128-696: The Lord High Chancellor of Sweden Axel Oxenstierna after the death of king Gustavus Adolphus . This can be seen as the first written constitution adopted by a modern state. In 1639, the Colony of Connecticut adopted the Fundamental Orders , which was the first North American constitution. It is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also the reason for Connecticut 's nickname, "the Constitution State ". On 4 January 1649,

9291-483: The Maxakalis , Maconis, Naquenuques, Aranãs, Krenaks and Pataxós . Northern Minas Gerais was dominated by the Kiriris and Xakriabás . Center, western and southern Minas Gerais were inhabited by the Cataguás, who were the most numerous indigenous group in Minas Gerais' territory in colonial times, so much so that the region was known as "Campos Gerais dos Cataguases" in the time of the bandeirantes . The regions of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba were inhabited by

9454-441: The Pico do Roncador , in Serra do Sobradinho. In area, the Federal District is more than double the size of Tokyo (Japan) or the island of Maui ( Hawaii , United States). Comparing dry land areas, it is slightly larger than French Polynesia , the US State of Rhode Island , or Cape Verde . It is slightly smaller than Bali (Indonesia) or Trinidad and Tobago . The District is surrounded in almost its entirety by Goiás except for

9617-435: The Rump Parliament declared "that the people are, under God, the original of all just power; that the Commons of England, being chosen by and representing the people, have the supreme power in this nation". The English Protectorate set up by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War promulgated the first detailed written constitution adopted by a modern state; it was called the Instrument of Government . This formed

9780-498: The Salic Law of the Franks , all written soon after 500. In 506, the Breviarum or "Lex Romana" of Alaric II , king of the Visigoths, adopted and consolidated the Codex Theodosianus together with assorted earlier Roman laws. Systems that appeared somewhat later include the Edictum Rothari of the Lombards (643), the Lex Visigothorum (654), the Lex Alamannorum (730), and the Lex Frisionum (c. 785). These continental codes were all composed in Latin, while Anglo-Saxon

9943-413: The Statuti Comunali (Town Statute) of 1300, itself influenced by the Codex Justinianus , and it remains in force today. In 1392 the Carta de Logu was legal code of the Giudicato of Arborea promulgated by the giudicessa Eleanor . It was in force in Sardinia until it was superseded by the code of Charles Felix in April 1827. The Carta was a work of great importance in Sardinian history. It

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10106-492: The Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash c.  2300 BC . Perhaps the earliest prototype for a law of government, this document itself has not yet been discovered; however it is known that it allowed some rights to his citizens. For example, it is known that it relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protected the poor from the usury of the rich. After that, many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be

10269-444: The Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System are said to have eclipsed the constitution in importance as a frame of government in practice. Developing a legal and political tradition of strict adherence to constitutional provisions is considered foundational to the rule of law . Excavations in modern-day Iraq by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice , issued by

10432-401: The code of Manu . Many of the Germanic peoples that filled the power vacuum left by the Western Roman Empire in the Early Middle Ages codified their laws. One of the first of these Germanic law codes to be written was the Visigothic Code of Euric (471 AD). This was followed by the Lex Burgundionum , applying separate codes for Germans and for Romans; the Pactus Alamannorum ; and

10595-420: The village of São Paulo in 1674, stand out. In the 17th century, the colonization of northern Minas Gerais began, with the settlement of cattle herders, due to the expansion of livestock farming in the northeastern Sertão , and of bandeirantes , in search of precious stones and indigenous people to enslave. Between 1692 and 1693, the bandeirante Antônio Rodrigues Arzão discovered the first gold deposits in

10758-479: The "Parque da Cidade" ("City Park"), officially the "Parque da Cidade Sarah Kubitschek", is named after the wife of Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek , extends over four million square meters. It includes landscape works of Burle Marx , and wall tiles that decorate restrooms in the park designed by Athos Bulcão . Equipped with sports courts, a horse track, a racing kart track, skate tracks, playgrounds for children, bicycle tracks and trails for walks and jogging,

10921-521: The 18th century. Printed copies of European music, as well as accomplished musicians, made the journey to the area, and soon a local school of composition and performance was born and achieved considerable sophistication. Several composers worked in Minas Gerais in the 18th century, mainly in Vila Rica, Sabará, Mariana, and other cities. Some of the names which have survived include José Joaquim Emerico Lobo de Mesquita , Marcos Coelho Neto , Francisco Gomes da Rocha and Ignácio Parreiras Neves; they cultivated

11084-431: The Americas. Luzia was found in 1974 in excavations in Lapa Vermelha, a cave between the municipalities of Lagoa Santa and Pedro Leopoldo , in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte . Based on the analysis of Luzia and her people's cranial morphology, it was theorized that they had Australoid features, having belonged to a population that arrived in the Americas before the ancestors of Amerindians . However, with

11247-415: The Brazilian Constitution of 1988: The Federal District is a legal entity of internal public law , which is part of the political-administrative structure of Brazil, of a nature sui generis , because it is neither a state nor a municipality , but a special entity that accumulates the legislative powers reserved to the states and the municipalities, as provided in art. 32, § 1º of the CF, which gives it

11410-433: The Brazilian economy is 3.7% as of 2005. Brasília International Airport is the third largest in Brazil in terms of passenger movement. Because of its strategic location it is considered a civil aviation hub for the rest of the country. This makes for a large number of takeoffs and landings and it is not unusual for flights to have to wait in the holding pattern to land. Following the airport 's master plan, Infraero built

11573-437: The City Park attracts thousands of people everyday, specially on weekends. The park's main entrance is located in the Monumental Axis South, but there are secondary exits that lead to other areas in the city's south wing. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer , it was inaugurated in 1970. Its shape is circular horizontally and structured around 16 curved pillars, forming a crown filled with futuristic and/or spatial stained-glass works in

11736-805: The Esplanada dos Ministérios, or Ministries Sector. Praça dos Três Poderes concentrates some of the most important and significant buildings in the work and career of Oscar Niemeyer — the Planalto Palace, headquarters of Brazilian Presidency; the National Congress, hosting the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate; and the Higher Courts of Justice. The Square also hosts: the Panteão da Pátria (Pantheon of

11899-534: The Fatherland), the Lúcio Costa Space and three important sculptures — "Pombal", by Niemeyer; "Justice", by Alfredo Ceschiatti; and "Os Candangos", by Bruno Giorgi . In the central plaza, a giant Brazilian national flag 286 square meters (3,080 sq ft) is supported by a triangular black 100-meter (330 ft) and high pole. It is located at the end of the Esplanada dos Ministérios. In addition to being

12062-537: The Federal District is represented by the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District , whose nomenclature represents a mixture of legislative assembly (legislative power of the other units of the federation) and municipal chamber (legislative of the municipalities). The Legislative Chamber is made up of 24 district deputies. The judicial power which serves the Federal District also serves federal territories. Brazil does not have territories currently, therefore,

12225-482: The Federal District, the city of Brasília is the site of the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet , which hosted a non-championship round of the 1974 Formula One Grand Prix season . An IndyCar race that was scheduled to occur at the circuit was cancelled at the last minute in 2015 due to financial problems. The track, which has been closed since 2015, is being renovated for the end of 2023 by

12388-453: The Köppen system ), with a rainy season from October to April, and a dry season from May to September. The altitude moderates temperatures, which throughout the year are very warm rather than uncomfortably hot: maxima range from 25 to 28 °C or 77 to 82 °F throughout the year. During the dry season (winter), the humidity can reach very low level with dangerous fire risks, mainly during

12551-541: The Portuguese crown would eventually move its administration in 1808 after Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Portugal (see Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil ). Due to the economic importance of the state and the particular traits of the local population—famed for its reserved and balanced character—Minas Gerais has also played an important role on national politics. During the 19th century, politicians such as José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva were instrumental in

12714-510: The Portuguese used enslaved African labor to start building the Estrada Real , the "royal road," that would connect the ports of cities of Rio de Janeiro and Paraty to the mineral-rich regions of Vila Rica, Serro, and, at the northernmost point, Diamantina. São Paulo settlers considered themselves owners of the gold taken from the mines, claiming the right due to having discovered and conquered it, and did not want others to take possession of

12877-617: The Wise the Grand Prince of Kiev , was granted to Great Novgorod around 1017, and in 1054 was incorporated into the Russkaya Pravda ; it became the law for all of Kievan Rus' . It survived only in later editions of the 15th century. In England, Henry I's proclamation of the Charter of Liberties in 1100 bound the king for the first time in his treatment of the clergy and the nobility. This idea

13040-506: The aisle, which was built below street level. Around the church, in the outside area, visitors can see Alfredo Ceschiatti's sculptures — the four evangelists — and inside, suspended angels. There are also paintings by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti , representing the stages of the Passion of Christ , and paintings by Athos Bulcão. The cathedral is located in the Eixo Monumental mall, at the entry to

13203-546: The analysis of the genetic material of the human remains of the Lagoa Santa People, it was found that this prehistoric population had completely Amerindian DNA, therefore ruling out any relationship with Australasian populations and the theory that the peopling of the Americas was due to a wave of individuals with Australoid traits and another of Mongoloid individuals. The indigenous peoples of Minas Gerais, as well as throughout Brazil and South America, are descendants of

13366-584: The arrows form a lozenge in the middle, a reference to yellow lozenge of the national flag, that stands for Brazil's mineral riches. The flag was created by the poet and herald Guilherme de Almeida , and was adopted by decree n.o 1090 on August 25, 1969. The Federal District has eight seats in the Chamber of Deputies and three in the Federal Senate . Its population also votes its governor and district deputies (which function as both state deputies and aldermen in

13529-477: The basis of government for the short-lived republic from 1653 to 1657 by providing a legal rationale for the increasing power of Cromwell after Parliament consistently failed to govern effectively. Most of the concepts and ideas embedded into modern constitutional theory, especially bicameralism , separation of powers , the written constitution, and judicial review , can be traced back to the experiments of that period. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653,

13692-628: The basis of the Serbian medieval law. The essence of Zakonopravilo was based on Corpus Iuris Civilis . Stefan Dušan , emperor of Serbs and Greeks, enacted Dušan's Code ( Serbian : Душанов Законик/Dušanov Zakonik ) in Serbia , in two state congresses: in 1349 in Skopje and in 1354 in Serres . It regulated all social spheres, so it was the second Serbian constitution, after St. Sava's Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo). The Code

13855-470: The basis of universal consensus of all chiefs following discussions that were initiated by a single nation. The position of Sachem descends through families and are allocated by the senior female clan heads, though, prior to the filling of the position, candidacy is ultimately democratically decided by the community itself. In 1634 the Kingdom of Sweden adopted the 1634 Instrument of Government , drawn up under

14018-507: The best Colombia-origin emeralds, and are most often a bluish-green color. Each region of the state has a distinct character, geographically and to a certain extent culturally. According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics ( IBGE ), which succeeded the division in mesoregions and microregions (1988), the state is now divided in 13 intermediate geographic regions , each one divided in immediate geographic regions (70 total in

14181-541: The capital. Elected president, he established the construction of Brasilia as a meta-synthesis of his Plano de Metas . In 1956, after being elected to the presidency, JK, on his own initiative, sent a message to Congress proposing the creation of the New Capital Urbanization Company (Novacap). After the congress approved the project, in September of the same year, the president signed the law that created

14344-519: The captaincy São Paulo e Minas de Ouro. The most notable one, however, was the Minas Gerais conspiracy , started in 1789 by a group of middle-class colonists, mostly intellectuals and young officers. They were inspired by the American and French Enlightenment ideals. The conspiracy failed and the rebels were arrested and exiled. The most famous of them, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (known as Tiradentes),

14507-454: The company. As a result, Novacap, a public company, was given the task of planning and executing the construction of the federal capital in the region delimited by General José Pessoa. After a public competition to select the city's pilot plan, a judging committee chose the urban design by architect Lúcio Costa, which was unanimously approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. This also made

14670-658: The compass stands for the centralized emanating political power of Brasília, as the capital of the country. The yellow arrows also form a cross, which symbolizes both the Southern Cross , a constellation seen only in the Southern Hemisphere and the Roman Catholic or Christian symbol of redemption brought by Pedro Álvares Cabral and under whose shadow the first Mass in Brazil was celebrated in 1500 in Bahia. With their feathers,

14833-402: The constitution has supremacy over ordinary statutory law (see Uncodified constitution below); in such states when an official act is unconstitutional, i.e. it is not a power granted to the government by the constitution, that act is null and void , and the nullification is ab initio , that is, from inception, not from the date of the finding. It was never "law", even though, if it had been

14996-477: The constitution-making process either takes too long or is extremely short were non-democracies. In principle, constitutional rights are not a specific characteristic of democratic countries. Autocratic states have constitutions, such as that of North Korea , which officially grants every citizen, among other things, the freedom of expression . However, the extent to which governments abide by their own constitutional provisions varies. In North Korea, for example,

15159-432: The constitutional or statutory authority of those officials are termed "within power" (or, in Latin, intra vires ); if they do not, they are termed "beyond power" (or, in Latin, ultra vires ). For example, a students' union may be prohibited as an organization from engaging in activities not concerning students; if the union becomes involved in non-student activities, these activities are considered to be ultra vires of

15322-540: The cultural movements, the work of Aleijadinho and Master Ataíde stands out, among others, which allowed the flourishing of a local Baroque . Aleijadinho's sculptural and architectural work, as exhibited in the Twelve Prophets and The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto, are prime examples of this period. In addition to art and architecture, there was an explosion of musical activity in Minas Gerais in

15485-685: The death of Cromwell and the Restoration of the monarchy. All of the British colonies in North America that were to become the 13 original United States, adopted their own constitutions in 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution (and before the later Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution ), with the exceptions of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its Constitution in 1780,

15648-479: The district's dry weather it offers strong thermal winds and great "cloud-streets" – which is also the name for a manoeuvre quite appreciated by practitioners. The district hosted the 14th Hang Gliding World Championship – one of the categories of free flying – in 2003. In August 2005, it hosted the 2nd stage of the Brazilian Hang Gliding Championship. Brasilia was one of the six host cities for

15811-543: The document focuses more on social morality than on institutions of government, and remains a notable early attempt at a government constitution. The Constitution of Medina ( Arabic : صحیفة المدینه , Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīna), also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad after his flight ( hijra ) to Yathrib where he became political leader. It constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of

15974-478: The drafting of Japan 's 1946 Constitution, the bureaucrats drafted everything in no more than a week. Japan has the oldest unamended constitution in the world. The record for the shortest overall process of drafting, adoption, and ratification of a national constitution belongs to the Romania 's 1938 constitution, which installed a royal dictatorship in less than a month. Studies showed that typically extreme cases where

16137-436: The emergence of quilombos throughout Minas Gerais. It is estimated that during the 18th century more than 120 of these communities emerged throughout the captaincy. These settlements were not so far from mining centers, which made it easier for more slaves to escape. There was also a trade in subsistence products between slaves and traders, who took advantage of the lower price offered by the former. In 1753, Rosa Egipcíaca ,

16300-458: The emergence of the first settlements. The news of the discovery of gold soon spread, initiating a gold rush , and in the following decades hundreds of thousands of people eager for wealth, mainly Portuguese (which included New Christians ), but also colonial Brazilians from São Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, settled in Minas Gerais. The arrival of large numbers of people in a short time led to epidemics and food shortages. In 1697,

16463-559: The establishment of the Brazilian Empire under the rule of Pedro I and later his son, Pedro II . After the installation of the First Brazilian Republic , during the early 20th century, Minas Gerais shared the control of the national political scene with São Paulo in what became known as the " coffee with milk politics " (coffee being the major product of São Paulo, and milk representing Minas Gerais' dairy industry, despite

16626-540: The first civil president after the 1964 military coup. However, he died after a series of health complications just as he was about to assume the position. Also, Itamar Franco , former president of Brazil, lived there, though he was not born in Minas Gerais. Minas Gerais features some of the longest rivers in Brazil, most notably the São Francisco , the Paraná and to a lesser extent, the Doce river . The state also holds many hydroelectric power plants, including Furnas . Some of

16789-507: The first large consumer market in Brazil. Villages appeared along these access points, therefore playing a key role in the population of the captaincy. Among these routes, the Caminho Novo stands out, which connected the mining regions to Rio de Janeiro. The intense mix of people associated with wealth from gold and urban life led to the formation of a new, culturally diverse society, with several musicians, artists, sculptors and artisans. Among

16952-581: The first of its kind in Minas Gerais. The territory is situated within the Serra da Galga Formation , where more than 10,000 fossils of various prehistoric creatures have been unearthed. Among these discoveries, the Uberabatitan ribeiroi found in 2004 ranks among the largest ever discovered in Latin America. According to the 2022 census , there were 20,539,989 people residing in the state. The population density

17115-799: The fold of one community – the Ummah . The precise dating of the Constitution of Medina remains debated, but generally, scholars agree it was written shortly after the Hijra (622). In Wales , the Cyfraith Hywel (Law of Hywel) was codified by Hywel Dda c. 942–950. It served as the main law code in Wales until it was superseded by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . The Pravda Yaroslava , originally combined by Yaroslav

17278-468: The following decades, other expeditions known as "entries", coming from the Brazil's northeastern coast, traveled through this same region, such as that of Sebastião Fernandes Tourinho in 1573. From the end of the 16th century, bandeirantes traveled the territory of Minas Gerais in search of gold and precious stones. Many of their expeditions were supported by the Portuguese Crown, among which those of Fernão Dias and his son-in-law Borba Gato , who left

17441-547: The foot of the Itacolomi Peak and founded his settlement there, the embryo of Vila Rica (currently Ouro Preto ). In 1702, João de Siqueira Afonso discovered precious stones in the Rio das Mortes valley. Initially, gold was extracted from riverbeds, which forced miners to move as the deposits ran out. After some time, exploration also began to be carried out on mountain slopes, which forced the permanent settlement of miners, leading to

17604-499: The former slaves were women and only 37% men. Since interracial relationships between "women of color" and White men were widespread, the female slaves were more likely to be freed than the male slaves. The monogamous family structure that the Catholic Church tried to deploy in colonial Brazil was the exception in Minas Gerais. At that time cohabitation and temporary relationships predominated in Minas Gerais, as well as in Brazil as

17767-491: The groups who migrated there through North America. In the region of the municipalities of Januária , Montalvânia , Itacarambi and Juvenília , in northern Minas Gerais, archaeological excavations have led to estimates that the initial settlement occurred at Luzia's time. Starting in this period, cultural characteristics emerged, such as the use of stone or bone, the creation of cemeteries and small grain silos, as well as cave paintings. Later, about four thousand years ago, it

17930-674: The highest peaks in Brazil are in the mountain ranges in the southern part of the state, such as the Mantiqueira Mountains and Serra do Cervo, that mark the border between Minas and its neighbors São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The most notable one is the Bandeira peak , the third highest mountain in Brazil at 2,890 m, standing on the border with Espírito Santo state. The state also has huge reserves of iron and sizeable reserves of gold and gemstones, including emerald , topaz and aquamarine mines. Emeralds found in this location are comparable to

18093-572: The king. The Kouroukan Founga was a 13th-century charter of the Mali Empire in West Africa , reconstructed from oral tradition in 1988 by Siriman Kouyaté . It included the "right to life and to the preservation of physical integrity" and significant protections for women. The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by a Reichstag in Nuremberg headed by Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for

18256-423: The late 17th century. The mining of gold brought wealth and development to the then captaincy , providing its economic and cultural development; however, gold soon became scarce, causing the emigration of a large part of the population until a new cycle (that of coffee) once again brought Minas Gerais national prominence and whose end led to the relatively late industrialization process. Minas Gerais currently has

18419-417: The latter also being an important coffee producer). Minas Gerais was also home to two of the most influential Brazilian politicians of the second half of the 20th century. Juscelino Kubitschek was president from 1956 to 1961, and he was responsible for the construction of Brasília as the new capital of Brazil. Tancredo Neves had an extensive political career that culminated with his election in 1984 to be

18582-402: The legal judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land. This provision became the cornerstone of English liberty after that point. The social contract in the original case was between the king and the nobility but was gradually extended to all of the people. It led to the system of Constitutional Monarchy , with further reforms shifting the balance of power from the monarchy and nobility to

18745-785: The legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, well before the publication of Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws . This Constitution also limited the executive authority of the hetman , and established a democratically elected Cossack parliament called the General Council. However, Orlyk's project for an independent Ukrainian State never materialized, and his constitution, written in exile, never went into effect. Corsican Constitutions of 1755 and 1794 were inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau . The latter introduced universal suffrage for property owners. Minas Gerais Minas Gerais ( Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈminɐz ʒeˈɾajs] )

18908-603: The living, and not to the dead". Indeed, according to recent studies, the average life of any new written constitution is around 19 years. However, a great number of constitutions do not last more than 10 years, and around 10% do not last more than one year, as was the case of the French Constitution of 1791 . By contrast, some constitutions, notably that of the United States, have remained in force for several centuries, often without major revision for long periods of time. The most common reasons for these frequent changes are

19071-584: The main cities to the west. Its main problem is the large distance between many of the stations caused by the low housing density for such a system. This makes it a small component in the Federal District transit system where a low-efficiency bus network is still predominant. Águas Claras is well served by the metro, making it one of the fastest growing areas and the most dense in the Federal District. The non-operational stations include stations under construction and mothballed stations (complete and under construction) awaiting higher density. The Federal District

19234-563: The majority of the Minas Gerais genetic heritage, which has been explained on the basis of the extremely high mortality rates of the enslaved African population and lower reproductive rate of African slaves (the vast majority of them were males, among other reasons for their lower reproductive success). The Amerindian population was hit hard by the diseases brought by the European colonists and they did not have much of an impact either, especially in Minas Gerais, where European presence and colonization

19397-521: The mid-19th century, Danish paleontologist Peter Wilhelm Lund discovered, in the Lagoa Santa region, human remains belonging to a population that lived there thousands of years ago, nicknamed the "Lagoa Santa People". The region of Minas Gerais was inhabited by indigenous peoples as long as 11,400 to 12,000 years ago, based on the estimated age of the Luzia woman , the name of the oldest human fossil found in

19560-695: The mines. As a result, in 1707, they came into conflict with the Portuguese and other Brazilian settlers (nicknamed " emboabas ", a Tupi term that means "one who offends"), causing the War of the Emboabas , which ended in 1709. The São Paulo settlers were defeated and many of them had to abandon the gold deposits in Minas Gerais, having to look for the metal in what is now the Central-West region of Brazil, finding it years later in Goiás and Mato Grosso . Prior to 1720, Minas Gerais

19723-412: The mining of gold, instating a 20% tax of everything that was produced, which became known as "the fifth". The captaincy's population continued to grow, but until then there were only small subsistence agricultural crops, which required the import of products from other regions of the colony. New access ways to the region began to be created and the flow of people and goods increased intensely, thus creating

19886-408: The mining spots, whose economic space was urban in origin. Part of the history of the current state of Minas Gerais was determined by the exploration of the great mineral wealth found in its territory. Its name, in fact, comes from the large quantity and variety of mines present, which began to be explored since the 17th century and to this day drive an important fraction of the state's economy. In

20049-408: The municipalities), but not regional administrators, which are appointed by the governor itself, respecting the government centrality of the Federal District. Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity , organization or other type of entity , and commonly determines how that entity

20212-606: The name Brasília official, as well as the choice of Oscar Niemeyer as architect and Joaquim Cardozo as structural engineer. Construction began that same year, under the supervision of Oscar Niemeyer and Israel Pinheiro. The Bandeirante Nucleus was then formed, with candangos (workers who worked on the construction of Brasilia, initially from Goiás, Minas Gerais and mainly the Northeast). Earthworks began in November 1956. Thirty thousand workers built Brasília in 41 months. Israel Pinheiro

20375-438: The north and northeast; Espírito Santo to the east; and Rio de Janeiro to the southeast. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte , is a major urban and finance center in Brazil, being the sixth most populous municipality in the country while its metropolitan area ranks as the third largest in Brazil with just over 5.8 million inhabitants, after those of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro . Minas Gerais' territory

20538-601: The oldest still-functioning constitution of any U.S. state; while Connecticut and Rhode Island officially continued to operate under their old colonial charters, until they adopted their first state constitutions in 1818 and 1843, respectively. What is sometimes called the "enlightened constitution" model was developed by philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment such as Thomas Hobbes , Jean-Jacques Rousseau , and John Locke . The model proposed that constitutional governments should be stable, adaptable, accountable, open and should represent

20701-447: The peak hours of the hottest days. The artificial Paranoá Lake , with almost 40 km (15 sq mi) and 500 million cubic metres (410,000  acre⋅ft ) of water, was built to minimize the severe drought and consequent flammability of the dry season in the cerrado region. The politics and administration of the Federal District are distinguished from the other units of the federation in some particular points, as defined in

20864-535: The people (i.e., support democracy ). Agreements and Constitutions of Laws and Freedoms of the Zaporizian Host was written in 1710 by Pylyp Orlyk , hetman of the Zaporozhian Host . It was written to establish a free Zaporozhian-Ukrainian Republic , with the support of Charles XII of Sweden . It is notable in that it established a democratic standard for the separation of powers in government between

21027-522: The political center, the Federal District is also an important economic center, being the seventh federal unit with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Brazil (171.2 billion reais - 2012) and the highest GDP per capita in the country, 64,653 reais (2012). The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 92.5%, followed by the industrial sector at 7.1%. Agriculture represents 0.4% of GDP (2004). Federal District exports: soybean 77.1% and gold 16.4% (2002). The Federal District's share of

21190-449: The political desire for an immediate outcome and the short time devoted to the constitutional drafting process. A study in 2009 showed that the average time taken to draft a constitution is around 16 months, however there were also some extreme cases registered. For example, the Myanmar 2008 Constitution was being secretly drafted for more than 17 years, whereas at the other extreme, during

21353-514: The population varies from town to town. For example, in Córrego do Bom Jesus, a small town located in the extreme south of Minas Gerais, White people make up 98.7% of the population. The South of Minas Gerais is both the most European and the most densely populated part of the state. On the other hand, in Setubinha , located in the northeast part of the state, 71.8% are mixed-race and 14.7% Black . It

21516-420: The primary condition that it abides by the constitution's limitations. According to Scott Gordon, a political organization is constitutional to the extent that it "contain[s] institutionalized mechanisms of power control for the protection of the interests and liberties of the citizenry , including those that may be in the minority ". Activities of officials within an organization or polity that fall within

21679-612: The region. Due to the large quantity of fossils uncovered, the Paleontological Research Center Llewellyn Ivor Price was established in 1991, alongside the Dinosaurs Museum in Peirópolis , which is currently dedicated to the study of local paleontology in collaboration with research institutions worldwide. In March 2024, Uberaba was officially designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark , marking it as

21842-676: The reign of Zara Yaqob . Even so, its first recorded use in the function of a constitution (supreme law of the land) is with Sarsa Dengel beginning in 1563. The Fetha Negest remained the supreme law in Ethiopia until 1931, when a modern-style Constitution was first granted by Emperor Haile Selassie I. In the Principality of Catalonia , the Catalan constitutions were promulgated by the Court from 1283 (or even two centuries before, if Usatges of Barcelona

22005-416: The remedies for such violations have been petitions for common law writs , such as quo warranto . Scholars debate whether a constitution must necessarily be autochthonous , resulting from the nations "spirit". Hegel said "A constitution...is the work of centuries; it is the idea, the consciousness of rationality so far as that consciousness is developed in a particular nation." Since 1789, along with

22168-675: The ruler of Athens, created the new Solonian Constitution . It eased the burden of the workers, and determined that membership of the ruling class was to be based on wealth ( plutocracy ), rather than on birth ( aristocracy ). Cleisthenes again reformed the Athenian constitution and set it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. Aristotle (c. 350 BC) was the first to make a formal distinction between ordinary law and constitutional law, establishing ideas of constitution and constitutionalism , and attempting to classify different forms of constitutional government. The most basic definition he used to describe

22331-580: The significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known as Medina ), including Muslims , Jews , and pagans . The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end the bitter intertribal fighting between the clans of the Aws ( Aus ) and Khazraj within Medina. To this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, and pagan communities of Medina bringing them within

22494-539: The society of Minas Gerais, once restricted to Whites. This happened through a process of "whitening" their descendence and through the assimilation of the culture of the White elite, like being members of Catholic brotherhoods. Cohabitation was the most common crime in Minas Gerais. The Catholic Church was strict in the punishment of this crime, in order to prevent the widespread miscegenation between White, mostly Portuguese males with Black or Mulatto women. According to

22657-508: The south to semi-arid in its northern portion. All of these combined factors provide it with a rich fauna and flora distributed in the biomes that cover the state, especially the Cerrado and the threatened Atlantic Forest . Minas Gerais' territory was inhabited by indigenous peoples when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil . It experienced a large migration wave following the discovery of gold in

22820-418: The south, its tourist points are hydro-mineral spas, such as the municipalities of Caxambu , Lambari , São Lourenço , Poços de Caldas , São Thomé das Letras , Monte Verde (a district of Camanducaia ) and the national parks of Caparaó and Canastra . In the Serra do Cipó , Sete Lagoas , Cordisburgo and Lagoa Santa , the caves and waterfalls are the main attractions. The people of Minas Gerais also have

22983-414: The state-owned Banco de Brasília . The white background of the flag stands for peace, and gives the idea of infinity, or the vast Brazilian territory. The green and yellow colours in the middle refer to the most commonly used of the four colours of the national flag to represent Brazil. The four yellow arrows symbolize the native nations of Brazil, whereas their pointing into the four cardinal directions of

23146-430: The supreme law used in parts of Germany as late as 1900. Around 1240, the Coptic Egyptian Christian writer, 'Abul Fada'il Ibn al-'Assal , wrote the Fetha Negest in Arabic . 'Ibn al-Assal took his laws partly from apostolic writings and Mosaic law and partly from the former Byzantine codes. There are a few historical records claiming that this law code was translated into Ge'ez and entered Ethiopia around 1450 in

23309-540: The term for significant and egregious violations of public trust, of a nature and extent that the transgression would justify a revolutionary response. The term as used by Blackstone was not for a legal text, nor did he intend to include the later American concept of judicial review : "for that were to set the judicial power above that of the legislature, which would be subversive of all government". Generally, every modern written constitution confers specific powers on an organization or institutional entity, established upon

23472-414: The territory of Minas Gerais. In the following years, bandeirantes from the towns of São Paulo and Taubaté traveled through the Das Velhas region looking for gold. In 1696, Salvador Fernandes Furtado discovered gold on the banks of the Carmo river and built his camp there, which gave rise to the town of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (now Mariana ). Two years later, Antônio Dias de Oliveira discovered gold at

23635-559: The third largest GDP among Brazilian states, with a large part of it still being the product of mining activities. The state also has a notable infrastructure, with a large number of hydroelectric plants and the largest road network in the country. Due to its natural beauty and historical heritage, Minas Gerais is an important tourist destination. It is known for its heritage of colonial architecture and art in historical cities such as Ouro Preto and Diamantina , São João del-Rei , Mariana , Tiradentes , Congonhas , Sabará and Serro . In

23798-412: The transfer the old Federal District, containing the city of Rio de Janeiro, became the state of Guanabara . This state existed from 1960 until 1975, when it merged with the state of Rio de Janeiro . With the merger the capital of Rio de Janeiro state was transferred back from Niterói to Rio de Janeiro itself (as it had been until 1834 when the empire created the Neutral Municipality ). According to

23961-459: The union's charter, and nobody would be compelled by the charter to follow them. An example from the constitutional law of sovereign states would be a provincial parliament in a federal state trying to legislate in an area that the constitution allocates exclusively to the federal parliament, such as ratifying a treaty. Action that appears to be beyond power may be judicially reviewed and, if found to be beyond power, must cease. Legislation that

24124-541: The whole state): The discovery of the Maxakalisaurus topai (Dinoprata) fossils was a significant paleontological find. The fossil is a genus of titanosaurid dinosaur found 45 kilometers (28 mi) from the city of Prata , in the state of Minas Gerais in 1998. It was closely related to Saltasaurus , a sauropod considered unusual because it had evolved apparently defensive traits, including bony plates on its skin and vertical plates along its spine; such osteoderms have also been found for Maxakalisaurus. The genus name

24287-409: The work on the Serbian Nomocanon in 1208 while he was at Mount Athos , using The Nomocanon in Fourteen Titles , Synopsis of Stefan the Efesian , Nomocanon of John Scholasticus , and Ecumenical Council documents, which he modified with the canonical commentaries of Aristinos and Joannes Zonaras , local church meetings, rules of the Holy Fathers , the law of Moses , the translation of Prohiron, and

24450-441: The world, with 146,385 words in its English-language version, while the Constitution of Monaco is the shortest written constitution with 3,814 words. The Constitution of San Marino might be the world's oldest active written constitution, since some of its core documents have been in operation since 1600, while the Constitution of the United States is the oldest active codified constitution. The historical life expectancy of

24613-440: The world. A replica has been displayed at the National Museum of Brazil , since August 28, 2006. In the 1940s, fossil records from the Late Cretaceous period began to be unearthed in the territory of Uberaba , many of them exceptionally well-preserved. Subsequently, extensive research efforts were initiated by the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), which appointed paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price to work in

24776-632: Was 35.02 inhabitants per square kilometre (90.7/sq mi). Urbanization : 85% (2006); Population growth : 1.4% (1991–2000); Houses: 5,741,000 (2006). The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 9,605,151 Brown ( Multiracial ) people (46.8%), 8,437,697 White people (41.1%), 2,432,877 Black people (11.8%), 31,885 Amerindian people (0.2%), 31,681 Asian people (0.2%). Ethnicities of Minas Gerais in 2022. Ethnic groups found in Minas Gerais include: Amerindians , Portuguese , Africans , Italians , Germans and Lebanese . The ethnic composition of

24939-407: Was a mixed system including monarchic, aristocratic, and democratic elements. He also distinguished between citizens, who had the right to participate in the state, and non-citizens and slaves, who did not. The Romans initially codified their constitution in 450 BC as the Twelve Tables . They operated under a series of laws that were added from time to time, but Roman law was not reorganized into

25102-414: Was an organic, coherent, and systematic work of legislation encompassing the civil and penal law . The Gayanashagowa , the oral constitution of the Haudenosaunee nation also known as the Great Law of Peace, established a system of governance as far back as 1190 AD (though perhaps more recently at 1451) in which the Sachems , or tribal chiefs, of the Iroquois League's member nations made decisions on

25265-416: Was appointed the first mayor of the Federal District on April 17, 1960, shortly before its inauguration on April 21, 1960, the date chosen by Juscelino Kubitschek in honor of Tiradentes. The capital of Brazil was transferred from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília on 21 April 1960 and its new territory, split off from Goiás state on the border with the Minas Gerais state, became the current Federal District. After

25428-420: Was based on Roman - Byzantine law . The legal transplanting within articles 171 and 172 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence, is notable. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika (book VII, 1, 16–17). In 1222, Hungarian King Andrew II issued the Golden Bull of 1222 . Between 1220 and 1230, a Saxon administrator, Eike von Repgow , composed the Sachsenspiegel , which became

25591-410: Was enslaved and forced to work as a prostitute in a mine in the region, until she became ill and began to have religious visions. These visions led to her arrest and imprisonment and ultimately interrogation by the Inquisition. She recorded them in the first book to be written by a black woman in Brazil — Sagrada Teologia do Amor Divino das Almas Peregrinas . During the 18th century, mining exploration

25754-562: Was extended and refined by the English barony when they forced King John to sign Magna Carta in 1215. The most important single article of Magna Carta, related to " habeas corpus ", provided that the king was not permitted to imprison, outlaw, exile or kill anyone at a whim – there must be due process of law first. This article, Article 39, of Magna Carta read: No free man shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor shall we go against him or send against him, unless by

25917-404: Was hanged by order of Queen Maria I of Portugal , becoming a local hero and a national martyr of Brazil. The Minas Gerais flag—a red triangle on a white background, along with the Latin motto "Libertas quæ sera tamen", "freedom albeit late"—is based on the design for the national flag proposed by the "Inconfidentes", as the rebels became known. In the economic history of Brazil, Minas Gerais plays

26080-401: Was massive. During the colonial period, the disproportion between the number of men and women was quite sharp. The census of 1738 in Serro do Frio, which included Diamantina, revealed that of the 9,681 inhabitants, 83.5% were men and 16.5% women. Among the slaves, women were only 3.1%. The number of free "women of color" (Black and "Mulatto") was very high. The same census revealed that 63% of

26243-410: Was part of the captaincy of São Vicente . The imposition of the authority of the Portuguese Crown contributed to the end of the conflict, with the creation of the Captaincy of São Paulo and Minas do Ouro in 1709. In 1711, the first villages were created in Minas Gerais, namely Sabará , Vila Rica and Vila de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. In 1720, the Vila Rica Revolt took place against taxes on gold and, as

26406-428: Was strongly controlled by the Portuguese Crown , which imposed heavy taxes on everything extracted (one fifth of all gold would go to the Crown). Several rebellions were attempted by the colonists, always facing strong reaction by the imperial crown. One of the most important was the Vila Rica revolt that ended with the execution of Filipe dos Santos, the revolt's leader, but also with the separation of Minas Gerais from

26569-461: Was used for those of England, beginning with the Code of Æthelberht of Kent (602). Around 893, Alfred the Great combined this and two other earlier Saxon codes, with various Mosaic and Christian precepts, to produce the Doom book code of laws for England. Japan 's Seventeen-article constitution written in 604, reportedly by Prince Shōtoku , is an early example of a constitution in Asian political history. Influenced by Buddhist teachings,

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