On 10 November 1937 Brazil's president Getúlio Vargas carried out a coup against his own constitutional government and began the Estado Novo, a dictatorship that lasted until 1945. He cancelled the planned elections, dissolved Congress, issued a new constitution and ruled by decree, saying that it was needed to stop a communist threat. Vargas had first taken power in 1930 and was the most influential Brazilian politician of the 20th century. He returned as an elected president in 1951 and killed himself in 1954.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.