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- Pernambuco:
Official website: http://www.pe.gov.br
Capital: Recife
Area: 98,937 km2
Important cities: Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Olinda, Caruaru, Paulista, Petrolina, Cabo, Vitória de Santo Antão
Economy: agriculture, industry (sugar, alcohool), tourism, medical services
Important newspapers: Jornal do Comércio;
Diário de Pernambuco
Click here read more about Carnival in Olinda.
In 1534, Duarte Coelho, to whom the Portuguese king donated the capitany of Pernambuco, founded the cities of Recife and Olinda, which would have ever since an
important role in the Brazilian History.
Duarte Coelho started the plantation of sugar cane and the production of white sugar, much popular in Europe; the cane was the anchor of the Brazilian economy
for several decades.
Between 1630 and 1654, the region was controlled by the Dutch, who promoted several changes in the city, which have traces until today.
The decadence of the sugar and the impact of slavery abolition caused Pernambuco to participate of the several secessionist rebelions which occurred in the region.
Pernambuco and Recife were an important regional center; other states north of Pernambuco had in Recife a commercial post.
- Physical Geography:
The geographic profile of Pernambuco is divided in three parts: the littoral, a mountain chain called Borborema and the western plateau, prolongation of the Borborema
towards west.
The entire coast of Pernambuco is lined with reefs (in Portuguese, recifes), origin of the name of the capital city, Recife; the coastal lowlands (called Zona da Mata, or
Zone of Forests) go from the sea to the Borborema, about 70 km away. Many small hills exist in the littoral, and the valleys between them, subject to periodic washings,
have a very fertile soil, called massape, to which cane adapts very well.
The Borborema goes from the north of Minas Gerais to the south of Rio Grande do Norte; in Pernambuco, the altitude of Borborema varies from 500 m at the eastern border
to 1,000 m in the central area to 600 m at the western border; the city of Garanhuns, in the southern part of Barbarema, attracts tourists because of the cold climate
(also, the city is birth place of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva).
To the west of Borborema, the region is known as sertão; itīs much less populated, because of the arid climate and little pluviosity. The profile coast (Zona da Mata) -
transition (agreste) - sertão is common to some other states covered by the Borborema, like Alagoas and Paraíba.
- Climate:
In the littoral, climate is tropical humid; average yearly temperature is 25 degrees Celsius, and pluviosity is aroung 1,500 mm, with rainy season in the autumn and winter
(from March through July).
In the sertão, climate is semi-arid; temperatures range from about 23 degrees near the Borborema to 25 degrees in the western border. Pluviosity is not only low
(around 600 mm), but also irregular; wet season is summer (December through March), but rains often come late or donīt come at all; the sertão of Pernambuco is
included in the Polygon of Drought.
The transition zone, the agreste, mixes traces of the humid littoral and the dry sertão; some areas with high pluviosity are called brejos.
- Vegetation:
All the area western of Borborema was once covered by the Atlantic Forest (origin of the denomination Zona da Mata); the area was devastated to give place to plantations,
pasture and urbanization, and today little of the original forest is left. The vegetation characteristic of the sertão is the caatinga, composed of plants adapted to the dry
climate. In the agreste, the vegetation is, also, a transition between the forest and the caatinga.
- Hidrography:
Rivers of Pernambuco may be divided into two groups: rivers which flow towards the Atlantic (Una, Ipojuca, Capiberibe) and rivers which flow towards the river São Francisco.
The rivers are little used for navigation. Most smaller rivers dry out completely during the dry season.
- History:
When Portugal instituted the capitanies in colonial Brazil, Pernambuco was one of the two which prospered (the other was São Vicente); one man was responsible for the
success: the donatary, Duarte Coelho. Despite the problems with indians and pirates, and the abandonment by the Portuguese King, Duarte Coelho introduced the culture of
sugar cane in Pernambuco. The first village to be founded was Igaraçu, followed by Olinda, in 1536; in 1541, Duarte Coelho returned from a trip to Portugal, bringing the
first engenho (rustic machinery, with animal - or slave - traction, used to produce sugar) to be installed in Brazil; the banks of the river Capiberibe were taken by cane
farms; by 1600, there were over 100 engenhos in Pernambuco, and Olinda was the richest city in Brazil.
The richness of Olinda funded several expeditions, which set off in search of more lands to grow the sugar cane. Moving westwards, the pernambucanos occupied all the
Zona da Mata, until the borders of Borborema. Northwards, the expeditioners founded João Pessoa, Natal, and Fortaleza (in these last two cities, the soil wasnīt very
proper for the cane). Then, southward: around 1610, the pernambucanos had already reached the banks of the river São Francisco, founding villages Porto Calvo, Camaragibe
and Maceió along the way. The expansion was temporarily interrupted by the Dutch invasion of Olinda.
- The Dutch Invasion:
Portugal and Holland had good relationship; the sugar was exported to Portugal, but the Dutch (with their Estern and Western Indians Companies)
profited from distributing the product across Europe; in 1580, Spain and Portugal were unified under the rule of the Spanish King, who was at war with Holland.
In 1630, the Dutch invade and take over Olinda; from 1630 to 1637, bloody battles claim many lives and destroy the city almost completely (in 1631, the Dutch ordered the
burning of all churches, in an attempt to impose Calvinism to the natives). In 1637, after the Dutch had consolidated their supremacy, count Mauritius de Nassau (German,
serving the Dutch King) was sent to govern the area; Nassau rebuilt Olinda, instituted freedom of religion, brought scientists to study the new land, and developed the city
and port of Recife.
Despite all the freedom, the Dutch had to fight against Brazilians, Portuguese, black and indians. The hills of Guararapes, near Recife, was stage of two battles which became
historic for Brazilians and heroic for pernambucanos. In January of 1654, the Dutch surrendered and left Brazil.
The war against the Dutch sparkled a sentiment of nativism among the pernambucanos which would last for centuries. Early on the 18th century, Recife and Olinda engaged on an
episode known as War of Mascates; Olinda, after the expelling of the Dutch, had returned to its condition of home for the Portuguese administrators and the sugarcane lords;
Recife, on the other hand, had become an important commercial center, with the busiest port in Brazil. The War of Mascates (mascates was the pejorative way that the Portuguese
used to refer to the trademen) opposed the archaic aristocracy, based on power emanated from Portugal, against this new burgeoisie, which needed a more liberal environment to
prosper; the mascates were led by Bernardo Vieira de Melo, who was arrested and sent to Portugal, were he died in prison; the hostilities ceased only in 1715, when, after Recife
was declared independent from Olinda, the mascates surrendered.
The second half of the 18th century saw a decline in the economy of the region; the gold which had been found in Minas Gerais became the main interest of Portugal, and the
administrative center of the Colony was moved to the south. This scenario favoured the spreading of the liberal ideas which were propagated by the American and French
Revolutions; an important role was played by Manuel de Arruda Camara, a naturalist with education in Europe, who founded the Aerópago de Itambé, where he doctrinated
several pernambucanos and paraibanos who would assume leadership in liberal movements.
In 1817, Pernambuco declared independence from Portugal; Alagoas, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará adhered; the upheaval was violently crushed by Portugal, and the
leaders were beheaded.
The period after the Independence, in 1822, was also troublesome in Pernambuco; the province had openly defended the independence from Portugal, but the idea of the liberals
was to establish a Republic, not an Empire. Pernambuco had objections to accept the governors indicated by Pedro I, and in February of 1824, Pernambuco led the Northern
provinces to declare the Confederação do Equador, an independent republic.
To fight the rebels, Pedro I sent the same powerful fleet which had combated the Portuguese; by September of 1824, the official troops occupied Recife and Olinda. Many of the
leaders were hung, but the government could not find anyone willing to execute the head of the movement, a charismatic carmelite religious known as Frei Caneca; the solution
was to employ a small platoon to shoot him to death (so that nobody would know for sure who shot the fatal bullet).
In 1825, the Diário de Pernambuco is founded; this is the oldest newspaper in Brazil and Latin America still being published. In 1828, the School of Laws was created in Olinda
(the first such school in Brazil); soon, the place became an important intellectual center of the country.
The Diário and the School contributed even further with the spreading of liberal ideas. In 1831, Pedro I resigned, on behalf of his son Pedro II; to combat an unlikely
restauration of Portuguese domination, in September of 1831 the pernambucanos started the Setembrada (in reference to the month), another Independence movement which was
soon tamed. In April of 1832, it was the pernambucanos turn to fight an upheaval: in response to the Setembrada, the supporters of the return of Pedro I organized the Abrilada,
which was quickly aborted by the recifenses.
From 1838 to 1844, a short period of tranquility. During those years, Pernambuco was governed by Francisco do Rego Barros, the Conde da Boa Vista (Count of Boa Vista); it
was the longest term of a provincial government during the Brazilian Empire. Having lived in Paris, his European culture was fundamental on the reurbanization plans he
executed in Recife; his achievements include: building of many historical palaces, opening of roads to the interior, laying of pipes to supply water to Recife.
In 1848, another rebellion: the Revolução Praieira (in Portuguese, the name means Revolution of the Beach; the mentors used to meet at Rua da Praia, in Recife). In their
Manifest to the World, the leaders (journalists, politicians, middle-ranked militaries) exposed their aspirations: Republican regime, free elections, freedom of press,
reforms of the Judiciary, tight control on interest rates and abolition of compulsory military enlistments. The rebels tried to take over Recife, but were defeated by the
official forces; some of the leaders escaped to the interior of Pernambuco and other neighbour States (notably Paraíba), to launch guerilla attacks, but were soon captured
or killed. Reports indicate that 814 people died during this revolution; in 1852, amnesty was granted to the surviving rebels.
The liberal ideas which fostered all the republican movements were also behind the Abolitionists actions, which became more and more ostensive towards the end of the 19th
century. Despite the fact that sugarcane was still the main economic activity of Pernambuco, several organizations pro-abolition were created all around the State, and most
of them joined to form the Clube do Cupim, an association which actively helped slaves to escape; in 1871, so strong was the libertarian sentiment, that a provincial law was
approved allowing the government to buy freedom of slaves. From 1879, the figure of Joaquim Nabuco, a public figure born in Recife, gained national projection as one of the
main vocals against slavery; Nabuco and other dignitaries from Pernambuco (including the editors of the Diario de Pernambuco) were important personages in the Abolition, which
came in 1888.
In the first years of the Republic, Pernambuco had another turbulent period. There were divergences over the governors indicated by the central government; after elections
were instituted, the fraud accusations were constant. Important figures of the period were Rosa e Silva (vice-President of Republic from 1898 to 1902), general Dantas Barreto
(ex-Minister of War, elected governor in 1911) and Sérgio Loreto (took office in 1922); during his term, Loreto started two projects in Recife which left visible consequences
to date: the opening of Avenida Boa Viagem (today, the most important touristic attraction of the State) and a complete overhaul of the health system (Recife is currently the
second medical center of Brazil).
In 1930, candidate to vice-Presidency João Pessoa was killed in Recife, fact which triggered the Revolution of 1930; Pernambuco adhred promptly to the movement, which
terminated with the Old Republic in Brazil (period dominated by São Paulo and Minas Gerais).
Governor like Agamenon Magalhães (1937 - 1944) and Barbosa Lima Sobrinho (1948 - 1951) implemented structural improvements to the State (highways, hospitals, Federal University).
However, the economy remained strongly dependent on the culture of sugar cane; in 1959, when a new taxation bill was under study, the farmers called for a general strike which
stopped the State for two days.
In 1959, SUDENE, an agency for development of the Northeast, was founded, with head office in Recife; taking advantage of official subsidies, many industries established in the
State, mostly in Recife and in the industrial zone of Cabo.
Around 1960, the latifundium structure (concentration of large areas of land by few owners) led to social stress in Pernambuco; the Ligas Camponesas (Peasant Leagues) openly
advocated the Agrarian Reform. The tension increased much when Miguel Arraes, a sympathizer of the movement, was elected mayor of Recife, in 1960. During the Military
Dictatorship, and after the redemocratization of Brazil, in 1985, the agrarian reform has been discussed within legal boundaries, but the issue is still present in Brazil,
and particularly in Pernambuco.
Over the recent decades, despite the quick development of neighbour States, Pernambuco has maintained the position of leader in Northeast. Recife is a major industrial and
commercial city. In 1982, Olinda was declared World Heritage by Unesco, which gave an impulse to tourism in the State. Politicians from Pernambuco are still influent (Marco
Maciel was vice-President from 1994 to 2002).
- Economy and Infrastructure:
- Primary sector:
Since colonial times, cane has been the most important product of Pernambuco (today, the State is the second largest producer in Brazil, second only to São Paulo); about 90%
of the farms are on the Zona da Mata. The cane, which used to be entirely directed to the production of sugar, now is also used to produce fuel
alcohol, used (alone or mixed to gasoline) to propel Brazilian vehicles.
Cotton and coconut have significant commercial productions, in the agreste and in the areas of Zona da Mata where cane didnīt adapt well. In Petrolina, water of the river
São Francisco is being used to develop irrigated agriculture; the sandy soil and the abundance of sun make the region appropriated to the cultures of tropical fruits, like
grapes and mangos (the airport of Petrolina is an important gateway to send fruits to Europe and Japan).
Beans, manioc and corn are grown in thousands of small properties all around the State, most often to be consumed by the own family or for trades in local markets; these
products are resistant to tough soil and weather conditions, are nutritive, and can be stored for long periods; these three products are the basics for the poor population.
Cattle raising occurs in the sertão; ranchers use the vast lands, not proper for agriculture, to raise mostly bovines and caprines (goat is a very appreciated plate in
Pernambuco). The meat is sold in the regional markets, or sent to Recife for the industrialization of jerked beef.
- Industry:
The metropolitan area of Recife is the main industrial zone of the State; most relevant products are those derived from cane (sugar and alcohol); thanks to the fiscal
incentives of SUDENE, many industrial enterprises were started in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Commerce and services:
Recife has a tradition of being the most important commercial center of the northeastern corner of Brazil; people from Alagoas to Maranhão used to come to Recife to buy in
whole and sell retailed. Nowadays, with the growth of other capitals (particularly Fortaleza), Recife lost some of its importance, but the ports of Recife and Suape are
still major hubs for distribution of products coming from the South. The Shopping Center Recife claims to be the largest one in Latin America (as measured by rented area).
A combination of good workforce and massive private investments turned Recife into the second medical city of Brazil (second to São Paulo); modern hospitals with state of
the art equipments receive pacients from all neighbour States.
Like all other States in northeast, Pernambuco is developing the tourist sector. Recife has one of the most complete infrastructure in Brazil, for travellers and businessmen;
the restaurants of the city rank amongst the best in the country; Porto de Galinhas has been acclaimed the
best beach in Brazil; the island of Fernando de Noronha is under jurisdiction of the government of Pernambuco.
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