[edit] Geography

Pernambuco has a territory covered mostly by the dry thorny scrub vegetation called caatinga. The Rio São Francisco is the main water source for this area. The coastal area is fertile, and was formerly covered by the Mata Atlântica. It is now place to extensive sugar cane plantations.

The climate is more bland in the countryside of the state because of the Borborema plateau ("Planalto da Borborema", popularly known as "Serra das Russas" or "Russians' Mountain"). Some towns are located more than 1000 meters above sea level, and the temperatures there can descend to 10°C and even 5°C in some cities (i.e., Triunfo) during the winter.

The island of Fernando de Noronha in the Atlantic Ocean, 535 km Northeast of Recife, has been part of Pernambuco since 1988.

[edit] History

Originally inhabited by various indigenous peoples, Pernambuco was first settled by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Shortly after King João III of Portugal created the Hereditary Captaincies in 1534, Pernambuco was granted to Duarte Coelho, who arrived in Nova Lusitânia (or "New Lusitania", as the area was then known) in 1535. Duarte directed military actions against the French-allied Caetê Indians and upon their defeat in 1537 established a settlement at the site of a former Marin Indian village, henceforth known as Olinda, as well as another village at Igarassu.

Due to the cultivation of sugar and cotton, Pernambuco was one of the few prosperous captaincies (the other notable one being São Vincente). With the support of the Dutch East India Company, sugar mills (engenho) were built and a sugar-based economy developed. In 1612, Pernambuco produced 14,000 tons of sugar; in the 1640s, more than 24,000 tons of sugar were exported to Amsterdam alone. While the sugar industry relied at first on the labor of indigenous peoples, especially the Tupis and Tapuyas, high mortality and economic growth led to the importation of African slaves from the late 1600s. Some of these slaves escaped the sugar-producing coastal regions and formed independent inland communites called mocambos, including Palmares.

In 1630, Pernambuco, as well as many Portuguese possessions in Brazil, was occupied by the Dutch. The occupation was strongly resisted and the Dutch conquest was only partially successful. In the interim, thousands of the enslaved Africans had fled to Palmares, and soon the mocambos there had grown into two significant states. The Dutch, who allowed sugar production to remain in Portuguese hands, regarded suppression of Palmares important, but they were unsuccessful. Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, count of Nassau, was appointed as ruler of the Nieuw Holland (Dutch colonization enterprise in Brazil).

Nassau's government built Maritania or Mauristaad (Recife) on delta islands, which have similarities to Holland's topography. This moved the political focus from Olinda to Recife. Nassau's Dutch administration was noted for advancements in urbanism, culture, and science. The Dutch legacy is still recognizable in Pernambuco's people, accent and architecture.

Portugal reconquered Recife in 1654 and Olinda regained its status of political center. However, Recife remained the commercial /port city. If the Dutch were gone, however, the threat of the now unified quilombo of Palmares remained. In spite of a treaty negotiated in 1678 with its ruler Ganga Zumba, a war between the two remained. Zumbi who became ruler following the peace treaty and later repudiated it, fought the Portuguese government until 1694 when soldiers brought from the south eventually defeated him.

In 1710 the Mascate War took place in Pernambuco. This conflict set the mascates (traveling salesman) from Recife against the establishment hosted in Olinda and led by the Senhores de Engenho (owners of the sugar mills, literally: sugar mill lords).

Pernambuco was the site of the most important rebellions and insurrections in Brazilian history, especially in the 19th century.

1817 was the year of the Pernambucan Revolution, a republican separatist movement which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Pernambuco. The main cause of the revolution was dissatisfaction with the colonial administration. The republic was declared on March 7, 1817. After military intervention, the secession ended on May 20, 1817. The current flag of Pernambuco is actually the flag of that Republic.

As a reaction to the Emperor Dom Pedro I dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the Confederation of the Equator was set up on July 2, 1824. The Confederation was another separatist movement which encompassed the provinces of Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará. On November 29, 1824, the Confederated forces capitulated to the Imperial army.

Pernambuco was the site of the brief liberal republican Praieira revolt in 1848, which was Brazil's response to the European year of failed liberal revolutions. The military officer who put it down was Deodoro da Fonseca, later briefly the first president of the Brazilian republic.

[edit] Important Cities

Aliança
Arcoverde
Bom Conselho
Cabo de Santo Agostinho - Where the important Suape port is situated.
Camaragibe
Carpina
Caruaru - Main city in the country side.
Condado - Condado is located at the Zona da Mata region of the state, it's also called by Princesinha da *Exu
Floresta
Garanhuns - Highland city, pleasant climate.
Goiana
Gravatá - Another highland city with bland climate, known as the "Brazilian-northern Swiss" because of its weather and European-influenced architecture with Alpine-style buildings.
Ipojuca - It includes Porto de Galinhas beach.
Jaboatão dos Guararapes
Limoeiro
Nazaré da Mata - Capital of the Maracatu
Olinda - Historical site, first capital.
Ouricuri
Palmares
Paulista
Pesqueira
Petrolândia
Petrolina
Recife - State capital.
Serra Talhada
Sertânia
Surubim
Triunfo
Timbaúba

[edit] Institutions

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

Pernambuco is also the name of a tropical tree used for lumber and red dye. Species Caesalpinia echinata. It was also called brazilwood (in Portuguese, pau-brasil), and gave its name to the country, rather than the other way around.

[edit] Notes

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