 | Espírito Santo: Encyclopedia II - Espírito Santo - History
Espírito Santo - History
Espírito Santo was first inhabited by Amerindians, whose different tribes were usually semi-nomadic. The area was colonized by the Portuguese, and subsequently descendants of black slaves, and, later, by European immigrants of various origins.
Espírito Santo - Colonial Era
The area had been granted to Vasco Coutinho just after the discovery of Brazil in 1500. He arrived in the district (capitania, in Portuguese) of Espírito Santo on May 23, 1535, bringing 60 soldiers, slaves and servants with him.
The capital of the district was at first Vila Velha, but because of frequent raids by Amerindians, it was moved to the current capital of Vitória, founded on September 8, 1551, on an island near Vila Velha.
In 1556, after the arrival of missionaries, Serra, Nova Almeida and Santa Cruz were founded.
Espírito Santo - Political history
The district remained under the influence of Coutinho's family for 140 years. It remained a district for 287 years until 1821, when it became a province.
With the Brazilian declaration of independence in 1822, the District Directors became known as Provincial Presidents. In the same way the district of Espírito Santo became Espírito Santo Province. During this period in 1860 the Emperor Peter II, who was on good terms with the provincial President, visited the state on one of his tours of Brazil. There are still surviving accounts of what he saw and recorded.
In 1889, with the advent of the Brazilian Republic, Espírito Santo finally became a state.
After the adoption of a republican system, Afonso Cláudio de Freitas Rosa became the first governor of Espírito Santo state. He was followed in 1892 by Muniz Freire who served two terms, followed by Jeronimo Monteiro, who stayed in office from 1908 to 1912.
After Getúlio Vargas took power, the governors were elected by the national congress, and after this, a number of interveners were sent to govern the state. A short period of democracy returned when Carlos Monteiro Lindenberg was elected by Capixabas. However, after the 1964 military coup interveners were once again chosen by the national assembly. After Cristiano Dias Lopes, Arthur Carlos Gerhard Santos, Elcio Álvares and Eurico Rezende were chosen this way, open elections were used to choose all leaders from Gerson Camata through to José Inácio Ferreira, who came into office in 1999.
During the first 300 years, the main cash crop was sugarcane, until 1850 when coffee, in high demand by Europeans, overtook it. During the colonial era, there were also periods of "gold rush" when agriculture was neglected, leading to food shortages, but not much gold was found in Espirito Santo. Another factor that impeded expansion was the prohibition of roads opening into Minas Gerais, where it was feared smuggling would be encouraged through Espírito Santo.
Other related archives1500, 1535, 1551, 1556, 1821, 1822, 1850, 1860, 1889, 1892, 1908, 1912, 1964, 1999, Afonso Cláudio, Alegre, Alfredo Chaves, Alto Rio Novo, Amerindians, Anchieta, Apiacá, Aracruz, Atlantic Ocean, Atílio Vivácqua, Bahia, Baixo Guandu, Barra de São Francisco, Boa Esperança, Bom Jesus do Norte, Brazil, Brazilian Portuguese, Brejetuba, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Cariacica, Castelo, Colatina, Conceição da Barra, Conceição do Castelo, Divino de São Lourenço, Domingos Martins, Dores do Rio Preto, Ecoporanga, Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo Municipalities, European Portuguese, Fundão, Getúlio Vargas, God, Governador Lindenberg, Greater Vitória, Guarapari, Guaçuí, IPA, Ibatiba, Ibiraçu, Ibitirama, Iconha, Irupi, Itaguaçú, Itapemirim, Itarana, Iúna, Jacaraípe, Jaguaré, Jeronimo Monteiro, Jesuit, José de Anchieta, João Neiva, Laranja da Terra, Linhares, List of cities in Brazil, Manguinhos, Mantenópolis, Marataízes, Marechal Floriano, Marilândia, May 23, Mimoso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Montanha, Moqueca Capixaba, Mozzarella, Mucurici, Muniz Freire, Muqui, Nova Almeida, Nova Venécia, Pancas, Pedro Canário, Peter II, Pico da Bandeira, Pinheiros, Piúma, Pomeranian, Ponto Belo, Portuguese, Presidente Kennedy, Rio Bananal, Rio Novo do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Leopoldina, Santa Maria de Jetibá, Santa Teresa, September 8, Serra, Sooretama, States of Brazil, São Domingos do Norte, São Gabriel da Palha, São José do Calçado, São Mateus, São Paulo, São Roque do Canaã, Trindade and Martim Vaz, Vargem Alta, Vasco Coutinho, Venda Nova do Imigrante, Viana, Vila Pavão, Vila Valério, Vila Velha, Vitória, agrotourism, bananas, beaches, beans, beef, cacao, canning, cattle, christianity, democracy, forestry, fruit, holy ghost, iron, livestock, maize, milk, missionaries, papayas, petroleum, pron., rice, states, steel, sugarcane, textiles, tourist, Água Doce do Norte, Águia Branca
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
