ESPIRITO SANTO HISTORY |
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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.
Colonial Era
The area had been granted to Vasco Coutinho just after the discovery of
Brazil in 1500. He arrived at the district (capitania, in Portuguese) of
Espírito Santo on May 23, 1535, bringing 60 soldiers, slaves and servants
with him. |
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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.
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 came to power for two terms, followed by Jerônimo
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.
Economics
During the first 300 years, the main cashcrop was sugarcane up 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. |
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