Espírito_Santo

Espírito Santo

[es-pee-ree-too sahn-too]

For the Portuguese company, see Espírito Santo Financial Group

Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. Those who are born in the state are known as "Capixabas", although the precise word is "espiritossantenses". The name means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity. With an extensive coastline (40% of the territory is on the coast), the state has some of the country's main ports but the beaches are the best tourist attractions. Vitória, the capital, is on an island, next to Guarapari, well known by its sands. In the extreme north is the Itaúnas part of the municipality of Conceição da Barra, whose sand dunes and forró are famous. Also on the coast, the typical gastronomy is another attraction with the moquecas capixabas and many fruits from the ocean and seafood. In the country of the state are many natural beauties, such as the parks of Pedra Azul and Alto Caparaó, and the Italian and German colonies.

Geography

With 46.180 square kilometers, it is about the size of Estonia, or half the size of Portugal, and has a variety of habitats including coastal planes, lakes, mountain forest, mangroves and many others.

The islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz, 715 km East of Vitória in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, also belong to Espirito Santo state.

Rivers

The main river in the state is the Doce. Other important river basins include the Santa Maria River Basin which is the northern branch of rivers which join the sea at Vitoria, and Jucu River Basin which flows into the sea at roughly the same place, but corresponds to the southern branch (which seems to come out of Vitoria). (See also Espírito Santo Municipalities)

Climate

Espírito Santo's climate is tropical along the coast, with dry winters and rainy summers. North of Doce River it's generally drier and also hot. In the moutaineous regions in the south and south west of the state, the tropical climate is strongly influenced by altitude, and the average temperatures are colder.

Lakes

One of the most important lake districts in Brazil lies on the banks of the Doce river. The area contains some 26 large lakes, the biggest of which is called Juparanã Lake.

Topography

The state can be divided into two areas: the low lying coastline and the highland area known as Serra (where one can find the 2,890 m Pico da Bandeira mountain), which is part of the larger Serra do Caparaó, the Caparaó Highlands.

In the map to the right it is in the gray area in the extreme southwest of the state, and is shared with Minas Gerais.

Location

This Brazilian state is in the east of the southeastern subdivision of Brazil, which also contains the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), the state of Bahia (N), the state of Minas Gerais (N) and (W), and the state of Rio de Janeiro (S). Espírito Santo's main cities (outside of the Greater Vitória region) are Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Colatina, Linhares, São Mateus and Aracruz.

Capixabas

There are doubts as to the origin of the term Capixabas, as those born in Espírito Santo are called. It may derive from the name of a local tribe, from when the Portuguese arrived in the area during the colonial period. A more accepted explanation states that the local Amerindians gave the name to the inhabitants of Vitória island, which means plantation or even corn plantation, as plantations of various crops were interspersed with their houses. "Capixaba" is a word from Tupi-Guarani, a group of languages of some of Brazil's native population. It means " cabelo de milho" (Corn Hair) because when the Portuguese arrived they were blonde so their hair reminded the native people of the golden colour of the corn hair.

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.

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.

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 Pedro 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, by appointment, the first governor of Espírito Santo State. He was followed by four other appointed governors (José Horácio Costa, Constante Gomes Sodré, Henrique da Silva Coutinho and Antonio Gomez Aguirre) until the inauguration of the first elected governor of Espirito Santo, Alfeu Adolfo Monjardim de Andrade e Almeida, in June 7th 1891.

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 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.

Demographics

According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 3,474,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 75.2 inh./km². Urbanization: 82.2% (2006); Population growth: 2% (1991-2000); Houses: 1,056,000 (2006).

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 1,761,318 Pardo (Brown) people (50.7%), 1,438,236 White people (41.4%), 260,000 Black people (7.5%), 13,000 Asian or Amerindian people (0.4%).

Amerindians

The pre-colonial Amerindians groups in Espírito Santo were the Tupiniquim, the Temininó, the Aymoré, the Puri and the Botocudo. They have largely been absorbed into the Portuguese-Brazilian civilization, few of them still living in reservations following subsistence farming methods and trying to preserve their fragile culture. Especially back in 1500s, a number of towns in Espírito Santo were founded with primarily Amerindian populations converted to Catholicism, such as Serra and Santa Cruz. Amerindian food has made its way permanently into Capixaba life, featuring the fish-based Moqueca Capixaba as the state dish, among other local typical sea-food dishes.

Portuguese

The first party of Portuguese colonists arrived in the area called Vila Velha in May 23, 1535 along with Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, the first Portuguese "Captain" of Espirito Santo. Later they also settled on Vitoria Island in the Bay of Vitória.

Spaniards

Spaniards, especially from the Basque Provinces, settled in Espirito Santo in the times of the Iberian Union (1580-1640). Their main activity was the hunting of the whales, which were still easily found along Espirito Santo's coast at that time. Highlighting this fact we find that one of Espirito Santo's History's most important heroins, Maria Ortiz, who took part on the resistance against the Dutch invaders in the early XVII Century, was of Basque origin. This trend of Spanish immigration ceased after the Portuguese monarchy's restoration (see Iberian Union), however, a later wave of Spaniard immigrants would arrive in larger numbers in the late XIX century.

Africans

The first African slaves in Espirito Santo arrived in Vitoria in 1609. And years of slavery ensued. However, Espirito Santo was still to play a significant part in the Brazilian abolitionist movement in the guise of the Espirito Santo slave rebellion of 1848-1849, which demanded intervention of Imperial troops. Slavery started losing its economical importance in Espirito Santo after such event.

Rhinean and Bavarian Germans

A strong local influence, Germans were among the first colonists to cultivate land away from the coastal zone. The first German settlement, Santa Isabel, was founded in 1844. Like today's Capixaba Italian community, they still hold on to many aspects of their ancestor's homeland's culture, still having active traditional dance groups and festivals such as the Sommerfest in Domingos Martins. Testimony to this is the small museum to colonization in Domingos Martins where one can find old photos, artifacts and documents pertaining to that settlement movement.

Pomeranian Germans

Espírito Santo is home to the biggest community of Pommersch/Pomeranian speakers of the world. More than a century after arriving to Espírito Santo, the Pomeranian continues to be spoken and it remains an important part of Espírito Santo's heritage for many people. Some speakers still don't speak Portuguese, needing on occasion, the aid of a translator. To this day they continue centuries old customs within their communities. One of the pillars of which is marriage.

Italians

Espírito Santo has many people of Italian origin. They founded many towns in the area and have significant influence on Capixaba society. There are still a number of traditional Italian dance groups in the state and Italian culture festivals, such as the one held in the town of Venda Nova do Imigrante. Italian food is also a large part of Capixaba cuisine, and even industry. Italian cheeses like mozzarella are produced locally, and pasta is also made there, with Firenze Pastas being a local producer. Small scale farming, which is recently turneing increasingly towards agrotourism, is today returning to Italian roots to exploit that market. This is another prominent aspect of Capixaba life.

Tyroleans, Romanians, East-European Gypsies

It's difficult to pin down the exact numbers of immigrants of each of these groups to Espirito Santo because they usually arrived under a common Austrian-Hungarian passport, or, in the case of the Tyroleans, under a Swiss passport. An important fact regarding Tyrolean immigration was that these groups were formed by young couples who left Tyrol due to the Austrian laws that imposed difficulties for Tyrolean men to marry before the age of 30 (they were supposed to remain in the Austrian army for a longer time), so large numbers of them started crossing the border to marry in Switzerland, and to leave Europe after the wedding. Tyrolean settlers were both of German and Italian language and concentrated in the region of Santa Leopoldina. Romanians and Roma usually arrived under Austrian passports. Large groups of Gypsies settled in Espirito Santo's countryside in the late 1800s, being absorbed by the mainstream of its society later.

Economy

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 50%, followed by the industrial sector at 44%. Agriculture represents 5% of GDP (2004). Espírito Santo exports: manufacturing of iron and steel 35.8%, ore of iron 25.2%, paper 17.6%, coffee 7.7%, granite 6.5% (2002).

Share of the Brazilian economy: 2.2% (2005).

The main crops of the state are rice, coffee (one of the most important cash crops in Brazil), cacao, sugarcane, beans, fruit (mostly bananas and papayas), and maize. The livestock industry, important throughout Brazil, is primarily cattle raised for milk and beef. Industry consists mainly of canning, forestry, textiles, iron and steel works. The latter two are concentrated around Cariacica and the "Vale do Rio Doce" ironworks.

Vitória is an important port for exporting iron and steel. Indeed, it is the biggest steel producer in the world. In São Mateus, petroleum reserves have been found on its continental shelf, and today are being commercially exploited.

Tourism plays an ever-increasing role in the state economy. However, most of the visitors are from neighbouring states, rather than foreign countries. Popular destinations include coastal areas such as Guarapari, Jacaraípe and Manguinhos, but mountain retreats such as Domingos Martins are also popular. Guarapari is also a local tourist destination, known for its curative black sand beaches.

Interesting facts

Vehicles: 850,141 (March/2007); Mobile phones: 1.8 million (April/2007); Telephones: 800 thousand (April/2007); Cities: 78 (2007).

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational institutions

Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES) (Federal University of Espírito Santo);
Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Espírito Santo (Cefet-ES);
Universidade Vila Velha (UVV) (Vila Velha University);
Centro Universitário do Espírito Santo (Unesc-ES);
and many others.

Infrastructure

National Airport

Vitoria Airport is located on a land plot of just over 5.2 million square meters. Since construction of its first step, finished in 1946, Vitória Airport has undergone several expansions and modernizations, but current demand has surpassed its capacity of 560 thousand passengers a year. The passenger terminal is air conditioned, with a constructed area of nearly 4000 square meters, a check-in concourse, 25 check-in counters and boarding and arrival lounges. The recent construction of new aircraft parking boxes on the aprons has improved the airport’s operational efficiency. In 2003 more than 1.2 million passengers used the airport, and in 2004 this rose to some 1.25 million. Vitória is one of the 32 airports in the Infraero network that has a cargo terminal. In May 1999 the first direct international freight connection to the United States (Miami) began operating to Vitória, facilitating imports to the state of Espírito Santo. Today there are five such flights a week

Notable Structures

The most notable structures in Espirito Santo are "Terceira Ponte" (Tallest Bridge in Brazil) , and "Convento da Penha" (Catholic Convent).

Highways

BR-101, BR-259, BR-262, BR-482.

Port

The Port of Vitória has the most difficult access for ships of any port in Brazil. The Bay of Vitória is extremely narrow, with stones and mountains making it challenging for freighters and maritiime cruisers to reach the docks. This narrow approach also results in shipping passing closely to population centers. In Vitória, ships pass side by side with cars and pedestrians. The situation of the port in the center of the city also results in schedule complications, with limitations resulting from traffic constraints. Currently the main use of the port is for ship and oil platform repair, as well as for receiving medium-sized shipping.

Flag

The words in the central bar of the flag, Trabalha e Confia, translate to "Work and Trust [in God]". This motto is a truncated version of the Jesuit (well spread by the Spanish Catholic missionaire José de Anchieta) motto "work as if everything depended on you, and trust as if everything depended on God", and was chosen by Jerônimo Monteiro, who governed the state from 1908 to 1912. The flag was designed in 1908, with colours inspired by those of Saint Our Mother of Vitória's (Nossa Senhora da Vitória) in Portuguese vestments. It is one of the only flags in the world which uses the colour pink.

Municipalities

(See also Espírito Santo municipalities and List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities))