The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political
regions of the country according to the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
's twenty-six states, it comprises nine:
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
,
Piauí,
Ceará,
Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", re ...
,
Paraíba,
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
,
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...
,
Sergipe
Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...
and
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
, along with the
Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha () is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and islets, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is in ...
archipelago (formerly a separate territory, now part of Pernambuco).
Chiefly known as ''Nordeste'' ("Northeast") in Brazil, this region was the first to be colonized by the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and other European peoples, playing a crucial role in
the country's history. ''Nordestes dialects and rich culture, including its folklore, cuisines, music and literature, became the most easily distinguishable across the country. To this day, ''Nordeste'' is known for its history and culture, as well as for its natural environment and its hot weather.
''Nordeste'' stretches from the
Atlantic seaboard
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
in the northeast and southeast, northwest and west to the
Amazon Basin and south through the
Espinhaço highlands in southern
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
. It encloses the
São Francisco River and drainage basin, which were instrumental in the exploration, settlement and economic development of the region. The region lies entirely within the earth's
tropical zone
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred ...
and encompasses
Caatinga
Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...
,
Atlantic Forest and part of the
Cerrado
The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
s. The climate is hot and
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
, varying from
xeric
Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...
in Caatinga, to
mesic in Cerrado and
hydric Hydric soil is soil which is permanently or seasonally saturated by water, resulting in anaerobic conditions, as found in wetlands.
Overview
Most soils are aerobic. This is important because plant roots respire (that is, they consume oxygen and ...
in the Atlantic Forest.
The Northeast Region represents 18% of Brazilian territory, has a population of 53.6 million people, 28% of the total population of the country, and contributes 13.4% (2011) of Brazil's GDP. Nearly three quarters of the population live in urban areas clustered along the Atlantic coast and about 15 million people live in the hinterland. It is an impoverished region: 43.5% of the population lives in poverty, defined as less than $2/day.
Each of the states' capitals are also its largest cities, and they include
Salvador,
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
,
Fortaleza and
São Luís, all of which are coastal cities with a population above one million.
''Nordeste'' has nine international airports, and the region has the second largest number of passengers (roughly 20%) in Brazil.
Geography and climate
''Zona da Mata'' ("Forest Zone")
The ''Zona da Mata'' comprises the rainforest zones of ''Nordeste'' (part of the
Atlantic Forest or ''Mata Atlântica'') in the humid eastern coast, where the region's largest capital cities are also located. The forest area was much larger before suffering from centuries of
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
and exploration. For many years, sugar cane cultivation in this region was the mainstay of Brazil's economy, being superseded only when
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
production developed in the late 19th century. Sugar cane is cultivated on large estates whose owners maintain tremendous political influence.
''Agreste''
Since the escarpment does not generate any further rainfall on its slopes from the lifting of the
trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
, annual rainfall decreases steadily inland. After a relatively short distance, there is no longer enough rainfall to support tropical rainforest, especially since the rainfall is extremely erratic from year to year. This transitional zone is known as the ''
agreste'' and because it is located on the steep escarpment, was not generally used whilst flatter land was abundant. Today, with irrigation water available, however, the ''agreste'', as its name suggest, is a major farming region. Despite containing no major city, it contains well developed medium large cities such as
Caruaru,
Campina Grande
Campina Grande is the second most populous Brazilian city in the State of Paraíba after João Pessoa, the capital. It is considered to be the most important city of the Northeastern Brazilian subregion called '' agreste''. It is considered one ...
and
Arapiraca
Arapiraca is a municipality located in the center of the Brazilian state of Alagoas, some from the state capital, Maceió. It was founded in 1924. , it has a population of 214.006, IBGE – but IBGE estimated 233,047 inhabitants for 2020.
Ara ...
.
''Sertão'' ("Backlands")
In
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, the word ''sertão'' (, meaning "
backcountry
In the United States, a backcountry or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access.
Terminology Backcountry and wilderness within United States national parks
The National Park Service (NPS) ...
" or "
outback") first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia and South America that
Lusitanian explorers encountered. In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century.
Geographically, the ''Sertão'' consists mainly of low uplands that form part of the
Brazilian Highlands. Most parts of the sertão are between 200 and 500 meters above sea level, with higher elevations found on the eastern edge in the
Planalto da Borborema, where it merges into a sub-humid region known as
agreste, in the
Serra da Ibiapaba
The Serra de Ibiapaba (Ibiapaba mountain) also known as Serra Grande, Chapada da Ibiabapa e Cuesta da Ibiapaba, is an upland in northeastern Brazil, which lies on the boundary of Piauí and Ceará states. The range runs north and south, extending f ...
in western
Ceará and in the Serro do Periquito of central
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
. In the north, the ''Sertão'' extends to the northern coastal plains of Rio Grande do Norte state, whilst in the south it fades out in the northern fringe of
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
.
Because the ''Sertão'' lies close to the equator, temperatures remain nearly uniform throughout the year and are typically tropical, often extremely hot in the west. However, the sertão is distinctive in its low rainfall compared to other areas of Brazil. Because of the relatively cool temperatures in the
South Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, the
intertropical convergence zone remains north of the region for most of the year. Consequently, conditions are very dry for most of the year.
Although annual rainfall averages between 500 and 800 millimeters over most of the sertão and 1300 millimeters on the northern coast of
Fortaleza, it is confined to a short rainy season. This season extends from January to April in the west, but in the eastern Sertão it generally occurs from March to June. However, rainfall is extremely erratic and in some years the rains are minimal, leading to catastrophic
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
. The duration of droughts has increased over the last 36 years, with the 2012–2016 drought being the longest drought in the region's history. Because of this vulnerability to the climate, Sertão is also known as a “polygon of drought.” Due to
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, more frequent, more severe and longer droughts are estimated to hit the region over the next 90 years. Despite the increasing severity of the droughts, Brazil has become increasingly able to mitigate the negative social impacts associated with drought.
While generally successful in helping those enduring drought, drought relief programs have historically resulted in a so-called ''indústria da seca'' (drought industry). The term, coined by
Antônio Callado, describes the phenomenon wherein local politicians use droughts as a tool to increase their electoral chances, effectively "trading drought relief for votes." This misappropriation of funds often benefits the wealthy—especially private landowners—to the detriment of the rural poor.
''Meio-Norte'' ("Midnorth")
''Meio-Norte'' is a transition area between the high rainfalls region of
Amazon Rainforest and the
semi arid region of ''
Sertão
The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...
'' (hot and drought) covering the state of
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
and half of
Piaui.
Hydrology
The Northeast region comprises the drainage basins of the
São Francisco,
Canindé, and
Parnaíba River
The Parnaíba River ( pt, Rio Parnaíba) is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. Its main course is long and the Parnaíba River Basin covers .Ramos, T.P.A.; Ramos, R.T.C.; and Ramos, S.A.Q.A. (2 ...
s.
Geology and topography
Geographically, ''Nordeste'' consists chiefly of an eroded continental
craton
A craton (, , or ; from grc-gre, κράτος "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle. Having often survived cycles of merging an ...
with many low hills and small ranges. The highest peaks are around in Bahia, while further north there are no peaks above . On its northern and western side, the plateaus fall steadily to the coast and into the basin of the
Tocantins River
The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means " toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak ...
in Maranhão, but on the eastern side it falls off quite sharply to the coast except in the valley of the São Francisco river. The steep slopes and long cliffs of the eastern coastline are known as "
The Great Escarpment
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
".
The escarpment serves an extremely important climatic function. Because for most of the year ''Nordeste'' is out of reach of the
Intertropical Convergence Zone, the easterly
trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
blow across the region, giving abundant rainfall to the coast but producing clear, dry conditions inland where the escarpment blocks moisture flow. This gives rise to four distinct regions, the
zona da mata
The Zona da Mata (, directly translated to grass zone/grassy zone) is the narrow coastal plain between the Atlantic Ocean and the dry ''agreste'' and ''sertão'' regions in the northeastern Brazilian states of Maranhão, Piauí, Rio Grande do No ...
on the coast, the
agreste on the escarpment,
sertão
The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...
beyond and the Mid north.
History
![Engenho com capela](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Engenho_com_capela.jpg)
Before the arrival of Europeans, ''Nordeste'' was inhabited by indigenous peoples, mostly speaking languages of the
Tupi–Guarani family.
In the ''Sertão'' region,
Tapuia tribes could also be found.
It was the first area of Brazil to be colonized when roughly 1,500 Portuguese arrived on April 22, 1500, under the command of
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral ( or ; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in ...
at
Porto Seguro
Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...
, in what is now the state of
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
.
![Olinda e Recife](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Olinda_e_Recife.PNG)
The coast of ''Nordeste'' saw the first economic activity of the country, namely the extraction and export of pau Brasil, or
brazilwood. Indigenous peoples helped Europeans with the extraction of
brazilwood in exchange for spices. They also engaged in an exchange of goods ( pt, escambo), trading things like animal skins for knives and other valuables. Brazilwood was highly valued in Europe where it was used to make violin bows (especially the
Pau de Pernambuco variety) and for the red dye it produced. Countries like
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, which disagreed with the
Treaty of Tordesillas (a papal bull decreed by the Spanish-born
Pope Alexander VI in 1493 which sought to divide South America between the Spanish and the Portuguese), launched many attacks on the coast to steal the wood.
Soon after their arrival, Portuguese settlers began to displace native peoples and enslave them as field laborers, leading to conflicts in which many natives died. These conflicts were one contributor to the decline of the indigenous population, which intensified as colonization, commercial interest, and disease escalated in the region. After resistance from indigenous peoples and opposition to their enslavement from the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
, the Portuguese colonials began importing black
African slaves in 1530, largely to Bahia.
In 1552, the seat of the first Catholic bishop of Brazil was established in ''Nordeste.''
French colonists not only tried to settle in present-day
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, from 1555 to 1567 (the so-called
France Antarctique
France Antarctique (formerly also spelled ''France antartique'') was a French colony in Rio de Janeiro, in modern-day Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio. The colony quickly ...
episode), but also in present-day
São Luís, from 1612 to 1614 (the so-called
France Equinoxiale). The
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
, also opposed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, plundered ''Nordestes coast, sacked
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
in 1604, and even temporarily captured
Salvador, which had been Brazil's first capital and general seat of government since 1549. However, the Portuguese soon regained control of Salvador, and the Dutch were unable to recapture it, despite repeated attempts.
In 1630, the Dutch captured
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
and made
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
( nl, Mauritsstad) their capital. By 1640, they had set up more permanently in ''Nordeste'' and controlled a long stretch of coast that was most accessible to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
without, however, penetrating the interior. The colonists of the
Dutch West India Company (WIC) in Brazil were under constant siege despite the presence in Recife of
John Maurice of Nassau
John Maurice of Nassau (Dutch: ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen''; German: ''Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen''; Portuguese: ''João Maurício de Nassau-Siegen''; 17 June 1604 – 20 December 1679), called "the Brazilian" for his fruitful period a ...
as governor. To help fight the Portuguese, the WIC sought the support of native peoples. By 1635, the majority of Tupi, mostly from
Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", re ...
and
Paraíba, had given their support to the Dutch, as they viewed the Portuguese as more brutal and believed that they would be better off if the Dutch remained in Brazil. The military aid provided by the Tupi population proved to be useful in 1645, when Portuguese colonists who had remained in Dutch-controlled territory began to revolt. Tupi mediators such as
Poty and
Paraupaba were instrumental in maintaining strong Dutch-Tupi relations during the struggle against the Portuguese. At the end of 1653, the Portuguese succeeded in capturing Recife, effectively ending
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil ( nl, Nederlands-Brazilië), also known as New Holland ( nl, Nieuw-Holland), was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the America ...
and culminating in their surrender in 1654.
![Salvador-CCBY-5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Salvador-CCBY-5.jpg)
Slave resistance began during the colonial era, in the 17th century, and eventually led to the formation of
quilombos
A ''quilombo'' (; from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were maroons, a term for es ...
, or settlements of runaway and free-born African slaves. The
Quilombo dos Palmares
Palmares, or Quilombo dos Palmares, was a ''quilombo'', a community of escaped slaves and others, in colonial Brazil that developed from 1605 until its suppression in 1694. It was located in the captaincy of Pernambuco, in what is today the B ...
, the largest and most well-known of these settlements, was founded around 1600 in the
Serra da Barriga hills, in the present state of
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...
. Palmares, at the height of its power, was an independent, self-sustaining republic, hosting a population of over 30,000 free African men, women and children. There were over 200 buildings in the community, a church, four smithies, and a council house. Although
Palmares managed to defend itself from the Dutch military and the Portuguese colonials for several decades, it was finally taken and destroyed and its leader
Zumbi dos Palmares
Zumbi (1655 – November 20, 1695), also known as Zumbi dos Palmares (), was a Brazilian quilombola leader, being one of the pioneers of resistance to slavery of Africans by the Portuguese in colonial Brazil. He was also the last of the kings ...
was captured and beheaded. His head was then displayed in a public plaza in Recife.
Although the
King of Portugal had abolished the enslavement of native peoples in 1570, it continued until the
Marquis of Pombal
Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government.
Later, through another roy ...
declared them to be 'free men' in 1755. However, by that time the practice was already rare.
Salvador remained the colonial capital until 1763 when it was succeeded by
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, the new economic power center of that era.
In 1850, the
Eusébio de Queirós Law
The Eusébio de Queirós Law was a law passed in Brazil on September 4, 1850 to abolish international slave trade in the country. This law was named after Eusébio de Queirós Coutinho Matoso da Câmara, who was the Brazilian Minister of Justice ...
was passed, abolishing the international slave trade in Brazil. Following the ban, some slaves from ''Nordeste'' were sold to the
Southeast region of Brazil ( pt, Sudeste), primarily to the state of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
. The percentage of slaves in Salvador dropped from 41.6% of the population in 1775 to 27.5% in 1855.
Before the rise of ''Sudeste'', ''Nordeste'' was the center of the African slave trade in Brazil, the center of the sugar industry in Brazil, and Brazil's main seaport.
Cangaceiros
Independent armed groups emerged in the
Brazilian Northeast
The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises ni ...
, which used guerrilla tactics to fight and were wanting to avenge crimes against family members or friends as well as fight for food and ammunition to their members, and often working for landlords who evicted the workers of the estates who reacted against exploitation in the county.
They were formed by people of humble origin, usually from the field, under the leadership of a chief who imposed their own concept of morality, honor, justice and piety.
Gangs were pursuing isolated goals, sometimes even fighting among themselves, and had its heyday between 1922 and 1930, when terror spread throughout the semi-arid Northeast and were chased by troops from seven states;
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
, Sergipe,
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...
, Pernambuco,
Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and
Ceará, the officials even using airplanes in repeated, unsuccessful, search attempts.
![Cartazlamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Cartazlamp.jpg)
In the struggle to capture the leader of the most feared of these bands, Virgolino Ferreira da Silva,
Lampião
"Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (), better known as Lampião (older spelling: ''Lampeão'', , meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the twentieth century's most successful traditional bandit leader. The banditry endemic to the Brazi ...
, the
Brazilian government
The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative o ...
went on to publish wanted posters promising 50,000,000
réis
The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...
to whoever brought in Lampião "dead or alive."
Deeply knowledgeable of the
caatinga
Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...
, the gangs had support from local farmers, politicians, peasants and priests, not only for fear of the bandits, but for need of their services. The rank of Captain Virgolino Ferreira, for example, was given by Father
Cícero do Juazeiro.
Besides Lampião, other bandits and outlaws have also become myths in the Northeast, outlaws like
Antônio Silvino Corisco, o Diabo Louro, (the Blond Devil). The entry of women into banditry happened in 1930 when
Maria Bonita became fellow Cangaceiro and followed Lampião's gang. Although the highwaymen took momentum in the early 1920s, the existence of armed groups in the Northeast comes from colonial times.
And one of the first of outlaws ever heard was The
Cabeleira, in the second half of the 18th century, was active in rural areas close to
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
. According to scholars, one of the factors that contributed to the proliferation of gangs was the great drought that decimated the Northeast in 1877: extreme poverty and hunger caused thousands in the
Sertão
The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...
, (hinterland), with no prospect of survival, to depart for plunder, paving the way for the world of ''cangaceiros''.
Banditry is at the origin in the very form of colonization in the Brazilian Northeast, where, financed by
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
, the pioneers invaded the Sertão, fell forests, landmarks and paid the gunmen and bandits to eliminate the native populations to react to the occupation of their land.
The private armies maintained by the Northeastern colonels who owned the land since
the Captaincies also differed on almost nothing, its methods, the bands of outlaws. The highwaymen was one of the most turbulent and contradictory times in Brazilian history and still comes up in a heated controversy: that the outlaws would have been righteous if they didn't become bloodthirsty bandits.
The end of the cangaceiros took place in 1938, when Lampião's gang was slaughtered, on the banks of the
São Francisco River in
Angicos, Alagoas. Corisco, o Diabo Louro, survived until 1940, but almost without doing anything to keep the promise to "avenge the death of Lampião."
Political subdivisions
The regions of Brazil do not have their own governmental or administrative bodies, but they are well defined. Their boundaries and constituent states are part of the recognized geopolitical structure of the country. The Northeast Region is composed of nine states, with 1793 municipalities and two special municipalities, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago and Fernando de Noronha Archipelago; there are no unincorporated areas. Brazilian states are divided into Mesoregions, and Mesoregions into Microregions, each region representing a group of municipalities. These regions were created by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics for statistical purposes and do not, therefore, constitute an administrative area. Municipalities are analogous to counties in states of the United States; a city is the urban area of the municipality, and always has the same name as the municipality.
A municipality may include cities other than the one which gives it its name. The largest state of the Northeast region in terms of area, population and economic output is Bahia; its capital Salvador is the largest city of ''Nordeste''.
Economy
In 2016, the Northeast was in 3rd place among the 5 regions of Brazil, in terms of total wealth. The Southeast comes in 1st with 53.1% of GDP, the South in 2nd with 17%, Northeast in 3rd with 14.4% and the Center-West in 4th with 10.2%. In GDP per capita (that is, GDP per inhabitant), it is in 4th place among the 5 regions, behind the Midwest, South and Southeast. None of the states in the Northeast Region of Brazil has a percentage of GDP production above its percentage of inhabitants in the country, therefore, being in deficit – with this, the Federal Government of Brazil is obliged to redirect taxes extracted in the Southeast and South to the Northeast Region.
Agriculture
![Pimentinhas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Pimentinhas.jpg)
The region is a major producer of
cashew nuts
The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus '' Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cul ...
,
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
,
cocoa,
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
and
tropical fruits
A tropical fruit one that typically grows in warm climates, or equatorial areas.
Tropical fruits
Varieties of tropical fruit include:
*Acerola ( West Indian Cherry or Barbados Cherry)
*Ackee
*Banana
*Barbadine (granadilla; maracujá-açu in ...
in general (mainly
coconut,
papaya,
melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...
,
banana,
mango,
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
and
guarana
Guaraná ( from the Portuguese ''guaraná'' ), ''Paullinia cupana'', syns. ''P. crysan, P. sorbilis'') is a climbing plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has large leaves and c ...
). It also has relevant
soy
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
,
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
,
bean,
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
and
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
productions.
The region is subject to prolonged
dry spell
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
s that are worse in
El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date ...
years. This causes a periodic
rural exodus
Rural flight (or rural exodus) is the migratory pattern of peoples from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective.
In industrializing economies like Britain in the eighteenth century or East Asia in the ...
. Government responses include dams and the
transfer of the São Francisco River. The worst recent droughts were in 1993, 1998 and 1999. The latter was the worst in fifty years.
In 2017, the Northeast Region was the largest producer of
coconut in the country, with 74.0% of national production. Bahia produced 351 million fruits, Sergipe, 234 million, and Ceará 187 million. However, the sector has been suffering strong competition and losing market to Indonesia, the Philippines and India, the world's largest producers, who even export coconut water to Brazil. In addition to climatic problems, the low productivity of coconut palms in the Northeast Region is the result of factors related to the variety of coconut harvested and the technological level used in coastal regions. In these areas, the semi-extractive cultivation system still prevails, with low fertility and without the adoption of cultural management practices. The three states that have the largest production, Bahia, Sergipe and Ceará, present a yield three times lower than that of Pernambuco, which is in 5th place in the national production. This is because most of the coconut trees in these three states are located in coastal areas and cultivated in semi-extractivist systems.
The production of
cashew in Brazil is carried out almost exclusively in the Northeast. The area occupied by cashew trees in Brazil in 2017 was estimated at 505,500 ha; of this total, 99.5% is located in the Northeast. The main producers in this region are Ceará (61.6% of the national area), Rio Grande do Norte and Piauí. However, Brazil, which in 2011 was the fifth largest world producer of cashew nuts, in 2016, fell to 14th position, with 1.5% of the total volume of nuts produced in the world. Vietnam, Nigeria, India and Côte d'Ivoire were the world's largest cashew nut producers in 2016, with 70.6% of global production. In recent years, there has been increased competition with some African countries, where government programs have driven the expansion of culture and processing capacity. It is estimated that at 295 thousand tons per year the installed capacity for processing cashew nuts in the Northeast, however, the Region only managed to produce around a quarter of that quantity. Among the main world producers, Brazil has the lowest productivity. Several factors are pointed out as the cause of the low productivity and the fall in the Brazilian production of cashew nuts. One reason is that most orchards are in a phase of natural decline in production. In addition, the giant cashew trees, which are the majority in the Region, are exploited in an almost extractive manner, with low use of technology.
In the production of
cocoa, for a long time,
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
led the Brazilian production. Today, it is disputing the leadership of national production with the state of Pará. In 2017 Pará obtained the leadership for the first time. In 2019, people from Pará harvested 135 thousand tons of cocoa, and Bahians harvested 130 thousand tons. Bahia's cocoa area is practically three times larger than that of Pará, but Pará's productivity is practically three times greater. Some factors that explain this are: the crops in Bahia are more extractivist, and those in Pará have a more modern and commercial style, in addition to paraenses using more productive and resistant seeds, and their region providing resistance to
Witch's broom
Witch's broom or witches' broom is a deformity in a woody plant, typically a tree, where the natural structure of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grows from a single point, with the resulting structure resembling a broom or a ...
.
In 2018, the Northeast was in 3rd place among the regions that most produce
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
in the country. Brazil is the world's largest producer, with 672.8 million tons harvested this year. The Northeast harvested 45.7 million tons, 6.8% of national production. Alagoas is the largest producer, with 33.3% of Northeastern production (15.2 million tons). Pernambuco is the 2nd largest producer in the Northeast, with 22.7% of the total in the region (10.3 million tons). Paraíba has 11.9% of northeastern production (5.5 million tons) and Bahia, 10.24% of production (4.7 million tons).
Bahia is the 2nd largest producer of
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
in Brazil, losing only to Mato Grosso. In 2019, it harvested 1.5 million tonnes of the product.
In
soy
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
, Brazil produced close to 120 million tons in 2019, being the largest world producer. In 2019, the Northeast produced close to 10.7 million tons, or 9% of the Brazilian total. The largest producers in the Northeast were Bahia (5.3 million tons), Maranhão (3 million tons) and Piauí (2.4 million tons).
In the production of
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
, in 2018 Brazil was the 3rd largest producer in the world, with 82 million tons. The Northeast produced about 8.4% of the country's total. Bahia was the largest producer in the Northeast, with 2.2 million tons. Piauí was the 2nd largest producer in the Northeast, with 1.5 million tons, and Maranhão was the 3rd largest, with 1.3 million tons.
In 2018, the South Region was the main producer of
beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
with 26.4% of the total, followed by the Midwest (25.4%), Southeast Region (25.1%), Northeast (20.6%) and North (2.5%). The largest producers in the Northeast were Ceará, Bahia, Piauí and Pernambuco.
In
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Maranhão was the 7th largest producer in the country, with 681 thousand tons. Ceará was 9th, with 622 thousand tons. Bahia was 10th with 610 thousand tons. In total, the northeast produced 3,5 million tons.
About
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, Bahia was the 4th largest producer in Brazil in 2018, with a total of 604 thousand tons. Sergipe was 6th, with 354 thousand tons. Alagoas was 7th with 166 thousand tons.
Bahia is the second largest fruit producer in the country, with more than 3.3 million tons a year, behind São Paulo. The north of Bahia is one of the main fruit suppliers in the country. The State is one of the main national producers of ten types of fruit. In 2017, Bahia led the production of cajarana, coconut, count fruit or pinecone, soursop, umbu, jackfruit, licuri, mango and passion fruit, and is in second place in cocoa almond, atemoia, cupuaçu, lime and lemon, and third in banana, carambola, guava, papaya, watermelon, melon, cherry, pomegranate and table grapes. In all, 34 products from Bahia's fruit culture have an important participation in the national economy.
Rio Grande do Norte is the largest producer of
melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...
in the country. In 2017 it produced 354 thousand tons, distributed between the cities of Mossoró, Tibau and Apodi. The Northeast region accounted for 95.8% of the country's production in 2007. In addition to Rio Grande do Norte, which in 2005 produced 45.4% of the country's total, the other 3 largest in the country were Ceará, Bahia and Pernambuco.
In the production of
papaya, in 2018 Bahia was the 2nd largest producer state in Brazil, almost equaling with Espírito Santo. Ceará was in 3rd place and Rio Grande do Norte in 4th place.
Bahia was the largest producer of
mango in the country in 2019, with production of around 281 thousand tons per year. Juazeiro (130 thousand tons per year) and Casa Nova (54 thousand tons per year) are at the top of the list of Brazilian cities that lead the cultivation of fruit.
In the production of
banana, in 2018 Bahia was the 2nd largest national producer. Pernambuco came in 5th place.
Regarding
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
, in 2018 Paraíba was the 2nd largest producer state in Brazil.
Bahia is the largest Brazilian producer of
guaraná
Guaraná ( from the Portuguese ''guaraná'' ), ''Paullinia cupana'', syns. ''P. crysan, P. sorbilis'') is a climbing plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has large leaves and cl ...
. In 2017, Brazilian production was close to 3.3 million tons. Bahia harvested 2.3 million (mainly in the city of Taperoá), Amazonas 0.7 million (mainly in the city of Maués) and the rest of the country, 0.3 million. Despite the fact that the fruit originated in the Amazon, since 1989 Bahia has beaten Amazonas in terms of production volume and guarana productivity, due to the fact that the soil in Bahia is more favorable, in addition to the absence of diseases in the region. The most famous users of the product, however, acquire 90% to 100% of their guarana from the Amazon region, such as
AMBEV and
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
. Bahian guarana prices are well below those of other states, but Sudam's tax exemptions lead the beverage industry to prefer to purchase seeds in the North, which helps maintain the highest added value of Amazonian guarana. The pharmaceutical industries and importers, on the other hand, buy more guarana from Bahia, due to the price.
Animal husbandry
![Ovinos pastando ao por-do-sol num sítio em Araci-BA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Ovinos_pastando_ao_por-do-sol_num_s%C3%ADtio_em_Araci-BA.JPG)
In 2017, the Northeast had 12.9% of the Brazilian cattle herd. In the sertão, producers often suffer losses due to constant droughts. There are also goat breeds, which are more resistant, pigs, sheep and birds.
Livestock fairs are common in the cities of the northeastern countryside. These fairs gave rise to cities like Campina Grande, Feira de Santana and Caruaru.
The Northeast region housed 93.2% of the goat herd (8,944,461 heads) and 64.2% of the sheep herd (11,544,939 heads) in Brazil in 2017. Bahia concentrated 30.9% of the goat herd and 20.9% of the national sheep herd. Casa Nova (BA) took first place in the municipal ranking with the largest numbers of both species.
Regarding pork, Brazil had almost 42 million hogs in 2017. The Northeast had 13% of the total (5.4 million). In poultry farming, Brazil had a total of 1.4 billion chickens in 2017. The Northeast had 11.6% of the total (164 million). In milk production, Brazil produced 33.5 billion liters in 2017. The Northeast produced 11.6% of the total (3.9 billion liters). In the production of eggs, Brazil produced 4.2 billion dozens in 2017. The Northeast produced 16.1% (683 million dozens).
The Northeast was the 2nd largest honey producer in the country in 2017, losing to the South region. The total produced in the country was 41.6 thousand tons. The Northeast produced 30.7% (12.7 thousand tons).
In 2017, the Northeast was the largest shrimp producer in the country. National production was 41 thousand tons. Rio Grande do Norte (37.7%) and Ceará (28.9%) were the largest producers. Aracati-CE was the municipality with the highest participation .
Mining
In Northeast Region,
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
stands out, with 1.68% of the national mineral participation (4th place in the country). In 2017, at
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
, it produced 6.2 tons, at a value of R$730 million. At
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, it produced 56 thousand tons, at a value of R$404 million. At
chrome, it produced 520 thousand tons, at a value of R$254 million. In
vanadium, it produced 358 thousand tons, at a value of R$91 million.
In the extraction of precious and semi-precious stones, Bahia has small or medium scale productions of amethyst, agate, diamond, emerald, garnet, opal, ruby, tourmaline and turquoise. There is also aquamarine production in Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Alagoas and Paraíba; grenades in Paraíba, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte; opal in Piauí and Ceará; tourmaline in Ceará and Tourmaline Paraíba in Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte.
Industry
![J Macedo-sede](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/J_Macedo-sede.jpg)
In 2017, the Northeast Region had close to 13% of the country's industrial GDP. Bahia has 4.4% of the national industrial GDP, Pernambuco 2.7%,
[Industry Profile of Pernambuco](_blank)
/ref> Ceará 1.9%, Maranhão 1.1%, Rio Grande do Norte 0.9%, Paraíba 0.7%, Sergipe 0.6%, Alagoas 0.5% and Piauí 0.4%,. It is the least industrialized region of the country, in proportion per inhabitant. The states that have some relevant industrial level are Bahia, Pernambuco and Ceará.
Bahian industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
have automobile and tyre industries, footwear and textiles, furniture, food and beverages, cosmetics and perfumes, information technology and naval sectors. In Brazil, the automotive sector represents close to 22% of industrial GDP. Bahia had a Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
factory. It was created in Camaçari (2001). The Bahian automotive sector, led by Ford was in 2005 the third largest contributor (14.6%) to the Bahian GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
. Currently the state is trying to replace Ford, which stopped producing in Brazil. The state also has a petrochemical complex in Camaçari.
In Pernambuco, the naval, automobile, chemical, metallurgical, flat glass, electro-electronic, non-metallic minerals, textile and food industries stand out. Currently, the Suape Industrial and Port Complex, located in the area of the homonymous port, Metropolitan Region of Recife, is the main industrial pole of Pernambuco. The state capital is home to Porto Digital, a technology park with more than 200 companies, including multinationals such as Accenture, Oracle, ThoughtWorks, Ogilvy, IBM and Microsoft, accounting for 3.9% of Pernambuco's GDP.
The main sectors of the Ceará industry are clothing, food, metallurgy, textiles, chemicals and footwear. Most of the industries are installed in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, where the Industrial District of Maracanaú is located. In São Gonçalo do Amarante, a steel mill is installed, Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém, which in 2018 produced 2.9 million tons of crude steel, of the 35.4 million produced in the country. Some of the large companies in Ceará with national reach are: Aço Cearense (steel), Companhia de Alimentos do Nordeste (food), Grendene (footwear), Café Santa Clara (coffee), Grande Moinho Cearense (mill), Edson Queiroz Group (business conglomerate, works with gas, mineral water, household appliances, communications, education, among others), Naval Industry of Ceará, J. Macêdo, M. Dias Branco (food company that manufactures, markets and distributes cookies, pasta, cakes, snacks, wheat flour, margarine and vegetable fats), Troller and Ypióca. The state is generally poor. According to 2013 data, 396,370 people live in slums in Fortaleza. Fortaleza has the 2nd largest population in a slum among cities in the Northeast. 31.6% of residents have income per capita up to half the minimum wage. The state's productivity is small.
In other states, the industry generally boils down to food processing.
Tourism and recreation
:''See Also: List of beaches#Brazil, List of national parks of Brazil
National Parks ( pt, Parques nacionais) are a legally-defined type of Protected areas of Brazil, protected area of Brazil.
The first parks were created in the 1930s, and other parks were gradually added, typically protecting a natural monument s ...
, Brazil#Tourism''
As elsewhere in Brazil, tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
has grown significantly in the past few decades.
Most coastal cities of ''Nordeste'', besides the capital cities, have natural amenities, such as the Abrolhos Marine National Park
The Abrolhos Marine National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Marinho dos Abrolhos ) is a national park that was established in 1983 covering most of the Abrolhos Archipelago area in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
Location
The park was established on 6 ...
, Itacaré
Itacaré is a municipality in the cocoa zone of the state of Bahia in Brazil, south of Salvador.
Location
Itacaré is located 70 km north of Ilhéus where the Rio de Contas, which comes from the Chapada Diamantina, meets the Atlantic Ocean. ...
, Comandatuba Island, Costa do Sauípe, Canavieiras and Porto Seguro
Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...
, in the state of Bahia; the Marine National Park of Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha () is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and islets, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is in ...
, Porto de Galinhas beach in the state of Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
; tropical paradises, such as Canoa Quebrada
Canoa Quebrada (meaning ''broken canoe'' in Portuguese), known as the pearl of the east coast of Ceará, Brazil, is an international tourist beach resort 164 km from Fortaleza, in the municipality of Aracati.
This small fishing village, am ...
and Jericoacoara, on the coast of Ceará, as well as places to practice paragliding, as in Quixadá
Quixadá is a municipality in the state of Ceará, in Brazil.
It is known for its unusual rock formations, known locally as monoliths.
Location
Quixadá is located at around .
It was founded in 1870 and had a population of 80,605 residents in 2 ...
and Sobral; and Lençóis Maranhenses, embellishing the coast of Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
State, among many others.
In the interior, there are the national parks of Serra da Capivara and Sete Cidades, both in the state of Piauí; the city of João Pessoa in the state of Paraíba; Chapada Diamantina
Chapada Diamantina (; Portuguese for the "Diamond Plateau") is a region of Bahia state, in the Northeast of Brazil. This mountain range is known as “Serra do Espinhaço,” in Minas Gerais state, south of Bahia.
Description
The Chapada Di ...
, in the state of Bahia; and many other attractions.
The tourist industry is based largely around the beaches of ''Nordeste'', attracting thousands of tourists per year from other regions of Brazil as well as from Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
(especially Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
), the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, and Australia. There are two recognized nudist beaches in ''Nordeste'': Tambaba Beach north of Recife, Paraiba, and Massarandupio Beach 100 km north of Salvador, Bahia.
Infrastructure
Educational institutions
* Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Federal University of Pernambuco ( pt, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, UFPE) is a public university in Recife, Brazil, established in 1946. UFPE has 70 undergraduate courses and 175 postgraduate courses. , UFPE had 35,000 students and 2,0 ...
(UFPE)
* Universidade Federal da Bahia
The Federal University of Bahia ( pt, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia and one of Brazil's most prestigious educational institu ...
(UFBA)
* Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB)
* Universidade Federal do Ceará
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred t ...
(UFC)
* Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB)
* Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte ( pt, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, UFRN) is a public Brazilian university funded by the Brazilian federal government, located in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Formally ...
(UFRN)
* Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS)
* Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL)
* Universidade Federal do Maranhão
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred t ...
(UFMA)
* Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI)
* and many others.
International airports
*AJU Santa Maria Airport (Sergipe)
Aracaju–Santa Maria Airport is the airport serving Aracaju, Brazil.
It is operated by AENA.
History
Although it had been in operation since the beginning of the 1950s, the official opening of the airport took place on 19 January 1958.
In ...
, Aracaju
Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inhabitants, which rep ...
, Sergipe
*MCZ Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport
Maceió/Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport , formerly called Campo dos Palmares Airport, is the airport serving Maceió, Brazil. Since 16 December 1999 the airport is named after Zumbi dos Palmares (1645–1695) one of the pioneers of resi ...
, Maceio, Alagoas
*PHB Parnaíba-Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport Parnaíba, Piaui
*SLZ Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport
Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport , formerly called Tirirical Airport, is the airport serving São Luís, Brazil. Since 17 October 1985 the airport is named after Marechal Cunha Machado.
It is operated by CCR.
History
In 1942, a gr ...
, Sao Luis, Maranhão
*NAT Greater Natal International Airport
Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport is an airport in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Brazil serving Natal and its metropolitan area.
The airport is managed by Consortium Inframérica.
His ...
, Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
, Rio Grande do Norte
*FOR Pinto Martins International Airport
Fortaleza-Pinto Martins International Airport is the international airport serving Fortaleza, Brazil. It is named after ''Euclides Pinto Martins'' (1892–1924) a Ceará-born aviator, who in 1922 was one of the pioneers of the air-link between ...
, Fortaleza, Ceará
*JPA Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport, João Pessoa, Paraíba
João Pessoa (), a port city in northeastern Brazil, is the state of Paraíba's capital and largest city, with an estimated population of 817,511 (as of 2020). It is located on the right bank of the Paraíba do Norte river.
The new "Estação ...
*REC Guararapes International Airport
Guararapes is a municipality near Araçatuba in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 33,100 (2020 est.) in an area of 956 km². The elevation is 415 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language
Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or C ...
, Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
, Pernambuco
*SSA Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport
Salvador – Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport , formerly called Dois de Julho International Airport and known by the Trade name Salvador Bahia Airport is the airport serving Salvador, Brazil. Since 16 June 1998, by Feder ...
, Salvador, Bahia
Oil refineries
* Lubnor (Petrobras), Fortaleza 82,000 bbl/d (13,000 m3/d)
Seaports
* Mucuripe port, Ceará
* Suape port, Ipojuca, Pernambuco
* Aratu Port, Bahia
* Port of Itaqui,Maranhão
Petrochemical plant
*Braskem
Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical company in Latin America and has become a major player in the international petrochemical market (8th largest resin producer worldw ...
, Camaçari, Bahia
Railroads
Planned for completion in 2013(It is now 2020?), a new railway will link Suape to the north-eastern interior. The federal government began construction in 1990, but it was postponed due to a shortage of money and only resumed in 2006. A second branch will travel north to the port of Pecém, which is also being expanded. There, the Ceará state government is setting up an institute to provide railroad travel for 12,000 workers a year, while Petrobras is also building another refinery. Paulo Roberto Costa, its downstream director, envisages trains transporting soybeans, corn, and iron ore from the interior to the ports, and returning with oil. Journey times to Europe and America will be three or four days less than from south-eastern ports. The 1,728-km line will one day carry 30 million tonnes of cargo a year.
The North-South railway and the Carajás railray in Maranhão are important logistics corridors, transporting the iron ore from the Serra dos Carajás in Pará and draining the agricultural production (soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...
s, corn, cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
) of southern Maranhão, Tocantins
Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...
, Goiás
Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...
and Mato Groso, to the ports of Itaqui and Ponta da Madeira, in São Luís. Other products are also transported, such as cellulose and fuels.
Mines
Hydroelectric dams and reservoirs
Brazil counts on hydroelectricity for more than 80% of its electricity.
Alagoas / Sergipe
*Xingó Hydroelectric Power Plant 3162
Bahia
*Apollonius Sales (Moxoto) Hydroelectric Power Plant 400
*Paulo Afonso Complex Hydroelectric Power Plant 1417.2
*Paulo Afonso IV Hydroelectric Power Plant 2642.4
*Sobradinho Hydroelectric Power Plant 1050
Maranhão
*Boa Esperanca (Castelo Branco) Hydroelectric Power Plant 237.4
*Estreito Hydroelectric Plant- 1.087
Pernambuco
*Luiz Gonzaga (Itaparica) Hydroelectric Power Plant 1479.6
In 2018, in Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
, natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
exploration in the Parnaíba Basin has the capacity to produce 8.4 million m³ of gas per day, exploited by Eneva, with the implementation of 153 km of gas pipelines, at the cost of R $9 billion. Such production is destined for the production of electric energy in the Parnaíba Power Station, with 1.4 GW of capacity. The thermal power stations has important composition in the generation of energy in the region, with other examples being the Campina Grande Power Starion, the Pecém Power Station and the Jorge Lacerda Power Station, among others.
In 2017, due to low levels of reservoirs, wind energy
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically, w ...
accounted for 50% of the electric power generation in the region, with the states of Rio Grande do Norte, with 3,722 MW and 137 parks; Bahia, with 2,594 MW and 100 parks; Ceará, with 1,950 MW and 75 parks; Piauí, with 1,443 MW and 52 parks; Pernambuco, with 781 MW and 34 parks; Maranhão, with 220 MW and 8 parks; and Paraíba, with 157 MW and 15 parks.
New investments, seeking to diversify the northeastern energy matrix and promote energy security, allowed in 2017 the start-up of the Solar Lapa Park (BA), with 158 MW, Solar Ituverava Park (BA), with 254 MW, and the Solar Park Nova Olinda (PI), with 292 MW, considered the largest solar parks in Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. In 2018, the Solar Parque Horizonte (BA) was inaugurated, with 103 MW.
Demographics
Urban areas and rural areas
Nordeste's major cities are almost all on the Atlantic coast. Some exceptions can be seen, however, like Petrolina
Petrolina is a municipality located in the southernmost point of the state of Pernambuco, in Northeast Brazil, in the valley of the São Francisco River. The population was 354,317 in 2020, and the total area is km², making it the largest m ...
-Juazeiro
Juazeiro, formerly also known as Joazeiro, is a municipality in the state of Bahia, in the northeastern region of Brazil.
The city is twinned with Petrolina, in the state of Pernambuco. The two cities are connected by a modern bridge crossing ...
conurbation Bahia/Pernambuco (population over 500,000) on the São Francisco River and Teresina
Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in north-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of t ...
-Timon
Timon is a masculine given name and a surname which may refer to:
People
* Timon of Athens (person), 5th-century Athenian and legendary misanthrope
* Timon of Phlius (c. 320 BCE – c. 235 BCE), a Pyrrhonist philosopher of Ptolemaic Egypt and He ...
conurbation Piaui (population nearly 1,000,000) on the Parnaiba River.
Good rural areas are scarce and generally they are all near the coast, or in the west of Maranhão, and are mainly used for exportation products. In the semi-arid areas of the Northeast Region, rural areas do exist, but rain is scarce in the region; rural areas in the interior are generally based on subsistence agriculture. Fazendas (large farms) are common in the interior, where cattle-raising and the cultivation of tropical fruit is often practiced. Also, in the areas where water is scarce local politicians often use the promise of irrigation projects as a bargaining chip to win elections.
Ethnic groups
Northeastern Brazilians are a result of the mixing of Europeans, Africans and Native Americans. African ancestry is significant particularly in the coastal areas, and especially in Bahia, Pernambuco and Maranhão. Native American ancestry is also present in all states, though more significantly in Ceará and Maranhão. Northeastern Brazilians also have a significant degree of European ancestry.
The racial makeup of the region is considered to be one of the primary reasons for which Northeastern Brazilians are often the target of prejudice and discrimination within Brazil, with other reasons including the region's comparative poverty and its leftist political leanings.
Ethnic composition of Northeast Brazil compared to other regions
The composition of the Northeast of Brazil compared to other regions of Brazil according to autosomal genetic studies focused on the Brazilian population (which has been found to be a complex melting pot of European, African and Native Americans components):
A 2015 autosomal genetic study, which also analysed data of 25 studies of 38 different Brazilian populations concluded that: European ancestry accounts for 62% of the heritage of the population, followed by the African (21%) and the Native American (17%). The European contribution is highest in Southern Brazil (77%), the African highest in Northeast Brazil (27%) and the Native American is the highest in Northern Brazil (32%).
An autosomal study from 2013, with nearly 1300 samples from all of the Brazilian regions, found a pred. degree of European ancestry combined with African and Native American contributions, in varying degrees. 'Following an increasing North to South gradient, European ancestry was the most prevalent in all urban populations (with values up to 74%). The populations in the North consisted of a significant proportion of Native American ancestry that was about two times higher than the African contribution. Conversely, in ''Nordeste'', Center-West and Southeast, African ancestry was the second most prevalent. At an intrapopulation level, all urban
populations were highly admixed, and most of the variation in ancestry proportions was observed between individuals within each population rather than among population'.
A 2011 autosomal DNA study, with nearly 1000 samples from all over the country ("whites", "pardos" and "blacks"), found a major European contribution, followed by a high African contribution and an important Native American component. The study showed that Brazilians from different regions are more homogeneous than previously thought by some based on the census alone. "Brazilian homogeneity is, therefore, a lot greater between Brazilian regions than within Brazilian regions."
According to an autosomal DNA study from 2010, a new portrayal of each ethnicity contribution to the DNA of Brazilians, obtained with samples from the five regions of the country, has indicated that, on average, European ancestors are responsible for nearly 80% of the genetic heritage of the population. The variation between the regions is small, with the possible exception of the South, where the European contribution reaches nearly 90%. The results, published by the scientific ''American Journal of Human Biology'' by a team of the Catholic University of Brasília, show that, in Brazil, physical indicators such as colour of skin, eyes and hair have little to do with the genetic ancestry of each person, which has been shown in previous studies (regardless of census classification). Ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be useful to estimate individual and population biogeographical ancestry. Brazilian population is characterized by a genetic background of three parental populations (European, African, and Brazilian Native Amerindians) with a wide degree and diverse patterns of admixture. In this work we analyzed the information content of 28 ancestry-informative SNPs into multiplexed panels using three parental population sources (African, Amerindian, and European) to infer the genetic admixture in an urban sample of the five Brazilian geopolitical regions. The SNPs assigned apart the parental populations from each other and thus can be applied for ancestry estimation in a three hybrid admixed population. Data was used to infer genetic ancestry in Brazilians with an admixture model. Pairwise estimates of F(st) among the five Brazilian geopolitical regions suggested little genetic differentiation only between the South and the remaining regions. Estimates of ancestry results are consistent with the heterogeneous genetic profile of Brazilian population, with a major contribution of European ancestry (0.771) followed by African (0.143) and Amerindian contributions (0.085). The described multiplexed SNP panels can be useful tool for bioanthropological studies but it can be mainly valuable to control for spurious results in genetic association studies in admixed populations."
An autosomal DNA study from 2009 found a similar profile "all the Brazilian samples (regions) lie more closely to the European group than to the African populations or to the Mestizos from Mexico."
According to another autosomal DNA study from 2008, by the University of Brasília (UnB), European ancestry dominates in the whole of Brazil (in all regions), accounting for 65.90% of heritage of the population, followed by the African contribution (24.80%) and the Native American (9.3%); the European ancestry being the dominant ancestry in all regions including the Northeast of Brazil.
A study from 1965, "Methods of Analysis of a Hybrid Population" (''Human Biology'', vol 37, number 1), led by the geneticists D. F. Roberts e R. W. Hiorns, found out the average the Northeastern Brazilian to be predominantly European in ancestry (65%), with minor but important African and Native American contributions (25% and 9%).BVGF – A Obra / OpЩsculos
Religion
''Nordeste'' has the largest percentage of Roman Catholics of any region of the country.
Culture
![Literatura de cordel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Literatura_de_cordel.jpg)
''Nordeste'' has a rich culture, with its unique constructions in the old centers of
Salvador,
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
and
Olinda, dance (
frevo
Frevo is a dance and musical style originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word ''frevo'' is said to come from ''frever'', a variant of the Portuguese word ''ferver'' (to boil). It is sa ...
and
maracatu
The term maracatu denotes any of several performance genres found in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Main types of maracatu include ''maracatu nação'' (nation-style maracatu) and ''maracatu rural'' (rural-style maracatu).
Maracatu Nação
Marac ...
), music (
axé and
forró
The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance typ ...
) and unique cuisine. Dishes particular to the region include
carne de sol
Carne-de-sol (, locally , Portuguese for "sun meat"), or jabá () is a dish from Northeastern Brazil. It consists of heavily salted beef, which is exposed to the sun for one or two days to cure.
Carne-de-sol is sometimes fried and served as a h ...
,
farofa
''Farofa'' () is a type of meal made from toasted cassava. It is eaten mainly in Brazil. It can be found commercially produced and packaged but can also be prepared at home based on family recipes. Most recipes will also contain varying amount ...
,
acarajé
Àkàrà (Yoruba)(English: Bean cake Hausa: kosai, Portuguese: Acarajé () is a type of fritter made from cowpeas or beans (black eye peas). It is found throughout West African, Caribbean, and Brazilian cuisines. The dish is traditionally encoun ...
,
vatapá,
paçoca
Paçoca () is a candy made out of ground peanuts, sugar and salt. Some recipes also add flour, such as corn flour, oat flour or cassava flour. It is typical of the Brazilian Caipira cuisine and most present in the countryside of southeastern st ...
,
canjica
Canjica is a white variety of corn typical of Brazilian cuisine. It is mostly used in a special kind of sweet popcorn and in a sweet dish also named " canjica", a popular Festa Junina dish.
See also
* List of Brazilian dishes
* List of Brazili ...
,
pamonha
Pamonha () is a traditional Brazilian food. It is a boiled paste made from sweet corn whisked in coconut milk, typically served wrapped in corn husks.
See also
* Bollos (Panamanian cuisine)
*Chimaki, from Japan
* Humita
*List of Brazilian dishe ...
,
quibebe,
bolo de fubá cozido,
sururu de capote and many others. Salvador was the first Brazilian
capital.
The festival of
São João (Saint John), one of the
festas juninas, is especially popular in ''Nordeste'', particularly in
Caruaru in the state of
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
and
Campina Grande
Campina Grande is the second most populous Brazilian city in the State of Paraíba after João Pessoa, the capital. It is considered to be the most important city of the Northeastern Brazilian subregion called '' agreste''. It is considered one ...
in the state of
Paraíba. The festival takes place once a year in June. As ''Nordeste'' is mostly arid or semi-arid, the Northeasters give thanks to Saint John for the rainfall that typical falls this time of year, which greatly helps the farmers with their crops. And because this time of year also coincides with the corn harvest many regional dishes containing corn, such as canjica, pamonha, and milho verde, have become part of the cultural tradition.
The
Bumba-Meu-Boi
Toada is a style of Central Amazon Rainforest, Amazonian folk music now moving into the mainstream in Brazil. It is a combination of traditional Amazonian rhythms with African and European influence. The genre was made known throughout Brazil af ...
festival is also popular, especially in the state of
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
. During the Bumba-Meu-Bói festival in the city of São Luis do Maranhão and its environs there are many different groups, with elaborate costumes and different styles of music, which are called
sotaques:
sotaque de orquestra, as the names implies, uses an orchestra of saxophones, clarinets, flutes, banjos, drums, etc.;
sotaque de zabumba employs primarily very large drums; and
sotaque de matraca, a percussion instrument made of two pieces of wood that you carry in your hands and hit against each other. Some matracas are very large and are carried around the neck.
Many major cities in ''Nordeste'' also hold an off-season
carnaval (or "micareta"), such as the
Carnatal
The Carnatal () is the largest ''micareta'', or off-season Carnival, in Brazil. It is held annually in December in the city of Natal in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Like other micaretas, Carnatal is different from the samba dance school p ...
in
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
or the
Fortal in
Fortaleza. Since its inception in 1991, Carnatal has become the largest off-season carnaval in Brazil. The event takes place once a year, in December, and draws roughly one million participants. The Fortal, meanwhile, takes place every July. Held in a stadium called Cidade Fortal, the Fortal is considered the largest indoor off-season carnaval in Brazil.
See also
*
Brazil socio-geographic division
The Brazil socio-geographic division is a slightly different division than the Brazilian Division by Regions. It separates the country into three different and distinctive regions:
*Amazônia Legal
*Centro-Sul
*Nordeste
Historically, the diff ...
*
Nordeste (socio-geographic division)
The socio-geographic division of Nordeste (, ''Northeast'') is the oldest populated by Europeans (also with the oldest fossils that suggests human presence in Brazil) and currently the second most populous area of Brazil (42,822,100 in 1990).
...
*
Zero Hunger: Political Culture and Antipoverty Policy in Northeast Brazil
Notes
References
*
External links
Brazilian Tourism Portaldiscover Bahiain your language with expats
{{Authority control
Regions of Brazil