Alagoas (), officially State of Alagoas, is one of the 27
federative units of Brazil
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which ...
and is situated in the eastern part of the
Northeast Region. It borders:
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
(N and NW);
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 ...
(S);
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
(SW); and the
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 ...
(E). Its capital is the city of
Maceió
Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form la ...
. It has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.8% of the Brazilian
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 often ...
. It is made up of 102
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and its most populous cities are Maceió,
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.
Arap ...
,
Palmeira dos Índios
Palmeira dos Índios is a municipality located in the western of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. , it has a population of around 70,000.
The city is situated in the interior of Alagoas. The Brazilian writer Graciliano Ramos was its mayor in 1927. ...
,
Rio Largo
Rio Largo is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population was 75,394 (2020) and its area is 309 km².IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatístic ...
,
Penedo
Penedo is a municipality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. The population is 63,846 (2020 est.) in an area of . Penedo lies south-west of the state capital of Maceió.
History
Founded in 1614, Penedo has many important examples of Portuguese a ...
,
União dos Palmares
União dos Palmares is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population was 65,790 (2020) and its area is 428 km². Surrounding agricultural land is largely dedicated to sugar cane and cattle. At one time, when the ci ...
,
São Miguel dos Campos
São Miguel dos Campos-AL is a municipality located in the eastern half of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population was 61,797 as of 2020 estimates and its area is 361 km².IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( ...
,
Santana do Ipanema
Santana do Ipanema is a municipality in the western half of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. It was founded in 1875 on the banks of the Ipanema river.
Its population was 47,819 (2020) and its area is 438 km².IBGE
The Brazilian Institut ...
,
Delmiro Gouveia
Delmiro Gouveia is a municipality located in the westernmost point of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population is 52,262 (2020) and its area is 609 km².
The municipality holds part of the Rio São Francisco Natural Monument, which pro ...
,
Coruripe
Coruripe is a municipality located in the southern coast of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population is 57,294 (2020) and its area is 913 km².IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de G ...
, and
Campo Alegre.
It is the second smallest Brazilian state in area (larger only than Sergipe) and it is
16th in population. It is also one of the largest producers of
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
,
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
s, 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 ...
in the country. Alagoas also has oil exploration, mostly of onshore deposits.
Land of the ''
sururu'' (or Charru Mussel), lagoon shellfish which serves as food for the coastal population, and of coconut water, Alagoas also possesses some of the country's richest
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
.
Initially, the territory of Alagoas constituted the southern part of the
Captaincy of Pernambuco
The Captaincy of Pernambuco or New Lusitania ( pt, Nova Lusitânia) was a hereditary land grant and administrative subdivision of northern Portuguese Brazil during the colonial period from the early sixteenth century until Brazilian independence. A ...
and only gained its autonomy in 1817. Its occupation pushed the expansion of the
captaincy's sugarcane farming, which required new areas of cultivation, southward. Thus arose
Porto Calvo
Porto Calvo is a municipality in Alagoas, Brazil. Its population was 27,249 in 2020 and its area is 260 km².IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the ag ...
, Alagoas (now Marechal Deodoro) and
Penedo
Penedo is a municipality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. The population is 63,846 (2020 est.) in an area of . Penedo lies south-west of the state capital of Maceió.
History
Founded in 1614, Penedo has many important examples of Portuguese a ...
, nuclei which guided the colonization, economic, and social life of the region for a long time.
The
Dutch invasion in Pernambuco was extended to Alagoas in 1631. The invaders were expelled in 1645, after intense fighting in Porto Calvo, leaving the economy in ruins.
The escape of
African slaves
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean sl ...
during the Dutch invasion created a serious labour shortage problem on the
sugarcane plantations. Grouped in villages called
quilombo
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 e ...
s, the Africans were only completely dominated at the end of the 17th century with the destruction of the most important quilombo,
Palmares.
During the
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, the separatist and republican
Confederation of the Equator
The Confederation of the Equator ( pt, Confederação do Equador) was a short-lived rebellion that occurred in the northeastern region of the Empire of Brazil in 1824, in the early years of the country's independence from Portugal. The secessioni ...
received the support of noteworthy figures from Alagoas. Throughout the 1840s, political life was marked by the conflict between the ''lisos'' (lit. "straights", not the sexual orientation connotation),
conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, and the ''cabeludos'' (lit. "hairies"),
liberals.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the region's hinterland lived through the pioneering experience of Delmiro Gouveia, a entrepreneur from Pernambuco who installed the Estrela thread factory, which came to produce 200 spools daily. Delmiro Gouveia was killed in October 1917 in circumstances still unclarified, after being pressured, according to rumor, to sell his factory to competing foreign firms. After his death, his machines would be destroyed and thrown into
Paulo Afonso Falls
Paulo Afonso Falls (Portuguese: Cachoeira de Paulo Afonso) is a series of waterfalls on the São Francisco River in the north-east of Brazil adjacent to the city of Paulo Afonso.
Structure
The falls consist of a series of tiered cascades that de ...
.
Nicknamed the ''Land of the Marshals'' (''Terra dos Marechais''), for being the birthplace of
Deodoro da Fonseca
Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca (; 5 August 1827 – 23 August 1892) was a Brazilian politician and military officer who served as the first president of Brazil. He was born in Alagoas in a military family, followed a military career, and became a n ...
and
Floriano Peixoto
Floriano Vieira Peixoto ( 30 April 1839 – 29 June 1895), born in Ipioca (today a district of the city of Maceió in the State of Alagoas), nicknamed the "Iron Marshal", was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the Paraguay ...
, the first two
presidents of Brazil
The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...
, Alagoas gave the country numerous illustrious Brazilians among whom are the anthropologist Arthur Ramos, the maestro Hekel Tavares, the philologist
Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, the musicians
Djavan
Djavan Caetano Viana (; born 27 January 1949) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter.
Early life and career
Djavan was born in Maceió, Brazil to a white father of Dutch descent and a black mother. He later formed the group Luz, Som, Dimensão (LSD ...
and
Hermeto Pascoal
Hermeto Pascoal (born June 22, 1936) is a Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas, Brazil. Pascoal is a significant figure in the history of Brazilian music, mainly known for his abilities in orches ...
the poet
Jorge de Lima
Jorge Mateus de Lima (April 23, 1893 – November 15, 1953) was a Brazilian politician, physician, poet, novelist, biographer, essayist, translator and painter. His poetry was initially composed in Alexandrine form, but he later became a moder ...
, the jurists
Pontes de Miranda
Francisco Cavalcanti Pontes de Miranda (April 23, 1892 – December 22, 1979) was a prominent Brazilian jurist, judge, diplomat and professor of Law at the Federal University of Pernambuco. He occupied the 7th chair of the Brazilian Academy of ...
and Marcos Bernardes de Mello, besides the writers
Lêdo Ivo
Lêdo Ivo (18 February 1924 – 23 December 2012) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, essayist and journalist. He was member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, elected in 1986.
Biography
Lêdo Ivo was born in 1924 in Maceió, capital of Alagoas ...
and
Graciliano Ramos
Graciliano Ramos de Oliveira () (October 27, 1892 – March 20, 1953) was a Brazilian modernist writer, politician and journalist. He is known worldwide for his portrayal of the precarious situation of the poor inhabitants of the Brazilian ''sert ...
.
Etymology
The
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''lacus'', "reservoir, lake" is the origin, in the primitive vocabulary heritage, of 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 ...
, Spanish, and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''lago'',
[ANDRADE, Fernando Moretzsohn de; GUIMARÃES, André Passos. ALAGOAS. In: Enciclopédia Mirador Internacional. São Paulo: ]Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
do Brasil Publicações, 1993. v. 2, p. 258. French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
''lac'',
[Verbete "Lac"](_blank)
Linternaute.com. Page visited on August 16, 2011. one of its derivatives, the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''lacuna'', "pitfall, hole", "lack, want, neglect", explains the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''laguna''.
[Entry "Laguna"](_blank)
Diccionario de la Lengua Española. Page visited on August 16, 2011.[Entry "Laguna"](_blank)
. Dizionario Italiano. Page visited on August 16, 2011. But the Portuguese ''lagoa'',
coincidentally with the Spanish ''lagona'' and
Mirandese
The Mirandese language ( mwl, mirandés, links=no or ''lhéngua mirandesa''; pt, mirandês or ) is an Astur-Leonese language or language variety that is sparsely spoken in a small area of northeastern Portugal in Terra de Miranda (made up of th ...
''llagona'', suggests a change in suffix,
[Entry "Lhagona"](_blank)
Dicionário da Língua Mirandesa. Page visited on August 16, 2011. already documented in a 938 document from
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, under the spelling ''lacona'',
and in another from 1094, in
Sahagún
Sahagún () is a town and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León and the province of León. It is the main populated place in the Leonese part of the Tierra de Campos natural region.
Sahagún contains some ...
, under the spelling ''lagona''.
The Portuguese ''lagoa'' under the spelling ''lagona'' (perhaps ''lagõna''), is documented in the 14th century,
and alternated with the other for a long time; the
prosthesis
In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
is then explained by the introduction of the article, chiefly in locution (''na lagoa'', ''vindo da lagoa'') (''in the lake'', ''coming from the lake''),
and for
morphologic regularization with the derivatives of the verb ''alagar'' (''to inundate'') (''alagadiço, alagado, alagador, alagamento,'' etc.) (''swampish, waterlogged, flooding, overflow'', etc.).
The name appears as a competitor with the names of the lagoons of
Manguaba, ''a lagoa do sul'' ("the southern lagoon"), and
Mundaú, ''a lagoa do norte'' ("the northern lagoon"), already in the 16th century, when settlements were founded near the Alagoa do Norte and the Alagoa do Sul, the Alagoas, with the inclusion of the rest of the lagoons in the area.
[Why Alagoas?](_blank)
Official site of the Civil Cabinet of the State of Alagoas. Pageg visited on August 16, 2011.
The suffix ''-ano'' is characteristic of Brazil:
''paraibano'',
''pernambucano'', ''alagoano'',
''sergipano'',
''baiano'',
''goiano'', and later
''acriano''.
Geography
The state's name originates with the lakes along its coast near the city of Maceió. The coast is bordered by fringing reefs and many fine beaches. Behind the beaches, sometimes only hundreds of meters and defined by steep scarps, lies a stretch of green coastal hills having enough rainfall for considerable agriculture and scarce remnants of the
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
that now is largely limited to steep hill tops or steep valley sides and bottoms. This is the area long dominated by sugar cane.
Still farther inland lies the Sertão of the Northeast region of the nation. The Sertão is a high dry region dominated by scrub that is often thorn-filled and sometimes toxic, 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 ...
. This area and its people are famed in legend and song. It is the land of the cowboy who is clad from head to toe (if he is lucky) with very thick leather to avoid the sharp vegetation.
History
During the first three centuries of its history, Alagoas was part of the captaincy of Pernambuco, only becoming an independent captaincy in 1817. As a reprisal against the
Pernambuco Revolution, the King
John VI of
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 ...
ordered a vast portion of the territory of Pernambuco to be taken from it, most including its southern portion, one part was given to the captaincy of
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
, the other portion was made independent, creating Alagoas as a new Brazilian captaincy.
Initially, in the first years of the 16th century, Alagoas settlement went on slowly, however helped by Africans turned into slaves whose work urged the local economy. In the period of the 16th and 17th centuries, French pirates invaded its territory attracted by the commerce of
brazilwood
''Paubrasilia echinata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood ( pt, pau-de-pernambuco, ; ...
.
Some time later,
Duarte Coelho
Duarte Coelho Pereira (c. 1485 – c. 1553) was a nobleman, military leader, and colonial administrator in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. He was the first Donatario (Lord Proprietor) of the captaincy of Pernambuco and founder of Olinda.
Biogr ...
, owner of the captaincy of Pernambuco, gave the control of the region back to the Portuguese, running the territory as part of his captaincy. He increased the number of sugar cane plantations and built some sugar mills, as well as founding the cities of Penedo and
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. It ...
– this last one originally baptized by Portuguese as Santa Maria Madalena da Alagoa do Sul (Saint Mary Magdalene of the Southern Lake), currently the historic heritage town of Deodoro da Fonseca.
In 1570, a second expedition ordered by Duarte Coelho and led by
Cristóvão Lins, explored the north of Alagoas and founded the settlement of Porto Calvo and five sugar mills, which two of them still endure, Buenos Aires and Escurial.
In 1630, the territory was taken by the Dutch, whose interest was to manage the commerce of sugarcane in most parts of the northeastern region of Brazil. As part of one of the wealthiest Brazilian captaincies, Alagoas prospered along with the
sugar trade
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...
. They built ''Fort Maurits'' in Penedo, on the river São Francisco. However, the Dutch colonizers abandoned the territory after being defeated in 1646.
Decades before Alagoas was formed in 1817, its
sugar industry
The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate cli ...
had 200 mills, and agriculture also involved cotton, tobacco and corn plantations. With
Brazilian independence
The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurre ...
from Portugal in 1822, Alagoas became a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
. In 1839, the capital of the province was changed definitively from
the town of Alagoas to Maceió, mainly due to the increasing growth of the city because of its port.
Demographics
According to the
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...
of 2008, there were 3,173,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 109.9 inhabitants/km
2.
Urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
: 67.4% (2006);
Population growth
Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...
: 1.3% (1991–2000);
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
s: 779,000 (2006).
The
2022 census revealed the following numbers: 1,887,865
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
(
Multiracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
) people (60.4%), 915,400
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
people (29.3%), 298,709
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
people (9.6%), 20,095
Amerindian
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
people (0.6%), 5,505
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
people (0.2%).
According to a genetic study from 2013, Brazilians in Alagoas have 53.7% European, 26.6% African and 18.7% Amerindian ancestries, respectively.
Largest cities
Statistics
*
Vehicles
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wate ...
: 287,018 (March 2007)
*
Mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s: 1.4 million (April 2007)
*
Telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
s: 302,000 (April 2007)
*
Cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
: 102 (2007).
*
Homicides
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
: 60 per 100,000 inhabitants
Education
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 ...
is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
are part of the official
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
curriculum.
Educational institutions
*
Universidade Federal de Alagoas
Located in the city of Maceió, the Federal University of Alagoas ( pt, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, UFAL or Ufal) is the major university in coastal state Alagoas and one of the main research centers in Brazilian north eastern region (one o ...
(UFAL) (Federal University of Alagoas);
* Universidade Estadual de Alagoas (Uneal) (State University of Alagoas);
* Universidade de Ciências da Saúde de Alagoas (Uncisal) (University of Sciences of the Health of Alagoas);
* Instituto Federal de Alagoas (IFAL);
* Centro de Ensino Superior de Maceió (CESMAC) (Center of Higher Education of Maceió);
* Faculdade de Alagoas (FAL) (College of Alagoas);
* and many others.
Economy
![Cana-energia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Cana-energia.jpg)
Alagoas is one of the poorest states of Brazil. It has the second worst HDI in the country, ahead only of 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 ...
, though its indicators have improved in recent years.
The
service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
is the largest component of
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 often ...
at 55.8%, followed by the
industrial sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction ...
at 36.9%.
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
represents 7.3% of the state's
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 often ...
(2004). Alagoas exports consist of:
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
58.8%,
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
29.4%,
chemicals
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...
9%,
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
2.1% (2002).
The economy has been
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
, dependent largely on large sugarcane plantations with some
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
farming that is concentrated around the city of Arapiraca. Sugar cane formed the basis for an
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
industry that is in decline. Small to medium-sized tanker ships took alcohol on board in Maceio's port with considerable frequency during the peak period. Such loads still take place with less frequency. Another local industry is based on chemical products from
brine
Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...
pumped from deep wells on the outskirts of Maceió.
In the last twenty years the
tourist
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 mo ...
industry has found the beaches and Maceió itself has changed from a rather sleepy little port with coconut palm plantations along its beaches to high-rise hotels. The northern coast, particularly around the towns Maragogi and Japaratinga is beginning to see some of this development in the form of resorts attracting people from the south and 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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. There is considerable European investment (as of 2007) in beach property north of Maceió with walled compounds of beach homes.
Infrastructure
International Airport
Alagoas gained a new airport complex,
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 ...
, in the Maceió Metropolitan Area, designed by homegrown architect Mário Aloísio, which combines glass, metal and granite. It includes space for art exhibitions, a panoramic deck, chapel, seven escalators, nine elevators and four boarding bridges. The whole terminal was designed to permit access by the physically disabled, with ramps and special bathroom fixtures.
In the new terminal,
Infraero
Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862,INFRAERO: 40 ANOS SERVINDO PESSOAS, EMPRESAS E O BRASIL. Retrieved 01/10/2014linha%5D/ref> being ...
also brings to Maceió "Aeroshopping" – a concept that is transforming the country's airports into centers for leisure and high-quality products and services. The entire building has a computerized air conditioning, with commercial spaces that will be occupied gradually. The parking area was more than tripled. Demand will be able to grow to 1.2 million passengers a year since the new passenger terminal has 24,000 square meters, the triple of its former size. The check-in counters were doubled and can reach higher numbers without any structural remodeling. The building is "intelligent", meaning controlled by a computerized system that regulates factors ranging from the lighting level to air temperature and even the speed of the escalators. This system also controls access to restricted areas and the fire protection system, among others.
Highways
*
BR-101
The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.[BR-104
BR-104 is a federal highway of Brazil. The 672.3 kilometre road connects Macau to Maceió
Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an ...](_blank)
*
BR-110
BR-110 is a federal highway of Brazil. The 1091 kilometre road connects Areia Branca to Catu.
The highway passes through the driest area and one of the poorest in the country. In Mossoró, however, there is the largest production of melon in the ...
*
BR-316
The BR-316 is a Brazilian Highway System, Brazilian federal highway that connects the cities of Belém, in the state of Pará, and Maceió in Alagoas. It has a total length of 2,054 km.
The section between Belém and Santa Maria do Pará is a desi ...
*BR-423
*BR-424
Port
The Port of Jaraguá is located in Maceió. The commercial and economic development of the Port of Jaraguá, on the margins of the Mundaú lagoon, was responsible for the emergence of an important settlement that received the name of Maceió and later became the present capital of Alagoas. The Port of Jaraguá is situated in a natural port area that facilitates the ships docking. During the colonial period, the most important products exported through the port were sugar, tobacco, coconut and spices.
Sports
![Rei Pelé](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Rei_Pel%C3%A9.jpg)
Alagoas provides visitors and residents with various sport activities. There are several football clubs based in the state, such as ASA de Arapiraca,
CRB,
CSA
CSA may refer to:
Arts and media
* Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
* Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics
* Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
, Murici, Coruripe, CSE, Santa Rita, Penedense and Ipanema.
Maceió was one of the 18 candidates to host games of the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
, for which Brazil is the selected host, but it did not make the final cut.
Notable people
*
Bruno de Barros
Bruno Lins Tenório de Barros (born 7 January 1987) is a Brazilian sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres.
Biography
Barros was born in Maceió and resides in São Bernardo. He represented Brazil at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He ...
, Brazilian sprinter, Olympic medallist.
*
Maurício Borges, Brazilian volleyball player, Olympic champion.
*
Floriano Peixoto
Floriano Vieira Peixoto ( 30 April 1839 – 29 June 1895), born in Ipioca (today a district of the city of Maceió in the State of Alagoas), nicknamed the "Iron Marshal", was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the Paraguay ...
, second president of the Brazilian republic.
*
Tiago Fernandes, former Brazilian tennis player, champion of the 2010 Australian Open at Boys Singles
*
Zagallo (Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo),
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach.
*
Maria Eduarda Arakaki
Maria Eduarda De Almeida "Duda" Arakaki (born 12 August 2003) is a Brazilian rhythmic gymnast. She represented Brazil at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and competed in the individual all-around, and she represented Brazil at the 2020 Summer Oly ...
, considered the best Brazilian rhythmic gymnast of all time.
*
Yohansson Nascimento
Yohansson Nascimento (born 25 September 1987) is an athlete and Paralympian from Brazil competing mainly in T45/46 sprint events. He was born without both his hands, and is classified T46. He started athletics in 2005.
Personal history
Nascieme ...
, athlete, paralympic champion.
*
Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira aka 'Pepe', footballer.
*
Adriano Gabiru
Carlos Adriano de Souza Vieira or simply Adriano Gabiru (born 11 August 1977 in Maceió), is a retired Brazilian attacking midfielder.
He was member of the Brazilian national team in Qualifying at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2003 FIFA Confed ...
, football player, winner of the
2006 FIFA Club World Cup
The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 December and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cu ...
playing for
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A, the first divisio ...
.
*
Roberto Firmino
Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira (born 2 October 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for club Liverpool and the Brazil national team.
After starting his career with Figueirense in 20 ...
, footballer.
*
Roberval Davino
Roberval Davino da Silva (born 12 August 1954, in Maceió) is a retired Brazilian professional football player, who played as midfielder and currently a manager.
Began his professional career in the CRB in 1969. Later he played for the teams: ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach.
*
Sandra Suruagy, volleyball player, Olympic medallist.
*
Deodoro da Fonseca
Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca (; 5 August 1827 – 23 August 1892) was a Brazilian politician and military officer who served as the first president of Brazil. He was born in Alagoas in a military family, followed a military career, and became a n ...
(1827-1892) - First president of
Federative Republic 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 an ...
, 1889-1891.
*
Bruna Tenório
Bruna Tenório (born 27 June 1989) is a Brazilian model.
Personal life
Tenório was born in Maceió, Brazil. She is of Native Brazilian descent.
She married Felipe Faria in May 2017. They have a son, born December 2020.
Career
Tenório start ...
- Top Model.
Flag
The coat of arms symbolizes the first Alagoan settlement of Porto Calvo. Some plantations, sugarcane, and cotton that provided wealth in the past are incorporated in the design. The colors red, white, and blue refer to the
French ''Tricolore'', symbolizing the ideals of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
(''
liberté, égalité, fraternité
''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'' (), French for "liberty, equality, fraternity", is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it ...
''), while the five-pointed star refers to the
coat of arms of Brazil
The coat of arms of Brazil ( pt, Brasão de Armas do Brasil) was created on 19 November 1889, four days after Brazil became a republic. It consists of the central emblem surrounded by coffee ('' Coffea arabica'', at the left) and tobacco (''Nic ...
.
See also
*
List of municipalities in Alagoas
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Alagoas (AL), located in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Alagoas is divided into 102 municipalities, which are grouped into 13 microregions, which are grouped into 3 mesoregions.
Se ...
*
List of governors of Alagoas
References
External links
Official WebsiteBrazilian Tourism PortalVisit Alagoas*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040203153811/http://www.brazil.org.uk/page.php?cid=340&offset=4 Brazilian Embassy in London: São Francisco River
{{Authority control
Federative units of Brazil
*
States and territories established in 1817
1817 establishments in Brazil