Joaçaba is a

city 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 ...

situated in the state of

Santa Catarina, Brazil Santa Catarina (, ) is a state in the South Region of Brazil. It is the 7th smallest state in total area and the 11th most populous. Additionally, it is the 9th largest settlement, with 295 municipalities. The state, with 3.4% of the Brazili ...

, with approximately 30,404 inhabitants. Located in 27º10'22" S and 51º30'03" W and 516.74 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, the city was

colonized Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

in the early 20th century by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 ...

immigrants. Its industry is based on

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 t ...

and agricultural products such as

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

History

This territory was considered

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, Can ...

territory as part of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). However, 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 ...

occupied this territory from early on. In 1916, the State of Santa Catarina and its northern neighbor, the State of Paraná, fought for this land, in the so-called '' Guerra do Contestado'' ("War of the Contested Land"). Santa Catarina State won control of the region, and since then it has been under its jurisdiction. On August 25, 1917, Joaçaba was established as Cruzeiro, and through its history has also been called Limeira and Cruzeiro do Sul, until federal legislation in 1943 prohibited cities in Brazil from sharing the same name (there is a

Limeira Limeira is a city in the eastern part of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The population is 308,482 (2020 est.) in an area of 581 km2. The elevation is 588 m. It is 154 km from São Paulo, the state capital, and 1011 km f ...

in the State of São Paulo). The current name Joaçaba is derived from the Tupi, with the meaning of "crossway." Today, the city is known for its medical center, which brings medical students and patients from all over Santa Catarina, as well as for its university (UNOESC – Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina) which attracts students from all over the country. It is also noted for its Carnaval and the high

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

for its inhabitants, which was ranked 1st for the state of Santa Catarina and 8th for Brazil. The IDH (HDI) list (Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano – Index of Human Development), provided by the UN, gave Joaçaba the score of "0.953" in a scale of 0 to 1 for the year 2003. The city is served by Santa Terezinha Airport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joacaba Municipalities in Santa Catarina (state)