Brazil - Sao Paulo State (Chapter)

SÃO PAULO

São Paulo São Paulo occupies na área of 248,808.8 sq. kms. and contains one of the most heavily populated conurbations in the world. Its capital is the city of São Paulo, with more than 10 million inhabitants. The metropolitan region around the city of São Paulo has over 16 million inhabitants. São Paulo is the most developed state in the country, with an economy based on agriculture, ranching, commerce, services, and industry. The state includes the ABC region, where the country’s largest industries are located. The cities of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, São Caetano, and Diadema comprise the region known as the ABCD. History Colonization of the area began in 1532, when Martim Afonso de Sousa founded the Village (“Vila”) of São Vicente. In 1554 the Jesuits organized a nucleus around which the city began to take shape. In the 17th century inhabitants of São Paulo formed bands of adventurers (“bandeiras”) who penetrated the interior in search of mineral wealth and native labor. The expansion of coffee cultivation in the 19th century contributed to region’s economic development. The resultant accumulation of capital and the arrival of qualified European immigrants made industrialization possible. At the same time the socioeconomic profile of the province was changing, the phenomenon of urbanization attracted Brazilians looking for work from other regions. With its neighbor, Minas Gerais, São Paulo dominated the Brazilian political scene at the beginning of the 20th century through a strategy that came to be known as “coffee with milk”: São Paulo, which produced coffee, took turns heading the federal government with Minas Gerais, which produced milk. In 1932 residents of São Paulo organized the Constitutionalist Revolution, calling for the redemocratization of the country – but they were defeated by the federal government, which went so far as to shell the capital. Nowadays, São Paulo’s industrial park presents an advanced stage of evolution and diversification and has been expanding to other regions of Brazil. Location: Southeastern Region Capital: São Paulo Population: 37,035,456 (IBGE, 2000 Population Census) GDP 2001: US$ 126.7 billion (R$ 400 billion) Per capita GDP: US$ 3,373.05 (R$ 10,642.00) Number of municipalities: 645 Representation in the National Legislature: three senators and 46 federal deputies Illiteracy rate: 6.2% (2000 Census) Unemployment rate: 11.5% (IBGE 2002) Largest cities: São Paulo (10,434,252), Guarulhos (1,072,717), Campinas (969,396), São Bernardo do Campo (703,177), Osasco (652,593) Vegetation: Mangrove swamps along the coast, Atlantic Rain Forest and tropical forest in the rest of the territory Climate: Tropical Average annual temperature: 20°C

 

The flag of the São Paulo State is the representative flag used by the people during the Constitutional Revolution in 1932. On 16th July, 1888, the newspaper "O Rebate", which was founded by the writer Julio Ribeiro and used as a vehicle of republican ideas presented a flag formed by fifteen alternating stripes (8 black stripes and 7 white stripes) having on its superior corner a red rectangle. According to Júlio Ribeiro, the "paulista" flag symbolizes the three Brazilian races (the white, the black and the red race), having heraldic legitimization and colors harmonically distributed, recognized by the possessors of coat of arms of all countries.

Nowadays, the flag is formed by thirteen horizontal stripes (7 of them black and 6 white) and a red rectangle on its superior left corner. inside of it there is a silver circle with the geographic outline of the Brazilian Territory in blue and four golden stars on its angles.

São Paulo is the largest city of both South America and Brazil as well as the capital of Brazil's richest state, São Paulo. Located in the southeastern part of the country on the Tiete River, about 55 km (35 mi) inland from SANTOS, Brazil's principal port, São Paulo is the country's leading manufacturing and financial center.

Founded by Jesuits in 1554, São Paulo served during the 17th and 18th centuries as a base for Portuguese settlement of the interior. In 1822 it was the city in which Emperor Pedro I proclaimed Brazil's independence from Portugal. In the 1880s, São Paulo state became a major coffee-growing region

Many Pictures of São Paulo and its cities...

Pictures of just São Paulo...

• São Paulo picture

  Map of Sao Paulo

• Links to São Paulo and its cities...

Interior

São Paulo

• National Geographic
• Sao Paulo picture
• Subway system of São Paulo find your way around it!
• The Maksoud Plaza Hotel -SP