Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attractions.
The state is divided into 78 municipalities. The capital, Vitória, is located on an island, which borders the municipalities of Vila Velha, Cariacica, and Serra. These municipalities, plus the outer cities of Fundão and Guarapari, constitute the state's main metro area. In the northern extremes of Espírito Santo is Itaúnas, in the municipality of Conceição da Barra, which is a tourist location known for its sand dunes and forró tradition.
The Captaincy of Espírito Santo was carved out of the Captaincy of Bahia in the 18th century, during the colonial rule of Brazil, and named after a 16th-century captaincy covering roughly the same area of coast. Following the elevation of Brazil to a constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in 1815, prompted by the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil, Espírito Santo was elevated to a province. After the independence of Brazil in 1822, it became a province of the newly established Empire of Brazil, and after Brazil became a republic in 1889, it was granted statehood. In the early 20th century, its current state symbols were adopted.
Etymology Espírito Santo's namesake is the Christian Holy Ghost (also known as the Holy Spirit).
Demonym Debate exists as to the origin of the term capixaba, the unofficial demonym for those born in Espírito Santo. "Capixaba" is Tupi for "corn hair", reportedly because the blond hair of the European settlers reminded the Amerindian natives of the golden color of corn. A more mainstream explanation is that the name is a metaphor for a corn-grower; Vitória Island is known to have been full of corn plantations in the early centuries of Portuguese rule in Brazil. A third etymology is from the name of a local tribe, borrowed by the Portuguese during the colonial period.
Originally, capixaba referred only to people from Vitória, but in common parlance, it eventually came to refer to those born anywhere in the state. The official state demonym, however, is "espírito-santense".
History
Espírito Santo was first inhabited by Amerindians, whose different tribes were usually semi-nomadic, but precolonial Brazil has no recorded history. The area was colonized by the Portuguese starting in the 16th century, and received African slaves, and later, European immigrants of various origins.
Colonial era and Empire of Brazil
The Captaincy of Espírito Santo, a hereditary fief, was granted to Vasco Coutinho by Manuel I of Portugal around three decades after the Portuguese first landed in Brazil in 1500. He arrived at the captaincy to serve his term on 23 May 1535, bringing a retinue of 60 soldiers, colonists, slaves, and servants. They settled on Vitória Island and around the Bay of Vitória.
The capital was at first established in Vila Velha, but due to frequent raids by Amerindians, it was moved to the current capital of Vitória, founded on 8 September 1551, on an island near Vila Velha, which was later named Vitória Island.
In 1556, after the arrival of European missionaries, the cities Serra, Nova Almeida, and Santa Cruz were founded.
The captaincy remained under the influence of Coutinho's family for 140 years. It was elevated to province status in 1821, following the 1815 elevation of Brazil to a constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves, prompted by the 1808 transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil. The Portuguese court were fleeing the Napoleonic Invasion of Portugal (1807).
After the Independence of Brazil in 1822, Espírito Santo's provincial status was kept, and it was headed by an appointed provincial president. Emperor Pedro II, who was on good terms with the provincial president, visited the Espírito Santo in 1860, during one of his tours of Brazil.
Modern history
In 1889, with the advent of the First Brazilian Republic, Espírito Santo was made one of the states of Brazil. Afonso Cláudio de Freitas Rosa was appointed the first governor of the state by the provisional government. He was followed by four other appointed governors (José Horácio Costa, Constante Gomes Sodré, Henrique da Silva Coutinho, and Antônio Gomez Aguirre) until the first elected governor of Espírito Santo, Alfeu Adolfo Monjardim de Andrade e Almeida, was inaugurated on 7 June 1891.
During the Vargas Era, state governors were indirectly elected by Congress. A short period of democracy existed during the Second Brazilian Republic; Carlos Monteiro Lindenberg was elected governor. However, after the 1964 coup d'état, governors were once again chosen by the national assembly. After Cristiano Dias Lopes, Arthur Carlos Gerhard Santos, Élcio Álvares, and Eurico Rezende were chosen in this fashion, the military government slowly redemocratized, culminating in the adoption of Brazil's current 1988 Constitution. Democratic elections were held for the filling of every term, up to the incumbent, Renato Casagrande.
Economy
During the first three centuries of Portuguese colonialism, the main cash crop was sugarcane, until coffee, in high demand in Europe, overtook it in the mid-19th century. During the colonial era, periods of gold rush occurred, when agriculture was neglected, leading to food shortages, but not as much gold was found in Espírito Santo, as in the neighbouring states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Another reason for the subdued expansion was the colonial administration's prohibition of the laying roads leading into Minas Gerais, as gold could be smuggled through the state.
Geography
With , it is about the size of Estonia, or half the size of Portugal, and has a variety of habitats including coastal plains, lakes, mountainous forests, mangroves and many others.
The volcanic islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz, east of Vitória in the southern Atlantic Ocean, are part of Espírito Santo.
Location
This Brazilian state is in the east of the southeastern subdivision of Brazil, which also contains the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), the state of Bahia (N), the state of Minas Gerais (N and W), and the state of Rio de Janeiro (S). Espírito Santo's main cities (outside the Greater Vitória region) are Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Colatina, Linhares, São Mateus and Aracruz.
Rivers The main river serving the state is the Doce (English: Sweet River). Other important river basins include the basin, the northern branch of the inlets flowing into the sea near Vitória, and the Jucu River Basin, which flows into the sea at roughly the same place, but corresponds to the southern branch.
Climate
Espírito Santo's climate is tropical along the coast, with dry winters and rainy summers. North of Doce River is generally drier and also hot. In the mountainous regions in the south and southwest of the state, the tropical climate is strongly influenced by altitude, and the average temperatures are lower.
Lakes One of the most important lake districts in Brazil lies on the banks of the Doce River. The area contains some 26 large lakes, the biggest of which is called Juparanã Lagoon.
Topography The state can be divided into two areas: the low lying coastline and the highland area known as Serra (where one can find the Pico da Bandeira), which is part of the larger Serra do Caparaó range.
Demographics
According to the 2022 census, 3,833,712 people were residing in the state. The census revealed: 1,908,803 Brown (multiracial) (49.8%), 1,479,275 White (38.6%), 429,680 Black (11.2%), 11,617 Indigenous (0.3%) and 4,268 Asian (0.1%).
The population density was . Urbanization: 82.2% (2006); Population growth: 2% (1991–2000); Houses: 1,056,000 (2006).Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (National Household Sample Survey), Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
Largest cities
Education
Educational institutions Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES) (Federal University of Espírito Santo) Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo (IFES) Faculdade Multivix (Multivix) Faculdades Integradas Espírito-santenses (FAESA) (Faculdades Integradas Espírito-santenses) Universidade Vila Velha (UVV) (Vila Velha University) Centro Universitário do Espírito Santo (Unesc-ES)
Culture The precolonial Amerindians groups in Espírito Santo were the Tupiniquim, Temininó, Aymoré, Puri, and Botocudo. They have largely been absorbed into the Portuguese-Brazilian civilization, and few live in reservations or tribes.
Especially in the 16th century, several towns in Espírito Santo were founded with primarily Amerindian populations converted to Catholicism, such as Serra and Santa Cruz. Amerindian food has left its legacy in capixaba culture; the fish-based Moqueca capixaba is the state dish, among other local typical seafood dishes.
One large ethnic group in the state is known as Turcos. Technically from the region that is now Syria and Lebanon, they came to the state fleeing World War I. As at the time, they were Ottoman Empire citizens, they were commonly called "Turcos" (Turks). Large communities were established in the southern part of the state. Now, their descendants control a good share of the local commerce. The Arab-Brazilians of Espírito Santo are generally Maronite Christians.
About 60–75% of the population of Espírito Santo has Italian ancestry, making it the state with the highest percentage of Italian descendants in Brazil. They founded many towns in the area and have significant influence on capixaba society. A number of traditional Italian dance groups are still in the state, as are Italian culture festivals, such as the one held in Venda Nova do Imigrante. Italian food is also an important part of capixaba cuisine. Italian pasta and cheeses, such as mozzarella, are produced locally. Small-scale farming, which is turning increasingly towards agrotourism, is appealing to its Italian roots to exploit that market.
Germans were among the first colonists to cultivate land away from the coastal zone, and were a strong influence. The first German settlement, Santa Isabel, was founded in 1844, and still stands. Like today's capixaba Italian community, they still hold on to many aspects of their ancestors' homeland's culture, as represented in festivals such as the Sommerfest in Domingos Martins. Domingos Martins also hosts a Colonization Museum, where one can find old photos, artifacts, and documents pertaining to that settlement movement.
Espírito Santo is home to the biggest community of East Pomeranian speakers in the world. More than a century after arriving to Espírito Santo, East Pomeranian continues to be spoken and remains an important part of Espírito Santo's heritage for many people. To this day, they continue centuries-old customs within their communities.
Between 1858 and 1862, a group of Dutch settlers from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen migrated to the state. In the area of Santa Leopoldina, their dialect of Dutch, which they call Ollans but is in fact a variety of Zeeuws-Vlaams influenced by Pomeranian, is still spoken by about 20 speakers. It is therefore severely endangered.
The first African slaves in Espírito Santo arrived in Vitória in 1609, and years of slavery ensued. Espírito Santo, though, was still to play a significant part in the Brazilian abolitionist movement in the guise of its slave rebellion of 1848–1849, which required the intervention of imperial troops. Slavery began to lose its economic importance in Espírito Santo after that event.