SANTARM

city, capital, and concelho (township), Santarm distrito (district), central Portugal. It lies along the Tagus (Portuguese: Tejo) River, 47 miles (76 km) northeast of Lisbon. Originating as the Roman Scalabis (renamed Praesidium Julium by Julius Caesar), it became an important fortress city in the course of the wars between the Moors and Christians, until it was finally taken by the Christians in 1147. The Portas do Sol are the ruins of the Alcova castle, which was a royal residence in the European Middle Ages; other landmarks are a former Jesuit seminary (1676), the late Gothic Church of the Convento da Graa (with the tomb of Pedro lvares Cabral, discoverer of Brazil), and the early Gothic Basilica of So Joo de Alporo (now housing the municipal museum of sculpture). Each May, the Ribatejo agricultural fair is held in Santarm, attracting thousands of visitors. Industries include food processing, and tourism is of growing economic importance. Kaolin deposits, found near Santarm, are used to make china and pottery. Pop. (1981) city, 20,034; (1987 est.) concelho, 63,800. city, west-central Par estado (state), northern Brazil, on the right bank of the Tapajs River, near its confluence with the Amazon River. Santarm was founded in 1661 as a Jesuit mission to a Tapaj Indian settlement (aldeia) and grew around a fort built by Pedro Teixeira. It was given town status in 1758, with the name of Tapajs, and was elevated to city rank in 1848. A group of Confederate exiles settled in Santarm after the Civil War in the United States (186165); some of their descendants still live in the area, but most of the original settlers returned, disillusioned, to the United States. Santarm is now the most important town on the Amazon between Belm (593 miles downriver to the east) and Manaus and is a port of call for river steamers. The Tapajs River is navigable for steamers to the rapids 170 miles (275 km) above Santarm and for small boats to a point near Diamantino in Mato Grosso state. A modest trade comes from the settlements along the riverbanks. Rosewood oil, rubber, lumber, and jute are the region's most important exports. Manufactures include automobiles, machinery, and electrical equipment. Bauxite is converted to aluminum in Santarm, and petroleum and alcohol fuels are processed there. A few miles south of the city the escarpment of the Santarm plateau rises to an elevation of 400 feet (120 m). The plateau, which is crossed by a road to Belterra, is one of the most productive areas of agricultural colonization in the Amazon valley. Rice, feijo (beans), cassava, and malva are the principal crops. Highways link Santarm to Cuiab, Prto Velho, and Belm. Pop. (1980) 101,534.