SAO PAULO

city, capital of So Paulo estado (state), southeastern Brazil. The foremost industrial centre in Latin America, So Paulo is Brazil's largest city and one of the most populous cities in the Western Hemisphere. It originated as a small Indian settlement founded by Portuguese Jesuit priests in 1554. So Paulo is situated in the hills of the Serra do Mar on the edge of Brazil's Great Escarpment, 30 miles (48 km) from its Atlantic port of Santos and 220 miles (350 km) southwest of Rio de Janeiro. The city's topography includes open country, valleys, and foothills, with the higher parts being the preferred residential areas. The valleys consist of alluvial land on the banks of the Tiet, Pinheiros, and Tamanduate rivers. Because of its moderate elevation (2,690 feet ), So Paulo enjoys a more temperate climate than most areas that lie within the tropics. The temperature ranges from the freezing point during the winter to 86 F (30 C) on an exceptionally hot summer day. A gentle wind from the Serra da Cantareira contributes to this moderate climate. The economy of So Paulo is diversified. Principal industries include the production of textiles, mechanical and electrical appliances, furniture, and chemicals and pharmaceuticals and the processing of foodstuffs. Metallurgy and oil refining are important in the surrounding area, with refineries located at Cubato and Capuava and heavy metallurgical plants at Taubat. Wholesale and retail trade are well developed, with each commercial specialty assigned to its own zone within the city. So Paulo is also a national and international banking centre, with branches of banks from many foreign countries. Throughout most of the 19th century, So Paulo consisted of dilapidated buildings on narrow, unpaved streets, with churches and convents reflecting the influence of the Jesuit and Franciscan religious orders. It adopted a city plan in 1889, after rapid and unchecked growth had engulfed the entire metropolis. Since then, successive administrations have widened and relocated streets, straightened rivers, and generally encouraged more rational growth. The growth of So Paulo as a cultural and intellectual centre can be traced to the founding of the Faculty of Law (1827), which was incorporated into the University of So Paulo (1934), now the most esteemed institution of higher learning in the city. Affiliated institutions include the Butant Institute, a world-famous research centre for the study of snakes and antitoxins. So Paulo is also noted for its libraries and theatres, particularly the Municipal Theatre. Located at a key junction of three of Brazil's most important railroads, So Paulo is linked to the coastal port of Santos by a cable railway and by a highway. (Santos is the nation's busiest port and the largest coffee-shipping port in the world.) Highways connect So Paulo with other major inland cities and most other Brazilian states. Its Congonhas, Cumbica, and Viracopos airports are among the world's busiest. Area city, 576 square miles (1,493 square km); metropolitan area, 3,101 square miles (7,951 square km). Pop. (1985 est.) mun., 10,099,086; metropolitan area, 15,280,375. city, capital of So Paulo estado (state), southeastern Brazil. It is the foremost industrial centre in Latin America. With one of the world's fastest growing metropolitan populations, it is also the largest city of the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest conurbations in the world. Sometimes called the locomotive that pulls the rest of Brazil, So Paulo has a vibrant and energetic urban core characterized by an ever-growing maze of modern steel, concrete, and glass skyscrapers. The city is located in the hills of the Serra do Mar, which forms part of the Great Escarpment that extends between the Brazilian Highlands and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies about 220 miles (354 kilometres) southwest of Rio de Janeiro and about 30 miles inland from the port of Santos. The city's name derives from its having been founded by Jesuit missionaries on January 25, 1554, the anniversary of the conversion of St. Paul. estado (state) of southeastern Brazil, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast and bounded by the states of Minas Gerais (northeast), Rio de Janeiro (east), Paran (southwest), and Mato Grosso do Sul (west). So Paulo constitutes the richest and most populous region of the country. With a total area of 95,714 square miles (247,898 square km), it produces more than half of the country's manufactures and more than one-third of its leading cropcoffee. The overwhelming majority of its population is urban and suburban. The state capital, So Paulo, is the largest city in Brazil (having overtaken Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s). The area that was to become So Paulo was settled in 1532 by the Portuguese under the explorer Martim Afonso de Souza, who established a flourishing settlement at So Vicente, now a resort town near Santos. When Brazil was divided into captaincies, or hereditary fiefs, the captaincy of So Vicente, comprising the whole of Brazil south of Rio de Janeiro, was granted to Souza (1534). The Vicentinos (inhabitants of So Vicente) had begun to explore the hinterlands, and new villages began to appear on the coastline and on the plateau, which became the main region of inland settlement. In 1681 the captaincy was renamed So Paulo, and the town of So Paulo (founded 1554) was designated the capital. In the 18th century the Portuguese inhabitants of the captaincy (called Paulistas, or Paulistanos) continued to penetrate the west, north, and south. So Paulo existed on its commerce, sugar growing, and diversified agriculture until the introduction of coffee planting in the 19th century opened a new economic era. The national independence of Brazil was proclaimed in So Paulo in 1822, at which time the captaincy became a province of the new Brazilian empire. The region of So Paulo became a state when the republic was formed in 1889. Political importance grew with the economy. The nation's first three civilian presidents after the downfall of the empire in 1889 were Paulistas. In the 20th century, Paulistas, who first served as mayors of the capital city, as governors, or as local political or industrial leaders, have occupied the presidency, cabinet, and other federal positions with significant regularity. So Paulo has a coastline 370 miles (600 km) long. The narrow coastal zone is broken by lagoons, tidal channels, and mountain spurs. It is bordered by the well-wooded slopes of the Serra do Mar, a part of the Great Escarpment, which rims an extensive plateau with wide, grassy plains, about 1,500 to 3,000 feet (460 to 920 m) above sea level. Isolated ranges of low elevation break the surface in places, but, in general, the undulating tableland slopes toward the Paran River, the state's western boundary. The Paranand its tributaries, the Paranapanema, Tiet (which traverses the whole state), Pardo, Canoas, Inferno, Anhanguera, Turvo, and Douradosflows westward into the estuary of the Ro de la Plata. The extreme eastern part of the tableland, however, slopes to the east, and, from a little east of the city of So Paulo, the Paraba do Sul River turns northeastward and flows parallel to the coast, meandering across a wide floodplain used for the production of rice. On the coast the average temperature is about 68 F (20 C), and the annual rainfall is about 79 inches (2,007 mm); on the plateau the average temperature varies between about 64 and 68 F (18 and 20 C), and in the mountainous areas annual rainfall reaches 59 inches (1,500 mm). The lower third of the state is crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn, and the weather in general is mild and healthful. The coastal zone has a hot climate and heavy rainfall. On the plateau rainfall is ample with high daytime temperatures and cool nights. The evergreen forests are reminiscent of the wealth of vegetation in Brazil in days gone by. The vegetation is greatly diversified and includes several kinds of hardwoods (such as rosewood), wild fruits, and plants that are used for medicinal and ornamental purposes or for making textiles. The Paulist animal life is rich and diverse, including the jaguar, cougar, tapir, capybara (an edible rodent related to the guinea pig), howling monkey, parrot, macaw, and alligator. Before the arrival of the Portuguese, the two principal Indian groups were the Tup-Guaran, who lived on the coast and on the plateau, and the Tapuia, who lived farther inland. Black African slaves were introduced to the region by the Portuguese during the 17th century. With the absorption of the Indian element and with further European immigration (mostly Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), from the end of the 19th century onward, the population of the state was reduced to three elementswhite, black, and mulatto. Subsequently a small number of Japanese immigrants also arrived. Brazilian-style Portuguese is the language in general use, and English is relatively widely spoken. So Paulo is predominantly Roman Catholic, though other Christian denominations are found. Under federal law all citizens are entitled to primary education, which is free and compulsory; the cities have the best educational facilities. Institutions of higher learning include the University of So Paulo (with its constituent colleges and affiliated institutes), Mackenzie University, Pontifical Catholic University, and the Polytechnic School of Engineeringall of which are in the city of So Pauloand Luis de Queiroz Higher School of Agriculture in Piracicaba. Agriculture is largely mechanized; it owes its modernization largely to the Luis de Queiroz school and to the Institute of Agronomy of Campinas. Coffee was formerly the main source of wealth of the state and still accounts for a considerable portion of the total value of its products, although industry, mostly centred in the city of So Paulo and its environs, is surpassing coffee in importance. Besides coffee, crops include sugarcane, cotton, corn (maize), rice, beans, Indian or Paraguay tea (mat), potatoes, and such fruits as bananas and oranges. Ranching has begun to transform the old coffee lands into stock-raising areas and pastures for vast herds of cattle. Hogs, sheep, horses, and goats are also raised. The state has an extensive network of highways. Santos is the nation's busiest port and the largest coffee-shipping port in the world. The ports of So Sebastio, Iguape, Ubatuba, and Canania, which are considerably smaller, serve the coastal trade. So Paulo city has an international airport and is the centre of the state's most important cultural institutions. Pop. (1988 est.) 32,091,000. Additional reading Stefan Geyerhahn (ed.), So Paulo, trans. from the Portuguese (1977), is a picture book and general description; Benedito Lima de Toledo, So Paulo: Trs Cidades em um Sculo (1981), describes architecture, urban evolution, and history; N. Lecocq Mller, Demographic Growth and Urban Expansion in the Metropolitan Area of So Paulo, Revista Geogrfica (1983), is an informative study; Joseph L. Love, So Paulo in the Brazilian Federation: 18891937 (1980), is a study of the state's geography, population, local politics, and economy; John D. Wirth and Robert L. Jones (eds.), Manchester and So Paulo: Problems of Rapid Urban Growth (1978), focusses on the economic conditions of the city; Vinod Thomas, Pollution Control in So Paulo: Costs, Benefits, and Effects on Industrial Location (1981), studies one of the city's major problems; Paulo Cursino de Moura, So Paulo de Outrora: Evocaes de Metrpole (1980), is a history of the streets of the city; and Ernani Silva Bruno, Histria e Tradies de Cidade de So Paulo, 3 vol., 2nd ed. (1954), is a general history of the city. Aureliano Leite C.W. Minkel History So Paulo was the first highland settlement established in Brazil. It began as a small Indian settlement in 1554 under the direction of Portuguese Jesuit missionaries and occupied the lower terraces of the Rio Tiet in the midst of tall grasses and scattered scrub trees. The community grew slowly and had only 300 inhabitants by the end of the 16th century. Yet, So Paulo became a township in 1560 and had a town council that could enact and enforce laws. In 1683 it succeeded So Vicente as seat of the captaincy, or hereditary fief, and the inhabitants already had become known as Paulistanos or Paulistas. Seventeenth-century So Paulo was a base for expeditions (bandeiras) into the hinterlands of armed pioneers (bandeirantes) in search of Indian slaves, gold, silver, and diamonds. In the process they expanded the frontiers of what was to become modern-day Brazil. In 1711 So Paulo attained the status of a city, yet it remained an agrarian town that had yet to see any significant prosperity. Brazil's independence was declared on September 7, 1822, by Dom Pedro I, the Portuguese emperor in Brazil, at a site in So Paulo marked by the museum and monument of Ipiranga. Nevertheless, So Paulo continued to retain its colonial character until the latter part of the 19th century. Then, rather suddenly, coffee cultivation spread across the state of So Paulo, providing employment for many of the European and other immigrants who began arriving in great numbers. Included were Italians (who came to outnumber native Brazilians), Portuguese, Spaniards, Germans, eastern Europeans, Syrians, Lebanese, and Japanese. An era that was to transform So Paulo into a modern world-class city had begun. Between 1885 and 1900 the So Paulo region was transformed from an isolated frontier to a new and independent region that focussed on the city of So Paulo and the port of Santos. With the spread of coffee, the major centre of urban activities was shifted to So Paulo, and the growth of the city was spectacular. New industries by 1905 included textile mills, shoe factories, and others using local raw materials. Cotton textile mills alone employed 39,000 workers. In the late 19th century So Paulo had only one-tenth the population of Rio de Janeiro; by 1970 it had become the largest city in Brazil and one of the largest in the world. It included almost one-half of the population of So Paulo state, Brazil's most populous political subdivision, and accounted for about one-third of the nation's total industrial employment, and both proportions have continued to grow. Immigrants were pouring into the city at a rate of 300,000 per year, especially from the impoverished Northeast. So Paulo is a dynamic city, and continuous progress and official estimates indicate that by the year 2000 So Paulo will have surpassed Shanghai in population and will be the second largest urban agglomeration in the world, surpassed only by Mexico City.