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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CAU-CHA |
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CEARA , a northern maritime state of Brazil, bounded N. by the Atlantic, E. by the Atlantic and the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Parahyba, S. by Pernambuco, and W. by Piauhy; and having an area of 40,253 sq. m. It lies partly upon the north-east slope of the great Brazilian plateau, and partly upon the sandy coastal plain. Its surface is a succession of great ter-races, facing north and north-east, formed by the denudation of the ancient sandstone plateau which once covered this part of the continent; the terraces are seamed by watercourses, and their valleys are broken by hills and ranges of highlands. The latter are usually described as mountain ranges, but they are, in fact, only the remains of the ancient plateau, capped with horizontal
The sandy, coastal plain, with a width of 12 to 18 m., is nearly bare of vegetation. The rivers of the state are small and, with one or two exceptions, become completely dry in the dry season. The largest is the Jaguaribe, which flows entirely across the state in a north-east direction with an estimated length of 210 to 465 M. The year is divided into a rainy
hardy
The higher plateau is devoted almost exclusively to cattle-raising, once the principal industry of the state, though recurring seccas have been an insuperable obstacle to its profitable development. There is still a considerable export of cattle, hides and skins, but no effort is made to develop the production of jerked beef on a large scale. Horses are raised to a limited extent; also goats, sheep and swine. The principal agricultural products are cotton
cotton
There are two lines of railway running inland from the coast: the Baturite line from Fortaleza to Senador Pompeu, 179 m., and the Sobral line from Camocim (a small port) to Ipu, 134 M. These railways were built by the national government after the drought of 18771878 to give work to the starving refugees, and are now operated under leases. Great dams were also begun for irrigation purposes. The misfortunes and poverty of the people have hindered their material development to a large extent, but another obstacle is to be found in their racial and social composition. Only a very small percentage of the population which numbered 805,687 in 189o, and 849,127 in 1900, is of pure European origin, the great majority being of the coloured races and their mixtures with the whites. The number of landed proprietors, professional men, merchants, &c., is comparatively small (about one- sixth
capital and sub-ordinate courts in the comarcas and termos. The judges of the higher courts are appointed for life. The capital of the state is Fortaleza, sometimes called Ceara, which is also the principal commercial centre and shipping port. The principal towns are Aracaty, Baturite, Acarahfi, Crato, Maranguape and Sobral.The territory of Ceara includes three of the capitanias originally granted by the Portuguese crown in 1534. The first attempts to settle the territory failed, and the earliest Portuguese settlement was made near the mouth of the Rio Camocim in 1604. The French were already established on' the coast, with their headquarters at Saint Louis, now Maranhao. Ceara was occupied by the Dutch from 1637 to 1654, and became a dependency of Pernambuco in 168o; this relationship lasted until 1799, when the capitania of Ceara was made independent. The capitania became a province in 1822 under Dom Pedro I. A revolution followed in 1824, the president of the province was deposed fifteen days after his arrival, and a republic was proclaimed. Internal dissensions immediately broke out, the new president was assassinated, and after a brief reign of terror the province resumed its allegiance to the empire. Ceara was one of the first provinces of Brazil to abolish slavery. See Rodolpho Theophilo, Historic da Secca do Ceara, 1877 a 188o (Fortaleza, 1883) ; Professor and Mrs Louis Agassiz, A Journey in Brazil (Boston, 1869); George Gardiner, Travels in the Interior of Brazil (London, 1846) ; C. F. Hartt, Geology and Physical Geography of Brazil (Boston, 187o) and H. H. Smith, Brazil: the Amazon and the Coast (New York
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