Map of Espírito Santo

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.

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.

Geography

With 46,180 square kilometers (17,830 sq mi), 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, 715 kilometers (444 mi) east of Vitória in the southern Atlantic Ocean, are part of Espírito Santo.

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).

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.

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 72.7 inhabitants per square kilometer (188/sq mi). Urbanization: 82.2% (2006); Population growth: 2% (1991–2000); Houses: 1,056,000 (2006).

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.