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FORTALEZA
History
The city began with the construction of the São Sebastião Fort and was built
by the portuguese in the beginning of the 17th Century.
After being used as a shelter for many battles against indians and pirates, the
fort was taken over by the dutch who maintained their control for several years. When the portuguese finally recuperated the control over the
fort, it started to be called "Fortaleza Nossa Senhora da Assunção".
The fortress was transformed into a village which was called São José do
Ribamar. In order to honor the saint, the population built a chapel. In 1823, the Emperor Dom Pedro I promoted the village to a city and its
name was changed to "Fortaleza de Nova Bragança". Later on, it was just called "Fortaleza".
The abolition movement is the mark in the history of the people of Ceará,
which, by the way, was the first brazilian province to free the slaves. As the years went by, the economical situation of Fortaleza developed
rapidly because its seaport started to export cotton to England, besides other prime material of animal and vegetable origin.
The economic prosperity of this period caused the growth of Fortaleza. The city
went through great transformations with the urban infrastructure. In 1880, the mayor of Fortaleza installed street cars pulled by mules and
made the mail and telephone services available, building the first sidewalk of the "Passeio Público". Together with this, the first
newspaper and educational institutions appeared and the number of factories increased.
In the 20's and 30's, the districts closest to the sea began to be sought out
by the high society and the plots on the border were bought at high prices. Between 1950 and 1960, the uncontrolled growth, the drought and
the lack of structure caused the appearance of poor centers and slums. The great drought, which lasted from 1979 to 1984, made the urban
problems aggravated.
However, there was a process of revitalization of the city in the 90's, which
transformed Fortaleza into one of the most visited brazilian touristic points by tourists all over the world. |
Presentation
