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RECIFE, or PERNAMBUCO

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 954 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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RECIFE, or See also:PERNAMBUCO , a See also:city and seaport of See also:Brazil, See also:capital of the See also:state of Pernambuco, in 8° 3' S. and 34° 55' W., near the extreme eastern point of See also:South See also:America. Pop. (1904 estimate) 186,000. Recife is frequently called the " See also:Venice of America "; it is at the mouths of the See also:rivers Beberibe and Capibaribe which unite to See also:form a small See also:lagoon or See also:bay inside the See also:sea See also:beach. In the See also:angle between the two rivers is the See also:delta See also:island of See also:Antonio Vaz. The city is built on the See also:southern extremity of the sandy sea beach, on the island of Antonio Vaz, and on the mainland to the westward, the See also:river channels being crossed by numerous See also:bridges. With the exception of the hills on which Olinda is built about 5 M. northward, the surrounding See also:country is See also:low and See also:flat, the See also:general See also:elevation averaging 10 ft. As the See also:tide rises about 6 ft., the general level of the city and neighbouring See also:coast, which is wet and swampy to the southward, is too low to be generally healthy, and Pernambuco has a high See also:death-See also:rate (522 per r000 in 1904), with See also:malaria as one of the See also:principal causes of death. The See also:climate is hot, although agreeably tempered by the S.E. See also:trade winds; the temperature ranges from an See also:absolute minimum of 61° to an absolute maxi-mum of 99° (1904). The rainfall (1904) is 75'3 in. The three principal parishes of the city are known as Sao Jose do Recife, occupying the sandy See also:peninsula or beach See also:north of the outlet of the See also:united rivers; Santo Antonio, on the island of Antonio Vaz, which was called Mauritia or Mauritzstad during the Dutch occupation; and See also:Boa Vista, on the mainland to the westward, which is the most See also:modern and the most rapidly growing See also:part. The first is the See also:oldest and most crowded See also:section, and is now devoted chiefly to the commercial and See also:financial interests of the See also:port; here are the See also:custom See also:house, merchants' See also:exchange (Praca do Commercio), See also:shipping offices, See also:banks and wholesale houses.

Santo Antonio See also:

dates from the Dutch occupation. See also:Prince See also:Maurice of See also:Nassau, when See also:governor-general, built here his private See also:residence (See also:Fribourg House) and made it his capital. Its business edifices and residences are largely of Dutch See also:architecture, with many storeys and steep See also:roofs. The older part of Boa Vista dates from the 17th See also:century. Recife has few public squares or gardens, and its streets are not usually well cared for. The older buildings are of the Portuguese type, usually See also:plain, low and heavy, constructed of broken See also:stone and See also:mortar, and plastered and coloured on the outside. The city has See also:gas and electric See also:illumination, See also:street and suburban See also:railways, drainage and a public See also:water See also:supply See also:drawn from a small tributary of the Beberibe about 7 M. to the N.W., in the direction of Caxanga. Among its notable public buildings and institutions are the old See also:government See also:palace in Santo Antonio built upon the See also:foundations of the See also:official residence of Prince Maurice of Nassau, with a See also:pretty See also:garden attached; a See also:theatre facing upon the Praca da Republica, dating from the second See also:empire; the palace of the Provincial See also:Assembly in Boa Vista, built in 186o—66, surmounted by a high See also:dome; the municipal palace, or prefecture, on Rua do Imperador, with the public library (Biblioteca Publica) occupying its third See also:floor and containing about 30,000 volumes; the Gymnasium, a large plain See also:building of two floors See also:standing near the legislative palace; the Pedro II. See also:hospital built between 1847 and 1861; a large See also:penitentiary, insane See also:asylum, orphans' asylum, and beggars' asylum; a See also:law school, artisans' school (Lyceu de Artes e Officios), and archaeological See also:institute; a normal school and school of See also:engineering; and See also:war and See also:naval arsenals. One of the most attractive churches is that of Nossa Senhora da Penha, surmounted by two slender See also:spires and a dome. The port of Recife is one of the most important of Brazil, on See also:account of its proximity to See also:Europe and its convenience for vessels passing around the See also:east See also:shoulder of the See also:continent. It is the landing-See also:place for two transatlantic and one coastwise See also:cable lines. Its See also:harbour consists of an See also:outer and inner anchorage, the former an open roadstead, which are separated by a remarkable stone See also:reef See also:running parallel with the See also:shore-See also:line, leaving an inside passage 400 to 500 ft. wide.

The entrance to the inner anchorage, which has a See also:

depth of about 20 ft., is opposite Fort Brum in the See also:northern part of the city, and is marked by a small Dutch fort (Picao) and a lighthouse at the northern extremity of the reef. This remarkable natural See also:breakwater, which is about 5o ft. wide on See also:top and has been repaired with See also:masonry in some places, covers a considerable part of the coast-line in this part of Brazil. It is not a See also:coral reef, as is sometimes stated, but is a consolidated See also:ancient beach, now as hard and See also:firm as stone.' In 1910 contractors were at See also:work on improvements to the port to cost about £1,666,000, under a See also:decree of the 3rd of See also:December 1908. The exports include See also:sugar, See also:rum, See also:cotton, hides, skins, See also:rubber, See also:wax, See also:fibres, dyewoods, cacau, mandioca See also:flour, pineapples and other fruits. Pernambuco is the principal sugar-producing state of Brazil, and Recife is therefore an important centre for this product. Its railway communications with the interior are See also:good, and include the Sul de Pernambuco, Recife and Sao Francisco, Central de Pernambuco, and the Recife to Limoeiro lines, the first three now being under the management of the See also:Great Western of Brazil Co. There are also suburban lines to Olinda and Caxanga, the latter providing communication with some of the prettiest suburbs about the city. Recife was settled about 1535, when Duarte Coelho Pereira landed there to take See also:possession of the captaincy granted him by the Portuguese See also:crown. The site of Coelho's capital was Olinda, but Recife remained its port and did not become an See also:independent See also:villa (See also:town) until 1710. Down to the See also:close of the 18th century, when Rio de Janeiro became important, Recife was the second city of Brazil, and for a See also:time its most important port. It was captured and plundered in 1595 by the See also:English See also:privateer See also:James See also:Lancaster. It was also captured by the Dutch in 163o and remained in their possession till 1654, during which time the island of Antonio Vaz was occupied and the town greatly improved.

At the end of the Dutch War the capital was removed from Olinda to Recife, where it has since remained.

End of Article: RECIFE, or PERNAMBUCO

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