Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina, southern coastal estado (state) of Brazil, bounded to the north by the state of Paraná, to the south by the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by Misiones province of Argentina. It is one of the smaller Brazilian states. The capital is Florianópolis, located on coastal Santa Catarina Island. The region was given various names by early Spanish and Portuguese cartographers; the name Santa Catarina is said to have been given in honour of St. Catherine of Alexandria by the Italian navigator Sebastian Cabot, when he was in the service of Spain.

Santa Catarina was part of a larger hereditary captaincy (district administered by a captain) established by the Portuguese crown in 1532, although the first Portuguese settlement, at what is today the port of São Francisco do Sul near the Paraná border, was not made until 1648. The region’s interior highland prairies were used for cattle raising, and early in the 18th century trading posts were opened along the cattle trails leading across the plateaus toward the coastal towns and the northern markets. The captaincy of Santa Catarina was created in 1738 to serve as an outpost in the Portuguese-Spanish territorial wars. It was governed from Rio de Janeiro by the military until 1822, when Brazil became an empire independent of Portugal. A revolution that spread northward from Rio Grande do Sul in 1839 created the short-lived Republic of Santa Catarina in the locality.

During the 19th century a considerable immigration of non-Portuguese peoples occurred. Germans arrived as early as 1829 and came in great numbers during the 1850s, settling along the coastal valleys and founding the cities of Blumenau, Joinvile, and Brusque. Many Italians immigrated after 1875, and Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians arrived in the 1880s. African slaves composed about 10 percent of the population in the 1870s; they were emancipated in 1888. Santa Catarina became a state of Brazil when, in 1889, a republic was proclaimed to replace the empire; Florianópolis was designated the capital.

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Behind the seacoast a great escarpment rises like a mountain wall; Santa Catarina has little level ground. Its highest point is Mount Igreja, 5,932 feet (1,808 metres) in elevation, located in the southeastern part of the state. There are two principal river systems, one formed by the coastal rivers flowing eastward to the coast, the other flowing south to the Uruguay River, which forms part of the state’s southern border.

Rainfall is heavy, ranging from 47 to 97 inches (1,200 to 2,500 mm) annually. Average temperatures range from a summer high of about 69 °F (21 °C) to a winter low of about 48 °F (9 °C). Although much of the original forest cover, which consists of mixed tropical and subtropical vegetation, has been cleared, extensive reforestation programs are now being pursued.

The overwhelming majority of the population is white, the remainder predominantly Afro-Brazilian with a few Indians. The Portuguese spoken by the majority has also influenced the languages spoken by the descendants of the various immigrant groups. The dominant religion is Roman Catholicism; there are also several Protestant sects, and spiritualism has much influence, principally in urban areas.

There have been elementary schools in Santa Catarina for centuries, but secondary education became prevalent in the interior only in the 20th century. Higher education was introduced in 1919, and a number of universities are located in the major cities, the most prominent being the Federal University of Santa Catarina (founded 1960), in Florianópolis.

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A prominent feature of state welfare is the public-housing program. There were several hundred hospitals throughout the state in the late 20th century and several thousand doctors. The infant mortality rate is among the lowest in the country.

The manufacture of wood products forms a major part of Santa Catarina’s industry; these products include processed wood, furniture, and charcoal. Brazil’s best coal is mined near Criciúma on the southern coast. Fishing and fish processing are important, and Santa Catarina is one of the country’s leading pork and poultry producers. Much of Brazil’s wheat comes from the state, as does a large proportion of its tobacco and apples. Food processing and the manufacture of ceramic tiles, textiles, and mechanical equipment are also important. On the northern coast of Santa Catarina, tourism, especially from Argentina, is a major economic activity.

Two national highways cross Santa Catarina from north to south and one from east to west. A railway line crosses the centre of the state from south to north but is no longer of major significance. River and sea transport is poorly developed. The principal ports are Itajaí, São Francisco do Sul, Imbituba, and Laguna. There is an international airport near Florianópolis.

The theatre is popular in Florianópolis and Blumenau. The state Historical and Geographical Institute has been in existence since 1896 and the Academy of Letters since 1920. Area 36,813 square miles (95,346 square km). Pop. (2022) 7,762,154.