- Piauν is a state
of striking contrast. From an economic point of view it may not be
amongst the most important in Brazil but included within its territory
is the Capivara National Park, the most important archaeological site
not only in Brazil but in the entire American continent. There is
evidence that this reserve, a pre-historic site in the middle of bushlands,
was the origin of American mankind, and much longer ago than was thought.
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- Also in the
state is the Parnaνba Delta, the only one in the American continent
to be in the open sea, and also the Sete Cidades (Seven Cities) National
Park with pre-historic cave paintings and rock formations dating from
at least 400 million years ago. Although Piauν has the shortest coastline
of all the coastal states - just 66 kilometres - it has an exceptionally
rich ecosystem comprising innumerable islands, lakes, narrow channels
and fine sandy beaches, covered by dunes and coconut groves.
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- The capital,
Teresina, is the
only north-eastern state capital to be situated inland because colonization
took place differently from the other administrative centres in the
north-east: in Piauν occupation started in the interior and spread
towards the coast. Unlike what happened in other states, the colonization
of Piauν did not leave behind any record of pirates or foreign invasions.
The territory was first occupied by bandits such as the Portuguese
Domingos Afonso Mafrense and Domingos Jorge Velho from Sγo Paulo.
Mafrense founded the first small town of Piauν, the present-day city
of Oeiras, whilst the first herds of animals were taken there by Velho.
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- In the seventeenth
century, colonization was led by impoverished Portuguese nobles and
by prominent church figures, mainly from the Jesuit Order, by Indians,
Negroes, people of mixed race and pioneers. There was considerable
involvement by cowherds who came from the neighbouring states of Maranhγo
and Bahia seeking new pastures for their herds. They occupied that
part of Brazil, establishing in the state what the people of Piauν
affectionately call the "leather civilization".
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- The majority
of the state has a semi-arid climate with wet periods from December
to April and drought during the rest of the year. The vegetation is
scrubland (caatinga) which, combined with the climate, favours subsistence
agriculture, the widespread stock-rearing on large estates and the
felling of species of palm tree such as carnaϊba and babaηu. There
is practically no industry in Piauν and conditions there make it the
poorest of all the Brazilian states, a situation that has remained
unaltered from colonial times until the present day. It was only with
the help of fiscal incentives in the 1960s that the state was able
to develop irrigated agricultural schemes, such as planting rice in
the fields, stepping up power generation, building new roads and improving
the urban infrastructure. However, contrary to other Brazilian states,
Piauν has the advantage of having a stable population, balanced between
the rural and urban areas, and a low demographic density in relation
to north-eastern standards.
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