Piauí
Encyclopedia
Piauí is one of the states of Brazil
, located in the northeastern part of the country.
Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked
Brazilian states at 66 km (41 mi), and the capital, Teresina
, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland. The reason for this is, unlike the rest of the area, Piauí was first colonised inland and slowly expanded towards the ocean, rather than the other way around. In the Southeast of the State, the National Park
of Serra da Capivara
is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. The park has more than 400 archaeological sites and the largest concentration of rock paintings
in the world, in a landscape dominated by canyon
s and caatinga
.
sites, including Serra de Capivara National Park and Sete Cidades National Park
, which are rich in remains of prehistoric Amerindian civilisations.
The first settlers in Piauí were sertanistas, from São Paulo, like Domingos Jorge Velho
, or from Portugal, like Domingos Afonso Mafrense. Mafrense founded what is today Oeiras
, whilst the first herds of cattle were taken there by Velho.
In the 17th century, many impoverished noblemen
and Jesuit
priests, as well as black and Amerindian slaves
, settled there. The first large-scale cattle farming also arrived with these settlers. Large estate owners seeking new pastures for their livestock arrived from neighbouring states such as Bahia
and Maranhão
.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the principal industry of the state was stock-raising
, which dates from the first settlement in 1674 by Domingos Afonso Mafrense, who established here a large number of cattle ranges. A secondary industry was the raising of goat
s, which were able to stand neglect and a scanty food supply. Agricultural products were cotton
, sugar
and tobacco
. Forest products included rubber
, carnauba wax and dyewoods. Exports included hides, skins, rubber, wax, tobacco and cotton.
Teresina was the first Brazilian city to be planned. In 1852, an architect designed it, after being inspired by a chessboard
. Situated at the mouth of the Parnaíba
and Poti River
s, Teresina was (and still is) known as the Green City because of the countless mango
trees that line the city's streets.
, on the east by Ceará
, Pernambuco
and Bahia
, and on the south by Tocantins
. It has a short Atlantic
coastline on the north.
The Parnaíba River
forms the boundary with Maranhão throughout its entire length, the state lies almost entirely within the basin of the Parnaíba and its tributaries. Part of the state on the Atlantic coast and along the lower Parnaíba is low, swampy, and historically malaria
l. South of this the country rises gradually to a high plateau with open campos. This plateau region is watered by numerous tributaries of the Parnaíba, chief of which are, from south to north: the Poti
, which has its source in the state of Ceará; the Longa; the Canindé and its tributary the Piauí, which is navigable for boats of 1 meter draft up to Nova York, a few miles above the mouth of the Gurguéia. The river valleys are separated by flat-topped plateaus called chapada
s, including the Serra Uruçui, which lies between the Uruçui-Preto and the Gurguéia, the Serra da Capivara National Park
, which lies between the Gurguéia and the Piauí, and the Chapada das Mangabeiras
, which forms the southwestern boundary of the state, separating the upper basin of the Parnaíba from that of the Tocantins
.
, low evergreen forests adapted to the nutrient-poor conditions. The lower basin of the Parnaíba is home to the Maranhão Babaçu forests
, which extend westward into Maranhão. This ecoregion dominated by stands of the Babaçu palm.
The eastern portion of the state is dominated by the dry Caatinga
s shrublands, which extend across much of northeastern Brazil. The Cerrado
savannas extend across the southwestern portion of the state, in the basins of the upper Parnaíba and Gurguéia rivers. Enclaves of Atlantic dry forests
lie in basin of the Gurguéia, forming a transition between the Cerrado and Caatinga. Serra da Capivara National Park
is located in the Caatinga of the south-central part of the state, and protects numerous caves with ancient cave paintings.
of 2008, there were 3,164,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 12.1 inh./km².
Urbanization
: 60.7% (2006); Population growth
: 1.1% (1991–2000); House
s: 791,000 (2006).
The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 2,272,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (71.80%), 739,000 White
people (23.36%), 145,000 Black
people (4.60%), 41,000 Amerindian
people (0.47%), 5,000 Asian
people (0.17%), 2,000 Amerindian
people (0.05%).
represents 12.6%, of GDP (2004). Piauí exports: essential oil
19.5%, soybean
17.1%, woven
of cotton
15.1%, cashew
12.6%, crustacean
s 12.4%, leather
8.3% (2002).
Grupo Claudino is the largest industrial company with headquarters in the state. They have annual sales of around R$700 million.
Transfers from the Federal government are estimated to represent around a third of state GDP.
The state government has been involved in a number of initiatives to develop aspects of the state's economy. 10,000-18,000 hectares of land worth a reported R$50 million was given to Brasil Biodiesel, a green energy company. The company suffered a number of setbacks and in 2009 said it was selling the land. A second biodiesel company, Piauí Ecodiesel Ltda, is reported to be receiving up to R$81.1 million of investment.
The state has offered substantial tax benefits to agro-industrial companies. Bunge, Cargill and Algar now grow soy in the state. Suzano is to grow eucalyptus for pulp. These projects have been criticised by state environmental activists.
According to research commissioned by SETUR, the state tourism authority, over one million tourists would visit Piaui in 2010. Estimates based on by CEPRO, the state statistics agency, suggest the actual figure is likely to fractional of this figure. The construction of an international airport at São Raimundo Nonato (Aeroporto Internacional Serra da Capivara) was cricised by Senator Heraclito Fortes on the grounds that it could not function as an international airport because the runway was too short and because ANAC (the Federal aviation authority) was not involved in monitoring the project, so were unable to certify it as safe for international flights.
There is some mining in the state, including South America's only opal mines at Pedro Segundo. Diamonds are mined by Gema do Piauí Mineração Ltda (Gemapi) and processed in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco in a joint-venture with Gitanjali Group (India). The state has significant deposits of nickel and iron ore. João Carlos Cavalcanti, a mining entrepreneur, and GME4 own the rights to the 800 million tonne PI4 iron ore deposit. A new railway bisecting the state may make this deposit economically viable.
Share of the Brazilian economy: 0.5% (2004).
is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English
and Spanish
are part of the official high school
curriculum.
Festa Junina
was introduced to Northeastern Brazil
by the Portuguese
for whom St John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer
Day in several Europe
an countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer
Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice
but during the tropical winter solstice
. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks
, and folk dancing in the streets (step names are in French, which shows the mutual influences between court life and peasant culture in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century Europe). Once exclusively a rural festivsl, today in Brazil it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and clichés in a spirit of joked and good times. Typical refreshments and dishes are served. Like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer
and St John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.
time in Brazil
. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.
since February 3, 1975. Teresina Airport is located four kilometers from downtown, roughly a ten-minute trip by car. It is 67 meters above sea level and the local temperature averages 30.9°C (87.62°F). There are no international flights to this airport.
BR-135,
BR-222,
BR-226,
BR-230,
BR-235,
BR-316,
BR-324,
BR-330,
BR-343,
BR-402,
BR-404,
BR-407.
and a star represents the state itself and the green and yellow bars represent Piauí's union with Brazil. In 2005 the words "13 DE MARÇO DE 1823" were added below the star to commemorate the date of the Battle of Jenipapo, an engagement in Brazil's war of independence.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, located in the northeastern part of the country.
Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked
Landlocked
A landlocked country is a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are 48 landlocked countries in the world, including partially recognized states...
Brazilian states at 66 km (41 mi), and the capital, Teresina
Teresina
Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. It is located in North-central Piauí 366 km from the coast.It is therefore, the only capital in the Northeast that is not located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. With 814 439 inhabitants, it is the 19th...
, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland. The reason for this is, unlike the rest of the area, Piauí was first colonised inland and slowly expanded towards the ocean, rather than the other way around. In the Southeast of the State, the National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
of Serra da Capivara
Serra da Capivara National Park
Serra da Capivara National Park is a national park in the north east of Brazil. It has many prehistoric paintings. The park was created to protect the prehistoric artifacts and paintings found there. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991. Its head archaeologist is Niède Guidon...
is a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site. The park has more than 400 archaeological sites and the largest concentration of rock paintings
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
in the world, in a landscape dominated by canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
s and caatinga
Caatinga
Caatinga is a type of vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in the northeastern part of Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation"...
.
History
The state has many highly important archaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
sites, including Serra de Capivara National Park and Sete Cidades National Park
Sete Cidades National Park
Sete Cidades National Park is a national park of Brazil....
, which are rich in remains of prehistoric Amerindian civilisations.
The first settlers in Piauí were sertanistas, from São Paulo, like Domingos Jorge Velho
Domingos Jorge Velho
Domingos Jorge Velho . was one of the most brutal and effective Portuguese bandeirantes. He was born to Francisco Jorge Velho and Francisca Gonçalves de Camargo...
, or from Portugal, like Domingos Afonso Mafrense. Mafrense founded what is today Oeiras
Oeiras, Piauí
Oeiras is a municipality in the Microregion of Picos of the Brazilian State of Piauí. According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística , its population was 34,538 inhabitants in 2003. The municipality covers an area of 2720 km².Oeiras grew up around a church founded in 1695...
, whilst the first herds of cattle were taken there by Velho.
In the 17th century, many impoverished noblemen
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
and Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
priests, as well as black and Amerindian slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, settled there. The first large-scale cattle farming also arrived with these settlers. Large estate owners seeking new pastures for their livestock arrived from neighbouring states such as Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
and Maranhão
Maranhão
Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the principal industry of the state was stock-raising
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, which dates from the first settlement in 1674 by Domingos Afonso Mafrense, who established here a large number of cattle ranges. A secondary industry was the raising of goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, which were able to stand neglect and a scanty food supply. Agricultural products were cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. Forest products included rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, carnauba wax and dyewoods. Exports included hides, skins, rubber, wax, tobacco and cotton.
Teresina was the first Brazilian city to be planned. In 1852, an architect designed it, after being inspired by a chessboard
Chessboard
A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the board game chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors...
. Situated at the mouth of the Parnaíba
Parnaiba River
The Parnaíba River is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. The Parnaíba River rises in the Chapada das Mangabeiras range, and flows northeastward for 1,056 miles to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. The middle and upper regions of this river are...
and Poti River
Poti River
Poti River is a river in Brazil, a tributary of the Parnaíba River. The city of Teresina, state capital of Piauí, was formerly named Vila Nova do Poti after the river....
s, Teresina was (and still is) known as the Green City because of the countless mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
trees that line the city's streets.
Geography
Piauí is bounded on the west by MaranhãoMaranhão
Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
, on the east by Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
, Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
and Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, and on the south by Tocantins
Tocantins (state)
Tocantins is one of the states of Brazil. . The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on the capital, Palmas, in 1989, in contrast to most of the other cities in the state which date back to the Portuguese colonial period...
. It has a short Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coastline on the north.
Parnaiba River
The Parnaíba River is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. The Parnaíba River rises in the Chapada das Mangabeiras range, and flows northeastward for 1,056 miles to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. The middle and upper regions of this river are...
forms the boundary with Maranhão throughout its entire length, the state lies almost entirely within the basin of the Parnaíba and its tributaries. Part of the state on the Atlantic coast and along the lower Parnaíba is low, swampy, and historically malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
l. South of this the country rises gradually to a high plateau with open campos. This plateau region is watered by numerous tributaries of the Parnaíba, chief of which are, from south to north: the Poti
Poti River
Poti River is a river in Brazil, a tributary of the Parnaíba River. The city of Teresina, state capital of Piauí, was formerly named Vila Nova do Poti after the river....
, which has its source in the state of Ceará; the Longa; the Canindé and its tributary the Piauí, which is navigable for boats of 1 meter draft up to Nova York, a few miles above the mouth of the Gurguéia. The river valleys are separated by flat-topped plateaus called chapada
Chapada
A chapada is a plateau found in the Brazilian Highlands. The chapadas, which are usually described as mountain ranges, are capped by horizontal strata of sandstone and show the original surface, which has been worn away by the rivers, leaving here and there broad flat-topped ridges between river...
s, including the Serra Uruçui, which lies between the Uruçui-Preto and the Gurguéia, the Serra da Capivara National Park
Serra da Capivara National Park
Serra da Capivara National Park is a national park in the north east of Brazil. It has many prehistoric paintings. The park was created to protect the prehistoric artifacts and paintings found there. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991. Its head archaeologist is Niède Guidon...
, which lies between the Gurguéia and the Piauí, and the Chapada das Mangabeiras
Chapada das Mangabeiras
The Chapada das Mangabeiras is a mountain range in central Brazil. The range runs northwest-southeast, and separates the basin of the Tocantins River to the southwest from the upper basin of the Parnaiba River to the northeast. The range also forms the boundary between Tocantins state and the...
, which forms the southwestern boundary of the state, separating the upper basin of the Parnaíba from that of the Tocantins
Tocantins River
The Tocantins is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" . It runs from south to north for about 2,640 km. It is not really a branch of the Amazon River, although usually so considered, since its waters flow into the...
.
Ecoregions
The sandy soils along the Atlantic coast are home to the Northeastern Brazil restingasNortheastern Brazil restingas
The Northeastern Brazil restingas are an ecoregion of northeastern Brazil. Restingas are coastal forests which form on sandy, acidic, and nutrient-poor soils, and are characterized by medium sized trees and shrubs adapted to the dry and nutrient-poor conditions found there.-Setting:The ecoregion...
, low evergreen forests adapted to the nutrient-poor conditions. The lower basin of the Parnaíba is home to the Maranhão Babaçu forests
Maranhão Babaçu forests
The Maranhão Babaçu forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of north-central Brazil.-Setting:The Maranhão Babaçu forests cover an area of , extending across northeastern and central Maranhão state and northern Piauí state. The forests form a transition between the equatorial forests...
, which extend westward into Maranhão. This ecoregion dominated by stands of the Babaçu palm.
The eastern portion of the state is dominated by the dry Caatinga
Caatinga
Caatinga is a type of vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in the northeastern part of Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation"...
s shrublands, which extend across much of northeastern Brazil. The Cerrado
Cerrado
The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
savannas extend across the southwestern portion of the state, in the basins of the upper Parnaíba and Gurguéia rivers. Enclaves of Atlantic dry forests
Atlantic dry forests
The Atlantic dry forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion of eastern Brazil.-Setting:The Atlantic dry forests cover an area of , lying between the Cerrado savannas of central Brazil and the Caatinga dry shrublands of northeastern Brazil. The Atlantic dry forests stretch from northern Minas...
lie in basin of the Gurguéia, forming a transition between the Cerrado and Caatinga. Serra da Capivara National Park
Serra da Capivara National Park
Serra da Capivara National Park is a national park in the north east of Brazil. It has many prehistoric paintings. The park was created to protect the prehistoric artifacts and paintings found there. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991. Its head archaeologist is Niède Guidon...
is located in the Caatinga of the south-central part of the state, and protects numerous caves with ancient cave paintings.
Climate
The climate is hot and humid in the lowlands and along the lower Parnaíba, but in the uplands it is dry with high day-time temperatures and cool nights.Demographics
According to the IBGEIBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...
of 2008, there were 3,164,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 12.1 inh./km².
Urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
: 60.7% (2006); Population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
: 1.1% (1991–2000); House
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s: 791,000 (2006).
The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 2,272,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (71.80%), 739,000 White
White Brazilian
White Brazilians make up 48.4% of Brazil's population, or around 92 million people, according to the IBGE's 2008 PNAD . Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country...
people (23.36%), 145,000 Black
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...
people (4.60%), 41,000 Amerindian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
people (0.47%), 5,000 Asian
Asian Brazilian
An Asian Brazilian is is a Brazilian citizen of full or partial Asian ancestry, who remains culturally connected to Asia, or an Asian-born person permanently residing in Brazil. Brazil received many immigrants from Asia, both from Middle East and East Asia...
people (0.17%), 2,000 Amerindian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
people (0.05%).
Economy
Piaui is one of the poorest states of Brazil. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 60.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 27.3%. AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
represents 12.6%, of GDP (2004). Piauí exports: essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
19.5%, soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
17.1%, woven
Woven
A woven is a cloth formed by weaving. It only stretches in the bias directions , unless the threads are elastic. Woven cloth usually frays at the edges, unless measures are taken to counter this, such as the use of pinking shears or hemming.Woven fabrics are worked on a loom and made of many...
of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
15.1%, cashew
Cashew
The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...
12.6%, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s 12.4%, leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
8.3% (2002).
Grupo Claudino is the largest industrial company with headquarters in the state. They have annual sales of around R$700 million.
Transfers from the Federal government are estimated to represent around a third of state GDP.
The state government has been involved in a number of initiatives to develop aspects of the state's economy. 10,000-18,000 hectares of land worth a reported R$50 million was given to Brasil Biodiesel, a green energy company. The company suffered a number of setbacks and in 2009 said it was selling the land. A second biodiesel company, Piauí Ecodiesel Ltda, is reported to be receiving up to R$81.1 million of investment.
The state has offered substantial tax benefits to agro-industrial companies. Bunge, Cargill and Algar now grow soy in the state. Suzano is to grow eucalyptus for pulp. These projects have been criticised by state environmental activists.
According to research commissioned by SETUR, the state tourism authority, over one million tourists would visit Piaui in 2010. Estimates based on by CEPRO, the state statistics agency, suggest the actual figure is likely to fractional of this figure. The construction of an international airport at São Raimundo Nonato (Aeroporto Internacional Serra da Capivara) was cricised by Senator Heraclito Fortes on the grounds that it could not function as an international airport because the runway was too short and because ANAC (the Federal aviation authority) was not involved in monitoring the project, so were unable to certify it as safe for international flights.
There is some mining in the state, including South America's only opal mines at Pedro Segundo. Diamonds are mined by Gema do Piauí Mineração Ltda (Gemapi) and processed in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco in a joint-venture with Gitanjali Group (India). The state has significant deposits of nickel and iron ore. João Carlos Cavalcanti, a mining entrepreneur, and GME4 own the rights to the 800 million tonne PI4 iron ore deposit. A new railway bisecting the state may make this deposit economically viable.
Share of the Brazilian economy: 0.5% (2004).
Education
PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
are part of the official high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
curriculum.
Educational institutions
- Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI) (Federal University of Piauí);
- Universidade Estadual do Piauí (Uespi) (State University of Piauí);
- Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Piauí (Cefet-PI);
- Centro de Ensino Unificado de Teresina (Ceut);
- Centro de Ensino Superior do Vale do Parnaíba (Cesvale);
- Instituto de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais Professor Camillo Filho;
- Faculdade de Saúde, Ciências Humanas e Tecnológicas do Piauí;
- and many others.
Festa Junina (Saint John Festival)
Festa Junina
Festa Junina , also known as festa de São João for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist, are the annual Brazilian celebrations historically related to European Midsummer that take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter...
was introduced to Northeastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
by the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
for whom St John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
Day in several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice
Summer solstice
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...
but during the tropical winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
, and folk dancing in the streets (step names are in French, which shows the mutual influences between court life and peasant culture in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century Europe). Once exclusively a rural festivsl, today in Brazil it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and clichés in a spirit of joked and good times. Typical refreshments and dishes are served. Like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
and St John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.
Carnival
The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
time in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.
National Airport
Teresina/Senador Petrônio Portella Airport. Opened on September 30, 1967, Teresina Airport has been administered by InfraeroInfraero
Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária, Infraero in short, is a Brazilian government corporation created in 1972 and responsible for operating the main Brazilian commercial airports. In 2009, Infraero's airports carried 128,135,616 passengers and 1,114,754 tons of cargo and operated...
since February 3, 1975. Teresina Airport is located four kilometers from downtown, roughly a ten-minute trip by car. It is 67 meters above sea level and the local temperature averages 30.9°C (87.62°F). There are no international flights to this airport.
Highways
BR-020,BR-135,
BR-222,
BR-226,
BR-230,
BR-235,
BR-316,
BR-324,
BR-330,
BR-343,
BR-402,
BR-404,
BR-407.
Flag
The flag of Piaui was created on 24 July 1922. The blue cantonFlag terminology
Flag terminology is a jargon used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display.-Description of standard flag parts and terms:...
and a star represents the state itself and the green and yellow bars represent Piauí's union with Brazil. In 2005 the words "13 DE MARÇO DE 1823" were added below the star to commemorate the date of the Battle of Jenipapo, an engagement in Brazil's war of independence.
Cities
Cities in Piaui include:- TeresinaTeresinaTeresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. It is located in North-central Piauí 366 km from the coast.It is therefore, the only capital in the Northeast that is not located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. With 814 439 inhabitants, it is the 19th...
- ParnaíbaParnaíbaParnaíba is a port city in Piauí, Brazil, on the right bank of the Parnaíba River, 360 km north of the capital, Teresina. It is one of the only four coastal cities of the state....
- PicosPicosPicos, is a municipality in the state of Piaui. Known as the Model City. Its residents are from various parts of the country. It is located in south-central region of Piaui. It is economically the most developed city in the region...
- OeirasOeiras, PiauíOeiras is a municipality in the Microregion of Picos of the Brazilian State of Piauí. According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística , its population was 34,538 inhabitants in 2003. The municipality covers an area of 2720 km².Oeiras grew up around a church founded in 1695...