Manaus

The city was founded on October 24, 1669 as the fort of São José do Rio Negro ( port São José do Rio Negro ), on the lands of the warlike Indian tribe of Manoa , which in 1542 fiercely resisted the conquistadors of Francisco de Orellana .

The fortifications erected by the Portuguese as part of the struggle for the north of Brazil with the Netherlands were stone, the fort's armament was four cannons. Over the next hundred-plus years, the small fortress was the only island of civilization in these places, a village gradually grew around it, the main population of which was mestizos .

In 1832, the village was renamed Manaus - the name of an Indian tribe, by then completely exterminated and assimilated. On October 24, 1848, it received city status and was then renamed Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro . From September 4, 1856, it was again called Manaus. In 1835 - 1840, Manaus, like the whole of Amazonia, was captured by the rebellious Kabanazhen movement, during which the government and its environs dealt significant damage to the city and its environs.

From 1879 to 1912, the city ​​gained worldwide fame thanks to rubber fever . In 1896, the Amazon Opera House opened, attracting leading performers from around the world. The city was then called South American or tropical Paris , local planters spent a lot of money on inviting leading world celebrities and improving the city. So, for example, in 1895 the movement of trams was discovered. The end of rubber fever dealt a severe blow to the entire region, the population declined significantly, many facilities built in good times were abandoned (for example, the city’s power supply was restored only during World War II, when Japan’s success in the Pacific again led to growth world rubber prices).

Nevertheless, the infrastructure created during the boom was not completely abandoned and served as the basis for the rapid development of the city today.

Manaus is located on the Amazon lowland , at the confluence of the Rio Negro River in the Amazon (above the confluence, the latter in Brazil is often called the Solimines ).

The city is located on the border of the monsoon and equatorial climate zones.

The municipality borders:

• in the north - the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo
• in the northeast - the municipality of Rio Preto da Eva
• in the east - Itacuatiara Municipality
• in the southeast - the municipality of Careiro da Varzea
• in the southwest - the municipality of Iranduba
• in the West - Novo Ayran Municipality

According to information collected during the 2010 census by the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the population of the municipality is:

According to 2015 estimates , the population of the municipality is 2 057 711 inhabitants.

Strength

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, in 2012, 1,861,838 people lived in the city, 2,283,906 in the metropolitan area.

Ethnic composition

• white - 31.9%
• kaboklo - 63.9%
• Afro - Brazilians - 2.4%

Religion

Most of the townspeople are Catholics ; there are also numerous representative offices of various Protestant churches.

Crime

The crime rate is high even by Brazilian standards (5th place in the country).

Historically, rubber production was the basis of the urban economy. After the rubber fever ended, Manaus experienced a severe economic downturn, accompanied by a sharp drop in population.

Trying to support the city, the Brazilian parliament in 1951 declared Manaus a free economic zone (the law entered into force in 1957). Gradually, the new status brought the expected results, and today Manaus has a powerful differentiated economy, the basis of which is woodworking, electronics (especially the production of cell phones) and petrochemicals. The city is the commercial, financial and industrial center of the entire vast Amazon basin.

Harvesting hevea juice and collecting Brazil nuts still provide jobs for many residents in the vicinity of Manaus.

Recently, ecotourism has become increasingly important in the city’s economy.

Eduardo Gomes International Airport ( IATA : MAO , ICAO : SBEG ) is located 14 kilometers north of the city, serving about 3.1 million passengers a year (2012), and is also Brazil's third largest in terms of cargo turnover. Regular passenger flights operate in dozens of cities in Brazil, international flights - in Miami and Panama .

Two federal highways begin at Manaus: BR-174 , connecting it with Boa Vista , and BR-319 , going south to Porto Velho .

The port of Manaus is accessible to sea vessels, although it is located one and a half thousand kilometers off the Atlantic coast.

Buses of various sizes are the basis of the city’s public transport, and the construction of light rail or monorail lines is also under discussion.

• The gross domestic product for 2005 is 27,214,213,000 reais (data: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ).
• The gross domestic product per capita for 2005 is 16 547.00 reais (data: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ).
• The 2000 Human Development Index is 0.774 (data: UN Development Program ).

The 325-meter-tall Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory is located 160 km from Manaus in the Amazon jungle .

The municipality consists of 10 districts:

• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Church of St. Sebastian

• Fidler Arkady . Fish sing in Ukayali / Per. from polish. V.S. Kovalevsky. - M.: Geografgiz, 1963. - 240 p.: Ill. - A series of "Stories about nature."

• Manaus Tourist Attractions Overview
• Manaus on WikiMapia
• IBGE Cidades
• Confederação Nacional de Municípios (CNM)