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Brazilian cotton cycle
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Brazilian cotton cycle
The cotton cycle refers to the period when this product had great prominence in the Brazilian economy, especially in Maranhão and Pernambuco, between the mid-eighteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth century, being responsible for strong economic growth in the region. In the colonial period, cotton was also developed in the Captaincy of São Vicente, from where the product was exported to Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. Other regions produced it for local consumption and to manufacture cloth for slaves.
This cycle developed in the context of an economic crisis in the colony with the end of the gold cycle and the competition of the sugar production in the northeast with the production in the Antilles, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and the War of Independence of the United States (main supplier of the product to England).
In 1621, the Philippine dynasty created the State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão, comprising the present territories of Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Pará, and Amazonas, directly subordinated to the Portuguese crown. The main economic activities of this region were sugar production, tobacco cultivation, cattle raising (for the export of hides), and cocoa collecting. Most of the population lived in conditions of extreme poverty, surviving on gathering, fishing, and subsistence agriculture.
From the middle of the 17th century, the state of Maranhão faced an economic crisis, as since the expulsion of the Dutch from the Northeast region of Brazil, the regional sugar company could not afford the high costs of importing African slaves and began to face the competition of sugar from the Antilles. In this context, the action of Father António Vieira (1608–1697) was important. In the 1650s, as Superior of the Jesuit Missions in the state of Maranhão, he established the bases of missionary action in the region: Preaching, baptism, and education, in the molds of Portuguese culture and the rules established by the Council of Trent (1545–1563).
There was a conflict between the rural producers and the Jesuits because the latter prevented the use of enslaved indigenous labor. The evangelized Indians were the labor force used by the religious to collect the so-called "drugs of the sertão". Faced with these aggressions, the Society of Jesus appealed to the Crown, which intervened and prohibited the enslavement of the indigenous, since this did not bring profits to the Metropolis.
In an attempt to solve the issue, the Crown established the Maranhão Commerce Company (1682), which had the monopoly of all commerce in Maranhão for a period of twenty years, with the obligation to introduce ten thousand African slaves (at the rate of five hundred individuals per year), trading them on the term, at fixed prices, as well as supply manufactured textiles and other European goods needed by the local population, such as cod, wines, and wheat flour. In return, it had to send to Lisbon at least one ship a year from Maranhão and another from Grão-Pará, with local products. Cocoa, vanilla, pau-cravo wood, and tobacco, produced in the region, would be sold exclusively to the company, at fixed prices.
Unable to adequately fulfill its commitments, the company's operation aggravated the economic crisis and increased discontent in the region, which triggered conflicts such as the Beckman's Revolt. The revolt was suppressed and later the company was extinguished by the Crown.
In 1755 the Marquis of Pombal created the Grão Pará and Maranhão Company, which was to guarantee the coming of African slaves to the colony, with a monopoly on navigation and foreign trade, as well as provide credit for local producers and the introduction of better agricultural techniques. Later, the Marquis also promoted the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Portuguese colonies.
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Brazilian cotton cycle AI simulator
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Brazilian cotton cycle
The cotton cycle refers to the period when this product had great prominence in the Brazilian economy, especially in Maranhão and Pernambuco, between the mid-eighteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth century, being responsible for strong economic growth in the region. In the colonial period, cotton was also developed in the Captaincy of São Vicente, from where the product was exported to Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. Other regions produced it for local consumption and to manufacture cloth for slaves.
This cycle developed in the context of an economic crisis in the colony with the end of the gold cycle and the competition of the sugar production in the northeast with the production in the Antilles, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and the War of Independence of the United States (main supplier of the product to England).
In 1621, the Philippine dynasty created the State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão, comprising the present territories of Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Pará, and Amazonas, directly subordinated to the Portuguese crown. The main economic activities of this region were sugar production, tobacco cultivation, cattle raising (for the export of hides), and cocoa collecting. Most of the population lived in conditions of extreme poverty, surviving on gathering, fishing, and subsistence agriculture.
From the middle of the 17th century, the state of Maranhão faced an economic crisis, as since the expulsion of the Dutch from the Northeast region of Brazil, the regional sugar company could not afford the high costs of importing African slaves and began to face the competition of sugar from the Antilles. In this context, the action of Father António Vieira (1608–1697) was important. In the 1650s, as Superior of the Jesuit Missions in the state of Maranhão, he established the bases of missionary action in the region: Preaching, baptism, and education, in the molds of Portuguese culture and the rules established by the Council of Trent (1545–1563).
There was a conflict between the rural producers and the Jesuits because the latter prevented the use of enslaved indigenous labor. The evangelized Indians were the labor force used by the religious to collect the so-called "drugs of the sertão". Faced with these aggressions, the Society of Jesus appealed to the Crown, which intervened and prohibited the enslavement of the indigenous, since this did not bring profits to the Metropolis.
In an attempt to solve the issue, the Crown established the Maranhão Commerce Company (1682), which had the monopoly of all commerce in Maranhão for a period of twenty years, with the obligation to introduce ten thousand African slaves (at the rate of five hundred individuals per year), trading them on the term, at fixed prices, as well as supply manufactured textiles and other European goods needed by the local population, such as cod, wines, and wheat flour. In return, it had to send to Lisbon at least one ship a year from Maranhão and another from Grão-Pará, with local products. Cocoa, vanilla, pau-cravo wood, and tobacco, produced in the region, would be sold exclusively to the company, at fixed prices.
Unable to adequately fulfill its commitments, the company's operation aggravated the economic crisis and increased discontent in the region, which triggered conflicts such as the Beckman's Revolt. The revolt was suppressed and later the company was extinguished by the Crown.
In 1755 the Marquis of Pombal created the Grão Pará and Maranhão Company, which was to guarantee the coming of African slaves to the colony, with a monopoly on navigation and foreign trade, as well as provide credit for local producers and the introduction of better agricultural techniques. Later, the Marquis also promoted the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Portuguese colonies.
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