Sergipe

As with most of the states in northeastern Brazil, inland Sergipe is almost entirely savanna (caatinga), and its coastline is characterized by mangroves, swamps and sandy beaches. A small strip of tropical rainforest runs down the coast.

Aerial tramway in Aracaju.

The São Francisco River forms its northern boundary, and the drainage of the northern part of the state is northward and eastward to that river. The southern half of the state slopes eastward and is drained directly into the Atlantic through a number of small rivers, the largest of which are the Irapiranga (whose source in the state of Bahia is called Vaza Barris), the Real and the Cotinguiba. These streams are navigable for short distances, but are obstructed by sandbars at their mouths; because of these, there are no good ports on the coast. The surface of the state resembles, in part, that of Bahia, with a zone of forested lands near the coast and beyond this forested zone lies a higher zone of rough open country, called agreste. There is a sandy belt along the coast, and the western frontier is slightly mountainous. The land in between is very fertile, especially in the forested region where rainfall is abundant. Further inland, the year is divided into wet and dry seasons with occasional prolonged droughts. These are pastoral areas, and the lower fertile lands are cultivated.[4]

Skyline of Aracaju.

The capital of the state is Aracaju (pop. 479 767 in 2003), on the lower course or estuary of the Cotinguiba River, near the coast. The sandbar at the entrance to this river is exceptionally dangerous, and the port is frequented only by coasting vessels of light draught. The city is found on a sandy plain, and there are sand dunes within the city limits. In 1911, the main public buildings included a large plain church with unfinished twin towers, the government palace, the legislative halls, a public school and public hospital.[4]

The other principal towns are Estância - pop. 62,218 (in 2005) on the Rio Real river in the southern part of the state and a center for the manufacturing of cotton-based textiles, cigars, cigarettes and soap as well as an active trade center; Laranjeiras - pop. 26,452 (in 2005), located in a highly productive sugar-growing district north of the capital; Capela - pop. 27,403 (in 2005); Simão Dias - pop. 39,706 (in 2005); Lagarto - pop. 90,345 (in 2005); São Cristóvão, formerly Sergipe d'el-Rey - pop. 75,353 (in 2005), which was also the old colonial capital near the mouth of the Irapiranga.

See also List of municipalities in Sergipe (SE), Brazil.

Royal decree of King John VI, granting the administrative emancipation of the Captaincy of Sergipe on July 8, 1820.

Aracaju-Barra Bridge at night.

Present-day Sergipe was home to numerous indigenous peoples, including the Kanindé (Canindé), Aratus, and Tupi peoples. Gaspar de Lemos briefly landed in the region in 1501, and the Portuguese Crown declared the region part of the Captaincy of Bahia. São Cristóvão was the site of the first Portuguese settlement, in 1591, at Sergipe D'El-Rey.

As with other states in the northeast, Sergipe was invaded numerous times by the Dutch, and frequently raided by French buccaneers. During the 17th century, the state was known throughout the Americas for its king-wood, a prized commodity that was the primary attraction during the buccaneer raids, and probably a factor in Dutch military expeditions. From 1641 to 1645, the territory belonged to Dutch-controlled Brazil (New Holland). The Dutch built a fort, the first in the region, between the rivers São Francisco and Sergipe.

The Portuguese regained control in 1645. By the 18th century, the Portuguese military had driven off the pirates permanently. Sergipe remained a part of the state of Bahia, and was responsible for a third of Bahia's sugar production by 1723. Sugarcane culture was established in the valleys of the São Francisco, Japaratuba, Sergipe, Vaza-Barris, Piauí and Real rivers. Areas unsuitable for sugarcane plantations on the coast and in the hinterland were developed for livestock; Sergipe subsequently became a supplier of draft animals for the farms of Bahia and Pernambuco. The region was also a significant producer of leather. John VI of Portugal signed a decree to separated Sergipe from Bahia on July 8, 1820, and Brigadier Carlos César Burlamárqui was named the state's first governor.[3]

Sergipe retained its separation from Bahia after the Independence of Brazil in 1822, first briefly as the Captaincy of Sergipe, then as the Province of Sergipe. Economic development was low during the Empire of Brazil in the 19th century, other than a brief cotton boom in the second half of the century. The provincial president Inácio Joaquim Barbosa moved the capital from inland São Cristóvão to coastal Aracaju on the coast on March 17, 1855. Sergipe became a state under the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil in 1892.

According to the IBGE of 2008, there were 2,030,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 91.3 inhabitants/km².

Urbanization: 82.2% (2006); Population growth: 2% (1991–2000); Houses: 569,000 (2006).[6]

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 1,240,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (61.08%), 634,000 White people (31.21%), 146,000 Black people (7.22%), 6,000 Amerindian people (0.28%), 4,000 Asian people (0.21%).[7]

Largest cities

Largest cities or towns in Sergipe (2011 census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics)[8]
	Rank		Mesoregion	Pop.	Rank		Mesoregion	Pop.
Aracaju	1	Aracaju	Leste	579 563	11	Poço Redondo	Sertão	31 253
	2	Nossa Senhora do Socorro	Leste	163 046	12	Capela	Leste	31 087
	3	Lagarto	Agreste	95 746	13	Itaporanga d'Ajuda	Leste	30 798
	4	Itabaiana	Agreste	87 746	14	Propriá	Leste	28 533
	5	São Cristóvão	Leste	79 955	15	Porto da Folha	Sertão	27 260
	6	Estância	Leste	64 824	16	Laranjeiras	Leste	27 176
	7	Tobias Barreto	Agreste	48 414	17	Boquim	Leste	25 631
	8	Itabaianinha	Leste	39 175	18	Barra dos Coqueiros	Leste	25 526
	9	Simão Dias	Agreste	38 847	19	Canindé de São Francisco	Sertão	25 218
	10	Nossa Senhora da Glória	Sertão	32 514	20	Nossa Senhora das Dores	Agreste	24 579

Education

Aracaju is the most important educational centre of the state.

Portuguese 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.

Aracaju is the largest city of the state.

The industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 53.9%, followed by the service sector at 39.1%. Agriculture represents 7% of GDP (2004). Sergipe exports include: orange juice 66.1%, urea 20.8%, leather and footwear 4.6%, woven goods 2.3%, other types of juices 2% (2002).

Sergipe's share of the Brazilian economy: 0.7% (2004).

Sergipe's economy is focused around the production of sugarcane (more than 2 million tons produced in 2018, for the manufacture of sugar and ethanol),[11] coconut (2nd largest producer in Brazil in 2017, with 234 million fruits),[12] orange (6th largest producer in Brazil in 2018, with 354 thousand tons)[13] and cassava (153 thousand tons produced in 2018).[14] A small-scale leather and textile industry also exists.

Sergipe had in 2017 an industrial GDP of R$7 billion, equivalent to 0.6% of the national industry. It employs 67,231 workers in the industry. The main industrial sectors are: Construction (33.1%), Industrial Public Utility Services, such as Electricity and Water (29.0%), Food (9.9%), Non-metallic minerals (2.8%) and Chemicals (2.2%). These 5 sectors concentrate 77.0% of the state's industry.[15]

The Brazilian federal government is also encouraging the development of a fledgling petroleum and natural gas industry.

Carlos Ayres Britto, President of Brazil's Supreme Court

1. Cleovansóstenes de Aguiar (1926–2018): doctor, politician, Mayor of Aracaju (1971–1975) and founder of Sergipe Academy of Medicine;
2. Albano do Prado Pimentel Franco (1940): entrepreneur, lawyer, politician, Governor (1995–2002), Senator (1983–1994) and Federal Deputy (2007–2010);
3. Carlos Ayres Britto (1942): judge, poet, President of Brazil's Supreme Court and of the National Justice Council (2012);
4. Jackson Barreto (1944): lawyer, politician, Vice-Governor (2011–present), Mayor of Aracaju (1986–88 / 1993–94) and Federal Deputy (2003–2011);
5. Otaviano Canuto (1956): Economist, Professor of Economics University of São Paulo USP.
6. Vladimir Souza Carvalho (1950–present): historian, judge, writer, Desembargador of the Regional Federal Court (5th Region)
7. Edvaldo Nogueira (1961): politician, Mayor of Aracaju (2006–2012)
8. Josué Modesto dos Passos Subrinho (1956): Economist, Professor of Economics Federal University of Sergipe
9. Sílvio Romero (1851–1914), literary critic and essayist;
10. Tobias Barreto (1839–1899), was a notorious Brazilian poet, philosopher, jurist and literary critic;
11. Clodoaldo Tavares de Santana (1949), ex-footballer who played for Brazil;
12. José Martins Ribeiro Nunes (Zé Peixe) (1927–2012), Legendary figure who drove the boats through the river by swimming;
13. Diego Costa (1988), footballer who played for Chelsea F.C.;
14. João Batista Nunes de Oliveira (1954), ex-footballer of Clube de Regatas Flamengo where won the Libertadores, Mundial of clubs at 1981 and many others championships.

Batistão stadium in Aracaju.

The state has many professional association football teams, like Club Sportivo Sergipe, Associação Desportiva Confiança from the town of Aracaju and Associação Olímpica de Itabaiana from the town of Itabaiana. Lagarto Futebol Clube is another important club in Sergipe, it's from Lagarto, city where the Brazilian-born and Spanish-naturalized footballer Diego Costa was born.

The stars on the flag of Sergipe represent the number of river estuaries in the state, and the green and yellow stripes represent Sergipe's union with the rest of Brazil. It was designed by José Rodrigues Bastos Coelho, a businessman who felt that Brazilian ships should carry flags to identify their state of origin. It was officially adopted on October 19, 1920.

In 1937, dictator Getúlio Vargas abolished all state flags and symbols, but they were allowed again in 1946. In 1951, when the Sergipe legislature began to consider restoring the state flag, it decided to change the number of stars, so that there would be one for every municipality in the state. In 1952, this new design was scrapped and replaced by the original 5-star design.

• List of municipalities in Sergipe

• (in Portuguese) Official Website (Agência Sergipe de Notícias - Governo de Sergipe)
• (in Portuguese) History of Colonial Sergipe