Campina Grande
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Campina Grande is the second most populous city in the State of Paraíba after João Pessoa, the capital. It is considered one of the main industrial, technological and educational centers in the northeastern region of Brazil. The city was officially founded in 1788. Campina Grande also has a large cultural agenda, including the world's largest Saint John's Festival (called O Maior São João do Mundo), which takes place during the entire month of June and the Micarande, one of the most traditional out of season carnival festivals in the country.
History
Origin
The founding of Campina Grande is credited to Captain Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo who led a group of Ariús indians to settle the land and begin farming on December 1, 1697. However, some historians do not agree with this version and suggest that the place was already a settlement and named Campina Grande when Teodósio arrived with the Ariús. This position is certainly supported by the fact that Campina Grande is in a critical geographic location for people travelling between the highlands and the coast.The political actions of Teodósio in mentioning Campina Grande to the king of Portugal in May 1699 went a long way to establishing the location as place of importance.
The Ariús inhabited a small farm made up of shacks which became the first street in the new community. Later, this street was called Rua do Oriente (Street of the East) and today it is know as rua Vila Nova da Rainha (New Village of the Queen). The Cathedral of Campina Grande was constructed on one of the higher slopes in the area. It formed the Matriz plaza which later also became one of city's most important streets: Avenida Marechal Floriano Peixoto.
The village soon became a town because of the commerce it attracted and the fact that there were few settlements in paraíba.
Campina Grande began as a small village situated in front of an old lake called Açude Velho. These people were known as tropeiros because they were traveling merchants who traded and sold goods such as meat, cotton clothes and corn flour among the cities and villages they passed by. Campina Grande became the village (Vila Nova da Rainha) that they rested in as they were coming from the east to the coast.
The introduction of the railroad caused this tiny village to develop into a bustling city. At the beginning of the 20th century, Campina Grande was called "The Brazilian Liverpool" because of the numerous cotton plantations and factories. At the time, it was the second biggest producer in the world.
Today, the city has added to its old and rich traditions by becoming an oasis of high technologies in the middle of northeastern Brazil
The Town
Campina Grande reached the category of town in 1790 with more than 100 houses. On April 6, 1790 it changed its name to de Vila Nova da Rainha (New Village of the Queen). At this point the town also began to have a formal government made up of a town council and Notary's office.Although the name of the town changed, the local inhabitants continued to call the place Campina Grande. However, in official documents the name, de Vila Nova da Rainha, was the only one used.
The town's development was spurred on by the growth of the regional cotton industry which preferred to ship its product through Campina Grande.
At this point the town included a large area of almost 900 km²,including many smaller villages in the area.
The creation of the Village of Cabaceiras in 1835 and the Village of Alagoa Nova in 1850 reduced the area Campina Grande controlled.
In 1829, a dam across the Piabas stream was started and this became the lake referred to as Açude Velho. In 1852 the population of the town had reached 17,900 people, but in 1856, an epidemic killed almost 1,550 people. So many bodies arrived at the churches that they didn't have enough room to bury them.
The City
On October 11, 1864 Campina Grande was raised to the category of City. It was not the first to reach this designation though. In 1846, Areia had been designated a city and dominated the region economically, politically and culturally. Although Campina Grande was not as established as Areia, it was really not any smaller than that city. At this time, the city of Campina Grande had three plazas, four streets and about 300 houses. Of these, there still exists today the two churches: the Matriz (the Cathedral) and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. The latter had been destroyed at one time, but was rebuilt. Although there was plenty of commercial activity, there was very little actual construction of houses and government buildings. By the end of the nineteenth century, Campina Grande still only had about 500 houses.
In the year 1864 a building was constructed for the marketing of goods. This area had many names over time: "Largo do Comércio Novo", "Praça da Uruguaiana", "Praça das Gameleiras", "Praça da Independência" and finally, "Praça Epitácio Pessoa". In 1870 a law banning the washing of clothes and animals in Açude Velho was proclaimed. On September 18, 1865 the metric system was made the official form of measurement in Campina Grande.
In 1874, a rebellion led by João Vieira occurred. João Vieira and a number of revolutionaries came down from the Bodopitá mountain range and invaded the city's market. They broke into some money boxes and destroyed a few things. The revolt spread out across the region. Over time the rebels grew in numbers and became well armed. They were led by Manoel de Barros Souza and Alexandre de Viveiros. One of the objectives of Alexandre de Viveiros was to break into the city jail and liberate all the prisoners, inlcuding the father of Manoel de Barros Souza. They also planned to set the municipal offices on fire in order to destroy all the records kept there. However, over the next number of months the police force disrupted their plans. Alexandre de Viveiros was eventually imprisoned, but João Vieirad disappeared. After the revolt, the police abused the population without cause, arresting or punishing innocent citizens. Thus, the average person suffered both from the rebels and the police.
On March 25, 1877 a new Municipal building was constructed next to the Cathedral. It became one of the most elegant buildings in the state and initiated an area of fine homes.
In May of 1891, a theatre was constructed for the purpose of both teaching and performance. This became the Colégio Alfredo Dantas.
The city continued to gradually develop, but it was only at the beginning of the 1900's that economic and social changes really occurred. It was at this time that the railroad arrived and with it came cheaper and more varied products that had never been seen before. Their availability impacted the local economy.
Weather
The climate in Campina Grande is mild with an average temperature of 22 C and a relative humidity between 75 and 83%.Education
In addition to being an important technology center in Brazil, Campina Grande is also the home of two public universities: the Universidade Federal de Campina Grande [link] and the Universidade Estadual da Paraiba [link]. It is quite common for students in northeastern Brazil to come and study at these educational centres.A new school, the Federal Center of Technological Education of Paraíba (CEFET), is being constructed and relocated to Campina Grande [link]. It currently has 252 professors and will serve some 5,000 students primarily with technological courses.
Crime and Public Security
In 2006 the City Council recognized an increasing crime rate in Campina Grande and the Paraíba State [link]. City Council unanimously requested that the Secretary of Security for Paraíba increase the police presence in the areas next to the center to the city during the holiday and weekend periods.Government
The Council Chambers, since the beginning of the parliamentary system has been called of Senate and City Council. During the Imperial period, this body not only functioned as a consultative and administrative body next to the Provincial Assembly, but also made executive, legislative and judiciary decisions.In 1790, Campina Grande gained the independent status of Senate or City Council.
At that time the Senate consisted of four councilmen, two of which were judges. Each judge occupied the Presidency for one year. They also acted as solicitor and notary for the city.
The Campina Grande government was formally established on April 20, 1790. It was constituted with the following councilmen: Pedro Francisco de Macedo, judge and president; Paulo de Araújo Soares, judge; Luiz Pereira Pinto and Joaquim Gomes Correia, officers. The City council, in the First Legislature, consisted primarily of members from the agricultural or district areas.
In 1799 the president was Nuno Guedes Alcoforado. In 1804 the Chamber consisted of: Manuel Pereira de Albuquerque, president and judge; Domingos de Farias Castro, judge; Rodrigo Soares de Brito and José Francisco Lopes, councilmen. At this time they had a separate notary named José Vicente Ferreira. In the year 1817 the president was Bento José Alves Viana.
In 1822 the Chamber consisted of: Félix Joaquim de Souza, president; e Manuel Pereira de Araújo, judges; Tomaz de Aquino Mendonça and José Ferreira da Silva, councilmen. Martinho da Costa Agra was the city's solicitor.
Imperial law
On March 25, 1824, a Vila Nova da Rainha, today called Campina Grande, was officially recognized in the constitution by Letter of Law signed for Dom Pedro I. The city was empowered with both legislative and executive government powers. The people were now allowed to elect their own councilors and president.
The election occurred at meetings in the Church a Matriz, in the center of the locality. However, the installation of elected members ended up happening at the very time Dom Pedro I dissolved the Constitutional Assembly.
The new Constitution did not fully come into effect until 1927.
For more information about Campina Grande's government history in Portuguese see [link] or in English [link]
Council Members
- Current: see the Portuguese version [link] or an English translation [link]
- Past: see Portuguese version [link] or English version [link]
| João Pessoa | 120 km |
|---|---|
| Recife | 191 km |
| Natal | 270 km |
| Salvador | 670 km |
| Rio de Janeiro | 2378 km |
| São Paulo | 2700 km |
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