The coast of the current
state of Alagoas was reached by Portuguese navigators in 1501. At the time, it became a target for European
brazilwood smugglers. In 1534, after the Portuguese Crown established the
Hereditary Captaincy system for the colonization of Brazil, the territory of Alagoas became part of the Captaincy of Pernambuco. Its occupation dates back to the foundation of the town of
Penedo in 1545 by the
donatário Duarte Coelho Pereira, located on the banks of the
São Francisco River, and to the establishment of sugar mills by the German
Cristóvão Lins in the southern region of the territory. In 1556, the site witnessed the sinking of the ship
Nossa Senhora da Ajuda and the massacre of the survivors, including the bishop Dom
Pero Fernandes Sardinha, by the
Caeté people. The episode provided motivation for the war of extermination waged against the indigenous people by the Portuguese Crown. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Alagoas region produced a significant amount of sugar cane, manioc flour, tobacco, cattle and dried fish. During the
second Dutch invasion of Brazil, the coast became the scene of violent fighting. Inland, the
quilombos established by Africans escaping from the mills of Pernambuco and
Bahia proliferated.
Palmares, the most famous, numbered 20,000 people. In 1711, the territory became the Comarca of Alagoas, still subordinate to Pernambuco. On September 16, 1817, after the
Pernambuco Revolution, Alagoas achieved independence. The first governor,
Sebastião Francisco de Melo e Póvoas, took office on January 22, 1819. The first capital was established in the town of Santa Maria Madalena da Lagoa do Sul, later called Alagoas (now Marechal Deodoro). On February 28, 1821, it became a province. During the
Empire, it suffered the effects of movements such as the
Confederation of the Equator and the
Cabanada. The Provincial Law of December 9, 1839, transferred the capital of the province from the city of Alagoas to the village of
Maceió, which was elevated to city status. In 1889, after the
Proclamation of the Republic, it became a state. == See also ==