São Carlos

The region started to be settled in the end of the 18th century, with the opening of a road that led to the gold mines in Cuiabá and Goiás. Leaving from Piracicaba, passing through Rio Claro, the hills, fields and by typical vegetations of the Brazilian countryside, settlers established in the region. São Carlos' history started in 1831, when the "Pinhal" (Pines) allotment was demarcated. On the city's foundation date, 4 November 1857, the population resided in some houses around the chapel and the inhabitants were mostly Arruda Botelho's family heirs, who were the first owners of the "Pinhal" allotments. Between 1831 and 1857 the pioneer coffee farms were formed, starting the first economic activity in the city. The coffee crops came to the "Pinhal" farm in 1840 and spread throughout the fertile lands around, becoming the main export item. The city foundation is credited to Antônio Carlos de Arruda Botelho, Count of Pinhal, an influent farmer and entrepreneur. São Carlos was elevated to village in 1865, when a "Câmara", or ruling chamber, was created. In 1874, the village had 6,897 inhabitants, as a humble highlight of its fast growth and regional importance. It became a city in 1880 and in 1886, with a population of 16,104, its urban structure was settled. The city arises on the coffee crops expansion context, which is relevant to the last two decades of the 19th century and to the first two of the 20th century. The arrival of the railway in 1884 provided an efficient system to transport the coffee production to the Santos harbor and boosted the economy of the region. The railway also contributed to the political and economic consolidation of the central area of the city. When slavery ended, government created incentives to bring in immigrants. São Carlos had already received German nationals brought by the Count of Pinhal in 1876. Between 1880 and 1904, the city was one of the most important immigration centers in São Paulo state, the majority of them being Italians – specifically, Northern Italians. They worked in coffee plantations and in manufacturing factories, as well as trading activities. In the beginning of the 20th century, countless cultural societies developed social activities aiming to promote literacy. Vittorio Emanuele Society in 1900 and Dante Alighieri in 1902 were but a few of them. The Italian presence was so significant that during the first half of the 20th century, the Italian government had a consulate branch in São Carlos. With the Wall Street crash of 1929, coffee production went through a crisis, which made many immigrants leave rural areas for factories, wood artifact production, pottery, and construction. Farmers had already applied the profits obtained with coffee in the constitution of several types of companies in São Carlos: banks, electricity, cable cars, telephones, water pumps, sewers, theaters, hospitals and schools. This established a foundation for industrialization in the city. With the arrival of immigrants from other urban centers from the 1930s – 1940s, their expertise was used to consolidate industrialization as the main economic activity in the city. Its peak years were the 1950s, when São Carlos became a manufacturing center, with relevant industrial expression in São Paulo state. The industrial sector also developed through workshops that incorporated the coffee industry. The manufacture of processing machinery, shoes, fertilizers, hardware, furniture, pasta, cigars, as well as activities such as tailory, breweries, foundries, sawmills, weaving, pottery and pencil production expanded the economy of São Carlos in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s, with the expansion of refrigeration, new factories of machinery and tractors arrived. Numerous small- and medium-sized companies which provided products and services were also established. In the second half of the 20th century, the city received a boost of technological and higher educational development when in 1953 the Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, or the Engineering School of the University of São Paulo, was created. In the 1970s, the Federal University of São Carlos was launched. == Geography ==