Economia e corte de madeira no litoral norte paulista no início do século XIX

Abstract

The north coast of Sao Paulo, in the end of the XVIII century, has sugar and sugar cane brandy as the main products exported to the Rio de Janeiro and Santos ports through the coast. Coffee shows up in the region right in the first years of the XIX century,becoming in a period of ten years the biggest agricultural product exported by the north Coast villages. The region has suffered with two commercial restrictions from Sao Paulo s government that aimed to develop the agriculture in the province,in the end of XVIII and beggining of XIX century, that will point the decay of sugar and sugar cane brandy production.The region economical power is retaken only some years later with the coffee production, which increases the number of free population, the number of slaves, and also, the average number slave owners. The region economic growth is present until the first half of XIX century, getting into a severe economic decline due to the coffee competition of other close regions, which had more production and distribution power. In the beggining of XIX century the region has also been into other commercial activities, such as the whaling and the cutting and selling of timbers of high commercial value used in ship building. The north coast economic decay has only an end with the tourism and a new national economic planning in the beggining of the second half of the XX century.