History of Fortaleza: Part Two (Parte Dois)

Brazilian History starts officially on April 22nd 1500, when Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral reached the coast of Bahia. Due to Ceará's poor soil that state was completely abandoned, leaving room for corsaries to become friends and do business with the local indians.

1612: Martins Soares Moreno, arrived in Ceará to fight the French and claim the lands for the Portuguese Crown; Soares Moreno won.
1649: the Dutch built another fort, by the banks of river Pajeú, and called it Fort Schoonenborch.
1654: the Dutch are expelled from Brazil; the Portuguese take Schoonenborch, and change its name to Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora de Assunção

A village grew around the Fortress, named Fortaleza. On April 13th 1726, Fortaleza became capital of Ceará.

FAST FORWARD.......

1930: in an reaction against the dominant oligarchies, Getúlio Vargas becomes President with dictatorial power
1952: President Vargas created a bank with headquarters in Fortaleza, to provide credit to new enterprises in the Northeast of Brazil.
1959: President Juscelino Kubitschek creates SUDENE, the Superintendence for Development of the Northeast, with the function of fostering projects of social interest.

During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, some industries flourished, like shoes, textile, food processing, agriculture, petroleum and other minerals. Ceará, however, remained as one of the States with poorest economy and worst social indicators.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Ceará (and Fortaleza in particular) found their true avocation: tourism. Word of mouth about the beautinesses of the State, along with marketing campaigns in Brazilian media turned Fortaleza into one of the most popular destinations in Brazil. Heavy investments, both private and official, improved the infrastructure of tourism.

Since the early 1990s, the successive governments have been recognized as ethical and efficient, improving social and economic indicators. Ceará today is a State with excellent perspectives.