Ocupação humana e aproveitamento do município de Mangaratiba

Resumo

Mangaratiba is situated on the banks of Sepetiba Bay, in Rio de Janeiro.

            In this region the mountain is too close to the coastal line and we can distinguish different relief features: the "Serra do Mar" and its buttresses; the coastal massifs represented by the surrounding islands and the alluvium plains.

            The mountain presents and abrupt slope intensively eroded by torrential rivers which drawn it back; it doesn't correspond anymore to the primitive fault. Those rivers carry way great quantities of sediments; these and those of marine origin together are going to built the coastal lowlands.

            The soil of the scarp is originated by the decomposition of gneiss and granite regarding the intense humidity of the region; this characteristic is dued to the masses of air which come from the ocean and strike against the "Serra do Mar"; another consequence of this humidity is the tropical humid forest which has been deeply cut down and in its place appears agricultural cultures as the coffee one and presently, the banana one.

            Explored since the first times of our colonization by contrabandists of "Pau Brazil",

only in the XVII century it was really occupied.

            The local economy, for many years, was based in timber work. fishing, sugar cane plantations and later on in coffee and banana.

            Although its soils are not appropriate to great cultures, during the Empire, Mangaratiba had an outstanding role as the natural port for exportation the products of the hinterland; when the communications began to be made directly to the Port of Rio de Janeiro, the town and the whole municipality ruined; this situation continued to the present days.

            Its recovering is very slowly on account of the following factors: the lack workmanship, the exhaustion of the soils as a consequence of the primitive methods of culture employed.

            Mangaratiba was an exemple of a town which was born from a commercial road and a

port, but without possessing basic local products.