Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

About the publication - Brazilian Coast - Volume 4

The Atlas of Literary Representations of Brazilian Major Regions collection, started in 2006, aims at identifying and representing, through maps at different scales, photos and satellite images, Brazilian regions that feature a remarkable element in the plot of some of the great works of our national literature, The collection brings a mapping that goes beyond the conventional political-administrative borders and highlights identity as a central element for the characterization of the different territorial segments that make up the national territory.

With this publication, the IBGE brings to the public the fourth volume of the collection, Costa Brasileira (Brazilian Coast), which portrays coastal regions that were historically drawn with the dynamics of occupation, confrontations and alliances between peoples, the slave trade and slavery.

Following the methodological proposal that based the previous editions - to identify regions that were formed in the process of occupation of the territory and that, due to their peculiarities, left an indelible mark on our history, giving rise to cultural manifestations with a strong presence In the national imagination - the following sections are included in this edition: the cocoa region of southern Bahia; Santos and the coast of São Paulo; Olinda, Recife and the Mills' Coast; the Recôncavo areas of Salvador and Recôncavo Baiano, as well as Rio de Janeiro and Guanabara Bay; the indentations of São Luís and Baía de São Marcos and Belém and the Mouth of the Amazon River; the North of Rio de Janeiro; Rio Grande de São Pedro and Costa Sul; and the island of Santa Catarina. The selected geographic regions had the Portuguese invasion and settlement directly related to their belonging to the Brazilian coast and illustrate the great diversity of one of the longest and most populous coastal strips in the world, characterized not necessarily by economic cycles or the harvesting of natural resources, but, mostly, for their role as an interface between the ocean and the continent, between the Old and the New World.

In this context, the Brazilian literature is a rich and varied resource to capture the impacts and scope of the events triggered by the settlement of European peoples in this part of South America, with the subsequent extermination, expulsion and enslavement of original peoples, in addition to the exile of African peoples and their enslavement in Portuguese American territories. Machado de Assis stands out in particular – the greatest name in our literary tradition, internationally recognized as one of the greatest writers in the western world. His work and the author himself underpin this volume, as do Jorge Amado, Ana Miranda, José Cândido de Carvalho, Maria Firmina dos Reis, Dalcídio Jurandir, among other novelists who gave visibility to the Brazilian coast. Thus, through texts and maps, the cultural dimension of the selected geographic regions is highlighted based on their role in Literature. In all texts, some regional terms referring to the territory and its appropriation process were highlighted, in italics, and are part of a glossary at the end of the work.

The publication of this new Atlas, also available on the IBGE website, confirms the Institute's commitment to portray the most varied manifestations of Brazilian society and territory.