MANAOS, a city and port of Brazil, and capital of the State of Amazonas, on the left bank of the Rio Negro, I2M. above its junction with the Solimoes, or Amazon, and 9o8m. (according to Wappaus) above the mouth of the latter, in lat. 3° 8' 4" S., long. 6o° W. Pop. (1908), about 40,000; (1930 est.) 83,736, includ ing a large percentage of Indians, negroes and mixed-bloods. Mangos stands on a slight eminence overlooking the river, 1 o6f t. above sea-level, traversed by several "igarapes" (canoe paths) or side channels, and beautified by the luxuriant vegetation of the Amazon valley. The average annual temperature between 1911 and 1919 was 80.9°, the number of rainy days 153, and the total rainfall 78.4 inches. Up to the beginning of the 2oth century the only noteworthy public edifices were the church of N.S. da Concei cao, the St. Sebastido asylum and, possibly, a Misericordia hos pital; but a Government building, a custom-house, a municipal hall, courts of justice, a market-place and a handsome theatre were subsequently erected, and a modern water-supply system, electric light and electric tramways were provided. The "igarapes" are spanned by a number of bridges. Higher education is offered by a lyceum or high school, besides which there is a noteworthy school (bearing the name of Benjamin Constant) for poor orphan girls. Mangos has a famous botanical garden, an interesting museum, a public library and a meteorological observatory. The port of Mangos, which is the commercial centre of the whole upper Amazon region, was nothing but a river anchorage before 1902. In that year a foreign corporation began improvements, which include a stone river-wall or quay, storehouses for mer chandise, and floating wharves or landing stages connected with the quay by floating bridges or roadways. The floating wharves
and bridges are made necessary by the rise and fall of the river, the difference between the maximum and minimum levels being about 33ft.
The principal exports are nuts, cacao, rubber, dried fish, hides and piassava fibre. The markets of Mangos receive their sup plies of beef from the national stock ranges on the Rio Branco, and it is from this region that hides and horns come for export. The port has direct steamship connections with New York and Liverpool by two companies. The imports to Mangos, in metric tons, have been as follows: in 1921, 5,861; 1925, 19,191. The exports from Mangos, in metric tons, have been: in 1921, 23,748; 1925, 27,758.
The first European settlement on the site of Mangos was made in 166o, when a small fort was built there by Francisco da Motta Falcao, and was named Sao Jose de Rio Negro. The mission and village which followed were called Villa de Barra, or Barra do Rio Negro (the name "Barra" being derived from the "bar" in the current of the river, occasioned by the setback at its encounter with the Amazon). It succeeded Barcellos as the capital of the old capitania of Rio Negro in 1809, and became the capital of Amazonas when that province was created in 1850, its name being then changed to Mangos after the principal tribe of Indians liv ing on the Rio Negro at the time of its discovery. In 1892 Mangos became the see of the new bishopric of Amazonas.