Transportation depends largely on river craft, the Para and Braganca, and its branches being the only railway lines. The capital of the state is Para, or Belem do Path, and its history is largely that of this city. Other important towns are Alemaquer (pop. of the municipio [1920] 75,873), on a by-channel of the Amazon; Breves (mun. [1920] 22,678), a river port in the south west part of Maraj6, on a channel connecting the Amazon with the Path estuary; Braganca (mun. [1920] 44,486), a small town in one of the few agricultural districts of the state, 147m. by rail north-east of Path, on the river Caete, near the coast ; Obidos (mun. [1920] 26,812), on the north bank of the Amazon at a point called the Pauxis narrows, a little over im. wide, attractively situated on a hillside in a healthful locality; and Santarem (1920, 41,546), on the right bank of the Tapajos, 24M. from the Amazon, dating from 1661, and the most prosperous and populous town between Para and Mangos.
PARA (officially BELEM; sometimes BELEM DO PARA), a city and port of Brazil, capital of the State of Para, and the see of a bishop, on a point of land formed by the entrance of the Guama river into the Para (86 m. from the Atlantic), in lat. I° 28' S., long. 48° 20' west of Greenwich. Population of the city and rural districts of the municipality (1933) 300,233. There is a large Portuguese contingent in the population, and the foreign element, engaged in trade and transportation, is also important. The Indian admixture is strongly apparent in the Amazon valley and is noticeable in Para. A railway, built by the State, runs north eastward to Braganca (160 m.), on the sea-coast. The Guama river is enlarged at its mouth to form an estuary called the bay of Guajara, partially shut off from the Path by several islands and forming the anchorage of the port. The Path, the estuary mouth of the Tocantins river, is about 20 m. wide here.
The city is built on an alluvial forested plain only a few feet above the level of the river. The climate is hot, but the annual and diurnal changes are remarkably small. The rainfall is about in., well distributed through the year. The plan of the city is regular and, owing to the density of the forest, it has no outly ing suburbs. The streets are usually narrow, straight and well paved and most of them end abruptly at the margin of the forest. There are many public squares and gardens, the largest being the Praca Caetano Brandi°. The public buildings and institutions are in great part relics of an older regime. The great cruciform cathedral, on the Praca Caetano Brandao, dates from the middle of the i8th century. In the vicinity are the Government and mu nicipal palaces—built by order of Pombal (c. 1766), when Portu gal contemplated the creation of a great empire on the Amazon.
One of the most notable buildings of the city is the Theatro da Paz (Peace Theatre), which faces upon the Praca da Republica and was built by the Government during the second empire. Other noteworthy buildings are the Caridade hospital, the Misericordia hospital (known as the "Santa Casa"), the military barracks oc cupying an old convent, and Castello fort, which is a relic of colonial days.
Para is the entre* for the Amazon valley and the principal commercial city of northern Brazil. It is the headquarters of the Amazon Navigation Company, which owns a fleet of 4o river steamers, of 500 to 90o tons, and sends them up the Amazon to the Peruvian frontier, and up all the large tributaries where trading settlements have been established. Transatlantic lines
afford regular communication with Lisbon, Liverpool, Hamburg and New York. The port is accessible to large steamers, but only those of light draught can lie alongside the quays. Extensive port improvements have been undertaken.
Para was founded in 1615 by Francisco Caldeira de Castello Branco, who commanded a small expedition from Maranhao sent thither to secure possession of the country for Portugal and drive out the Dutch and English traders. The settlement, which he named Nossa Senhora de Belem (Our Lady of Bethlehem), grew to be one of the most turbulent and ungovernable towns of Brazil. Rivalry with Maranhao, the capital of the Amazon de pendencies, slave-hunting, and bitter controversies with the Jesuits who sought to protect the Indians from this traffic, combined to cause agitation. In 1641 it had a population of only 400, but it had four monasteries and was already largely interested in the Indian slave traffic. In 1652 the Para territory was made a separate capitania, with the town of Para as the capital, but it was reannexed to Maranhao in 1654. The final separation occurred in 1772, and Para again became the capital. The bishopric of Path dates from 1723.
The popular movement in Portugal in 1820 in favour of a constitution and parliament (Cortes) had its echo in Para, where in 1821 the populace and garrison joined in creating a government of their own and in sending a deputation to Lisbon. The declara tion of Brazilian independence of 1822 and creation of an empire under Dom Pedro I. was not accepted by Para, partly be cause of its influential Portuguese population, and partly through jealousy of Rio de Janeiro as the centre of political power.
In 1823 a naval expedition under Lord Cochrane, then in the service of Brazil, took possession of Maranhao, from which place the small brig "Dom Miguel" under the command of Cap tain John Grenfell was sent to Para. This officer conveyed the impression that the whole fleet was behind him, and on Aug. 15 the junta governativa organized in the preceding year surrendered its authority and Para became part of the newly created Brazilian empire. An uprising against the new Government soon occurred, which resulted in the arrest of the insurgents, the execution of their leaders, and the incarceration of 253 prisoners in the hold of a small vessel, where all but four died from suffocation.
Conspiracies and revolts followed, and in 1835 an outbreak of the worst elements, made up chiefly of Indians and half-breeds, occurred, known as the "Revolucao da Cabanagem," which was chiefly directed against the Portuguese, and then against the Freemasons. All whites were compelled to leave the city and take refuge on neighbouring islands. The Indians and half-breeds obtained the mastery, under the leadership of Antonio and Fran cisco Vinagres and Eduardo Angelim, and plunged the city and neighbouring towns into a state of anarchy, the population being reduced from 25,000 to 15,00o. The revolt was overcome in 1836. The opening of the Amazon to foreign trade in 1867 increased the importance of the city, and its growth went forward steadily as the rubber forests of the Amazon were exploited. With the decline of this industry, however, after the development of plan tation rubber in the East Indies, its prosperity has been checked.
(A. J. L.)