Itapemirim (50 m.), and thence, by another line, to Santo Eduardo in Rio
de Janeiro (58 m.), where connexion is made with the Leopoldina system
running into the national capital, and a third running north-westerly
from Victoria to Diamantina, Minas Geraes, about 450 m. The chief cities
and towns of the state, with their populations in 1890, are Victoria,
Sao Matheus (municipality, 7761) on a river of the same name 16 m. from
the sea, Serra (municipality, 6274), Guarapary (municipality, 5310), a
small port S. by W. of the capital, Conceicao da Barra (municipality,
5628), the port of Sao Matheus and Cachoeira do Itapemirim (4049), an
important commercial centre in the south.
Espirito Santo formed part of one of the original captaincies which were
given to Vasco Fernandes Coutinho by the Portuguese crown. The first
settlement (1535) was at the entrance to the bay of Espirito Santo, and
its name was afterwards given to the bay and captaincy. It once included
the municipality of Campos, now belonging to the state of Rio de
Janeiro.
The islands of Trinidade and Martim Vaz, which lie about 715 m. E. of
Victoria, belong politically to this state. They are uninhabited, but
considerable importance is attached to the former because Great Britain
has twice attempted to take possession of it. It rises 1200 ft. above
sea-level and is about 6 m. in circumference, but it has no value other
than that of an ocean cable station. An excellent description of this
singular island is to be found in E.F. Knight's _Cruise of the "Alerte"_
(London, 1895).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account