Roraima (, ; ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas to the south and west, Venezuela to the north and northwest, and Guyana to the east.
The state covers an area of approximately , slightly larger than Belarus, being the fourteenth largest Brazilian state by area. The city of Boa Vista is the capital and largest city in the state, and is the only capital in the country located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. Antônio Denarium, a member of the conservative Progressistas party, has been the governor of the state since 2019.
Roraima is the least populous state in Brazil, with an estimated population of 631,181 inhabitants as of 2020. It is also the state with the lowest population density in Brazil, with 2.01 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its economy, based mainly on the tertiary sector, registers a high growth rate, although its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the lowest in the country, with R$ 16.024 billion, representing only 0.20% of the Brazilian economy.
The history of Roraima is strongly linked to the Branco River, which allowed the first Portuguese settlers to arrive in the region. The Branco River Valley's strategic position made it coveted by the English and the Dutch, who entered Brazil through the Guiana Shield in search of indigenous people to be enslaved. The Spaniards also came to invade the northern part of the Branco River and the Uraricoera River through Venezuela. The Portuguese settlers defeated and expelled all invaders, establishing Portugal's sovereignty over the region of Roraima and part of the Amazonas.
As a result of crisis in Venezuela since the 2010s, Roraima has become the leading entry point for Venezuelan refugees in Brazil. Displaced Venezuelans in Roraima are estimated to number around 100,000, approximately one-sixth of the state's population.
Etymology The word "" comes from the Pemon language. Its etymology gives it three possible meanings: "Green Peak", "Mother of the Winds" and "Cashew Mountain". It would be the junction of roro (parrot) and imã (father, former). In that language, - or also - means "green", and means mountain or peak, thus forming the word "Green Peak", reflecting the natural landscape of that specific region.
There is a possibility that the word "Roraima" has two other meanings: "Mother of the Winds" and "Cashew Mountain". The first meaning comes from the windy climate in the region, where indigenous people believed that the winds that blew through southern Venezuela came from that place. The second, "Cashew Mountain", is due to the many mountains and hills that exist in the area.
History
The first Portuguese settlers arrived in the region by the Branco River. Before the arrival of the Portuguese, the English and the Dutch were already attracted to the region, to explore the Branco River Valley through the Guyanas. Portugal's sovereignty over the region was only established after the Spaniards invaded the northern part of the Branco River, along with the Uraricoera River. From 1725, Carmelite missionaries began the task of converting the indigenous peoples in the region.
The Portuguese occupation intensified from the 1730s when it traveled the Branco River in search of consolidation of the borders and indigenous labour. For this, they organized rescue troops (purchase of indigenous people transformed into slaves during wars of opposing ethnic groups), war troops (punishment and enslavement of indigenous people who attacked Portuguese nuclei or prevented evangelization) and the search for Brazilian products for sale, the so-called sertão drugs. Also, they promoted descents – villages of missionaries and indigenous volunteers or compulsory.
In the middle of the 18th century, the Portuguese Crown became concerned with the constant Spanish expeditions to the western region of the Amazon. Thus, the idea of creating the Royal Captaincy of São José do Rio Negro was considered, which occurred through the Royal Charter of 3 March 1755. The main reason for the creation of the captaincy was the fear of the Spanish threat from the Viceroyalty of Peru, and the arising fear from the Dutch expeditions in Suriname to trade and imprison indigenous peoples.
The demarcations foresaw by the Treaty of Madrid, of 1750, also lead to a great extent: with the creation of a new administrative unit in the region, the intention was to implement, in practice, the colonization of the Upper Negro River, creating the necessary infrastructure for the meeting and the work of the Portuguese and Spanish demarcation committees, and this meeting never took place, having Portuguese moulds temporarily occupied the course of the lower Branco River in the meantime, carrying out plantations of manioc and other food, for the provisioning of the commission.
The São Joaquim Fort, built in 1755 at the confluence of the Uraricoiera River with the Takutu River, was decisive in the conquest of the Branco River by the Portuguese. The Fort, which no longer exists today, had the main purpose of providing the Portuguese with total sovereignty of Portugal over the lands of the Branco River Valley, which aroused international greed due to its little exploitation.
The Portuguese colonizers, after assuming sovereignty and total control of the region, created several villages and towns in the locality, together with indigenous natives. Nossa Senhora da Conceição and Santo Antônio, on the Uraricoera River; São Felipe, on the Takutu River and Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Santa Bárbara, on the Branco River, were the main settlements created at the time, housing a significant population number. However, due to the conflicts between the indigenous and the colonizers, because the indigenous people did not accept to submit to the conditions imposed by the Portuguese, the villages did not develop.
To guarantee the presence of the Portuguese settlers in the lands of the Branco River Valley, commander Manuel da Gama Lôbo d'Almada started breeding cattle and horses in the territory, in 1789. The farms of São Bento, São José and São Marcos, on the Uraricoera and Takutu rivers, respectively, were the first to permanently introduce cattle and equine breeding, between 1793 and 1799. Currently, the São Marcos farm belongs to the indigenous people and is located in front of the place where Fort São Joaquim was located.
For a year, between 1810 and 1811, English soldiers entered the Valley but were expelled by the commander of São Joaquim Fort. The border between Brazil and Guyana, whose border demarcation process had already been closed, needed to be re-marked, due to the great English invasions that occurred in that period after 1835 after Robert Schomburgk, a German-born explorer, under orders of English government, was surveying and collecting data on the territory of Esequibo disputed with Venezuela. He sent information back home explaining that the Portuguese-Brazilians did not actually control the Pirara territory, and suggested that the British Empire annex the territory as its own colony. Therefore, the colonization of the Branco River was divided into four periods: From 1750 to the beginning of the 19th century, with the discovery of the Branco River; from the mid-19th century until the creation of the municipality of Boa Vista, in 1890; from 1890 until the creation of the Federal Territory of Rio Branco; and the creation of the Federal Territory of Rio Branco to elevate it to the category of Brazilian federative unit renamed Roraima.
Decree-Law No. 5,812 of 13 September 1943, which dismembered the state of Amazonas, created the Federal Territory of Rio Branco. In 1962, the territory was called the Federal Territory of Roraima and elevated to the category of Brazilian federative unit by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988.
The colonization of the region was highly encouraged at the end of the 19th century, with the establishment of National Farms. However, the state's population only found stability after its emancipation, a century later, with the gold and diamond mines that attracted migratory waves from different regions of the country. This disorderly immigration and exploitation resulted in many conflicts and deaths due to illnesses and murders in the locality. Currently, almost all of the state's indigenous reserves are approved.
Geography
Roraima is a state in the North Region of Brazil, being the northernmost state in the Federative Republic of Brazil. It has 1,922 kilometres of border with South American countries. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast for 107 km, Amazonas to the south and west for about 1,200 km partly across the Jufari, Jauaperi and Alalau rivers, Venezuela to the north and northwest for 1,403 km across the Serra Parima and north across the Serra Pacaraima, and Guyana to the east for 964 km. Roraima covers an area of approximately , slightly larger than Belarus, being the fourteenth largest Brazilian state by area.
Approximately of the state is composed of indigenous areas, representing almost half of the state's territory (46.37%). The area of environmental preservation in the state, under the responsibility of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), is also extensive, with , 8.42% of Roraima's area. For this reason, Roraima is the Brazilian state with the second-highest percentage of territory formed by protected areas, behind only the state of Amapá.
Relief Mount Roraima, located in Pacaraima Mountains, is the highest point in the state and one of the highest in the country, with . The relief in the state is quite varied. Near the borders of Venezuela and Guyana are the mountains of Parima and Pacaraima, where Mount Roraima is located, with an altitude of . As it is in the far north of Brazil, its points in the far north are the Uailan River and Mount Caburaí.
Roraima is predominantly flat. About 60% of the area is below , about 25% averages between 200 and 300 metres, 14% from 300 to 900 metres and only 1% has elevations over 900 metres above sea level. There are also two geomorphological structures: the Wavy Plateau and the Northern Escarpments, which are part of the Guiana Shield. Its Wavy Plateau is a large pediplain, formed by isolated and dispersed massifs and peaks.
Because of its variations, the relief is divided into five degrees: The first-degree houses areas of the state that can be flooded, which do not have a specific form of relief, but which are covered by a thin layer of water; the second degree would be the Branco River pediplain, an important unit of enormous expression in the state since it occupies a large part of its lands. In this pediplain, the altitudes vary from 70 to 160 metres and have a low slope towards the river channels. The third degree is formed by elevations that can reach an altitude of 400 metres. There are mountain ranges such as Serra da Lua, Serra Grande, Serra da Batata and others. The fourth degree is characterized by elevations that can vary from 600 to 2,000 metres of altitude, formed mainly by the Pacaraima mountain range, Serra do Parima and Serra do Urucuzeiro. These mountains are joined in the form of chains and the rivers that form the Uraricoera river are born there. Finally, the fifth degree, groups the highest regions, formed by elevations that reach almost 3,000 metres of altitude.
Climate
According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, the prevailing climate in Roraima is similar to that of other states in the North Region that shelter the Amazon rainforest: basic variations of the tropical climate. The average temperature during the year varies from in points of relief with higher altitudes, to in areas of smooth or flat relief.