Recife, Brazil

February 20, 2008

Known as the Brazilian Venice, Recife is surrounded by rivers and is dotted with islands and mangroves. One of the first areas in Brazil settled by the Portuguese Crown, Recife’s distance from Portugal made it difficult for the crown to invest human or financial resources to the area. John III of Portugal decided to assign this task to private entrepreneurs and while most of these projects failed, Pernambuco prospered die to the sugarcane industry. All that was needed was sufficient labor in the fields and to keep the wooden machinery working. From the 16th to the 19th century slaves were imported from Africa and this influence is notable in the cultural aspect of the city. Added to this mixture of Portuguese, Indians, and black slaves, the Dutch also had a major impact on the area. From 1580 to 1640, the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal were unified and Spain was engaged in a war against the Netherlands, the main distributors of Brazilian sugar in Europe. The Dutch invaded sugar producing cities in Brazil and in the mid 1600’s took control of Recife. During this period, Recife became one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. The first Jewish community and synagogue of the Americas was founded in the city. The inhabitants of Recife, eager to expel the Dutch, carried out the Pernambucan Insurrection.. Most of the Jews fled to Amsterdam while others fled to North American, starting the first Jewish community of New Amsterdam, now known as New York City.

I chose the wrong excursion to visit this city. I boarded an open air catamaran and slowly made our way under seven bridges seeing the decaying city from the water. Other than being extremely hot and uncomfortable, this “cruise” was uneventful. The highlight was visiting a former 18th century jailhouse that has been “converted” into a shopping “mall”. The former cells now house small independent shops that sell the usual tourist junk. I am sure that Recife is an interesting place….I just didn’t see it! So, now it’s on to Fortaleza!