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Piauí (pron. ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country. Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66km, and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland. The reason for this is because, unlike the rest of the area, Piauí state was first colonised inland and slowly expanded towards the ocean, rather than the other way around. History
The state has many highly important archaeological sites, including Serra de Capivara National Park and Sete Cidades National Park, which are rich in remains of prehistoric Amerindian civilisations. The first settlers in Piauí were bandits fleeing from São Paulo, notably Domingos Afonso Mafrense and Domingos Jorge Velho. Mafrense founded what is today Oeiras, whilst the first herds of cattle were taken there by Velho. In the 1600s, many impoverished noblemen and Jesuit priests, as well as black and Amerindian slaves, settled there. The first large-scale cattle farming also arrived with these settlers. Large estate owners seeking new pastures for their livestock arrived from neighbouring states such as Bahia and Maranhão. At the beginning of the 20th century, the principal industry of the state was stock-raising, which dates from the first settlement in 1674 by Domingos Affonso Mafrense, who established here a large number of cattle ranges. A secondary industry was the raising of goats, which were able to stand neglect and a scanty food supply. The agricultural products were cotton, sugar and tobacco. Forest products included rubber, carnauba wax and dyewoods. The exports included hides, skins, rubber, wax, tobacco and cotton. Teresina was the first Brazilian city to be planned. In 1852, an architect designed it, after being inspired by a chessboard. Situated at the mouth of the Parnaíba and Poti Rivers, Teresina was (and still is) known as the Green City because of the countless mango trees that line the city's streets. Research Tips
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