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ILHA DO MEL HISTORY (Honey Island)
In the early seventeenth century, Heliodorus
Ebony Pereira founded the settlements of Paranagua and Curitiba, which was the
first nucleus of the village of Parana, subject to the Captaincy of São Paulo.
In the middle of next century, started the occupation of the south and
Lieutenant-Colonel Cândido Xavier de Almeida e Souza reaches Guarapuava Fields
(1770), founding the village of Guarapuava and erecting the Fort of Our Lady of
Carmo out of clay and straw and wood for the protection of the newly founded
village. In 1853, already under the Second Empire in Brazil, the territory of
Paraná is dismembered from Sao Paulo, and beholds the status of a province.
Fortaleza de Our Lady of Delight - Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora
dos Prazeres (or Fortaleza da Barra)
Being the only military monument of the eighteenth century existing in Parana,
the Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres fortress was completed on April 23, 1769. Its
building, during the reign of King Joseph I of Portugal, due to the war between
Portugal and Spain, unleashed in South America, an attempt by the Spaniards to
regain the land in accordance with the Treaty of Tordesillas (for the Spaniards,
was the southern limit of Iguape -SP, and not Laguna-SC). Another goal was to
defend the Bay of Paranaguá from Spanish pirates attacks. On top of Whale Hill,
near the Fort, are the guns and the trenches of stones. It is called "Labyrinth"
of guns.
View of the Fortress and Whale
Hill.
The fort was built from 1767 to 1769 by Lieutenant-Colonel Afonso Botelho,
according to orders received from the Marquis of Pombal by Captain-General D.
Luiz Antônio de Souza, then Governor of the Province of São Paulo.
Located on the Whale Hill, it
dominated the channel input of Paranaguá Bay, and originally had two artillery
pieces of 24 gauge, two 18 and two of 12 which were disarmed in 1800. During the
first empire, the were again re-armed with twelve pieces of 18 gauge and
properly manned in 1825. During the regency in 1831 they are once again rearmed,
when in 1850, she faces the english frigate "Cormoran" on July 01,1850 that had
captured brazilian ships in the port of Paranagua on charges of slave trade. The
then commander of the fortress, Captain Barbosa Joaquim Ferreira, gave orders to
fire the batteries, which hit the cruiser, forcing it to seek refuge in the Bay
of Shells.
It was put out of service
in 1954.
View from the top of Whale Hill in 1944 - Photo: Dr. Francisco
Neto Jusi
In 1938 was designated by the Historical and Artistic Heritage and recently
underwent restoration in order to receive visitors and researchers.
HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION
HISTORICAL ITEMS
In the first half of the seventeenth century, the portuguese started occupation
of the lands of the coast and first plateau of Paraná. The Portuguese settled
here with the main objectives of enslaving Indians and finding precious metals (Balhana
et alli, 1969). The current state of Paraná is then included in the Captaincy of
São Vicente and Santo Amaro, while following up the captaincy of a
semi-autonomous province (from Paranaguá) under the control of Gabriel de Lara
and became part of the Captaincy of São Paulo in 1711 (FIGUEIREDO, 1954).
Carijós Amerindians occupied the coast of Paraná and southern Brazil before
colonization, since then dominating the coastal Canaanite in Sao Paulo to the
Lagoa dos Patos in Rio Grande do Sul. Sambaquis exist in many islands of our
coast and represent reminants of the ancient civilization carijó, who lived
close to the local wetlands and creeks, which had many fish, oysters, shellfish
and other sea products (Martins, 1939).
The main historical facts related to Ilha do Mel is the construction of Our Lady
of Delight Fortress, the "Cormorant" incident and the construction of the
seashells lighthouse . Since 1718, French privateers and other foreign vessels
invaded the bar Paranaguá in search of rest, wealth and contact with the Indians.
Thus, the Portuguese decided to build a fortress to protect the Bay of Paranaguá
from strangers attacks. Thus, Colonel Afonso Botelho de Sampaio e Souza was
commissioned for the construction of the fort on the island, determining
the location at the base of Morro da Baleia (Whale Hill) and its strategic
plan.
The Portuguese government has earmarked four hundred thousand reis for the work,
which were added to the sum of two hundred thousand reis from the collection of
the Board of Paranagua. The work was completed in 1769, and also built a chapel,
with the name of patroness Our Lady of Delight. (Martins, 1939).
The incident "Cormorant" is described based on the work of CARNEIRO (1950). This
occurred at a time when the fortress was under the command of Captain Joaquim
Ferreira Barbosa and at the time, the fort had no garrison of war and weapons.
Brazil had signed an agreement with Great Britain, allowing it to seize slave
ships that sail along the Brazilian coast.
By 1850, the English ship Cormorant sailed along the coast of Paraná, commanded
by Captain Herbert Schoenberg. The English officer drew a parnanguara
fisherman to the ship, using this to implement the Paranaguá bar. In the port,
landed troops who seized a number of commercial vessels that were there. When
questioned by the customs authorities, the British commander said he was only
following orders, not having to provide further explanation. He sent a letter to
the Commander of the Fort of Paranagua, which was not received by any authority
in the port.
The population, outraged by the fact, appeal to local authorities, and some men
joined the crews and captains of the ships trapped, leading to Captain Barbosa
all that was needed to put the guns in action. Thus, between June 29th to July
1st, 1850, these men worked day and night to replace the guns in munhoneiras
and leave them ready to shoot, if necessary.
Before he set sail from the port of Paranagua, the English officer received a
letter from the Judge of the district in protest against the act, described as "so
offensive to those who are aimed against the sovereignty and dignity of this
nation," the judge sent yet another letter to the Commander of the Fort (Captain
Barbossa), telling him that it might be possible to prevent the departure of the
ships captured by the English ship. When the ship approached the bar of the Fort,
they sent a boat with a citation, Captain Barbosa, was received with a shot of
gun powder. Then, with a shot blanks and another real bullet he gave them the
military warning, received eighty-caliber bombs, 36 caliber bullets and up.
He then started the duel, when two boats were hit and convoyed to ship Cormorant,
which had his box of wheels damaged. An English sailor was killed and another
wounded. Despite the damage caused to the Fortress, no brazilian was injured.
After discussions and clarifications, the matter was resolved.
For the construction of the shells lighthouse, pieces were imported from
England, that landed at pier mounted on Seashells Beach (Praia do Farol das
Conchas). The lighthouse tower is entirely made up of iron, being 18m high.
It works since March 25th, 1872 (Martins, 1939; FIGUEIREDO, 1954).
SOCIAL ASPECTS
Around the year 1649, the population of the Paranaguá region was scarce, only
ninety-five inhabitants totaled the number of voters at the Town Administration
(FIGUEIREDO, 1954). Some of these early inhabitants of Paranagua had gone to
live in Ilha do Mel. The population of the coastal Parana is generally
half-breed type, with a biotype characteristic to the reminiscents of both
the carijó ancestors, with mixing with the white race (Martins, 1939).
In 1950 a census was conducted on the island and accused some 513 people, with a
balance between men and women, but with a much larger number of adults on young
people.The following data at the time was as follows: 185 residents in the tip
of the island and area, 125 in Fortaleza, 59 in the village of Shells
(Conchas/Lighthouse) and 144 in Encantadas village (FIGUEIREDO, 1954).
The 1980 census conducted by the IBGE accused a total of 627 residents, of whom
343 men and 284 women. It is observed that the number of young people is higher
than that of adults, there are 213 residents aged 10 to 24 years. Even at 80,
there were 306 homes on the island, with 125 permanent residents and 153 for
occasional use, among others. The number of literate people was 276 residents
(165 men and 111 women).
According to the census of 1991, there are 515 residents on the island, with 289
men and 226 women, the number of houses increased to 478, with 141 households
out of 318 occasional use, 14 cottages and 1 hotel (IBGE, 1980; 1991).
The main activity carried out is still fishing, in addition to tourism, while
fish is the staple food of the population. The most frequent fish are:
Parati, Hake, Sargo with Lisa and Mullet in the wintertime. Shrimp is also
very common, and the seven beards is the most common. The fish are sold in
Paranagua and used for the livelihood of residents. Food is mainly of fish,
flour, rice and beans. There are three grocery stores to sell groceries in the
village of Brasilia, a fruit store in the town of Lighthouse Village and a
market in Encantadas. Food is generally more expensive than the mainland because
of the need for transportation. Perishable foods such as fruit and vegetables
are more difficult to be purchased on the island.
Depending on the poor in nutrients sandy soils existing in the island, few
plants are cultivated for food subsistence of the inhabitants. Among these stand
out as cassava, papaya, lemon, guava, pepper, banana, cane sugar and corn. Among
the native plants used for food we can mention a deity (Gaylussacia brasiliensis),
with very small black fruit candy, guava (Psidium catleianum), the bacupari (Rheedia
gardneriana) and pineapple-Owl (Ananas bracteatus), and of palm (Euterpe edulis),
currently in the process of disappearance due to selective logging that is
occurring throughout the coastline.
In the months of December, January and February, there´s a large amount of
tourists on the island, reaching a flow of 70,000 people during these months
(data provided by the Forestry Police). Thus, in summer the main economic
activity is tourism. The hostels, camp sites and restaurants are crowded at this
time of the season.
There are some outsiders who settled in the island for the development of
trade, with the construction of bars, restaurants and hostels. The shuttle boat
is also an important economic activity on the island, creating jobs for many
residents. Currently a passing boat Pontal do Sul-Ilha do Mel costs about
R$ 20,00. Another provision of the service is activated in the summer of luggage
transportation of tourists by handcart to the different points of the island.
Many people are working in this activity. Some women make bread, pastries and
cakes for sale and for serving breakfast for tourists.
The predominant religions are Catholic and Evangelical, with weekly meetings to
hold such services.
As for leisure, the main sporting activity is soccer in the sand, and there are
three main fields, two in the village of Brasilia and one in Encantadas. Surfing
is another major activity. Children play mainly bete, catch, and hide and
seek. Bingos are held frequently, where several people in the community
contribute with gifts and gifts, from food to clothes and toys. The money,
controlled by the Residents Association of Nova Brasilia village give it back to
the community in the form of social action. During the months of June and July
communal feasts are held.
Research conducted by / and courtesy of Simone Ferreira de Athayde
- Botany Department - UFPR (Federal University of Paraná)
All Rights Reserved © 2009 Simone Ferreira de Athayde
Translated by Charles A. Principe.
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