Bel m
State	Par
Area:	1070 km
Population:	1 342 202 (Estimate: 07/2003)
Height:	10 m above sea level
Postcode (CEP):	66000-000
Geographic location:	01 28' South 29' West
Address of the local government:	Prefeitura de Bel m cio Antonio Lemos a Dom Pedro II s/n
Website:	www.prefeituradebelem.com.br
Contact:	semad@cinbesa.com.br (mailto:semad@cinbesa.com.br)
Map

Bel m is a city in the nothern part of Brazil. It is the capital and also the biggest city of the state of Par . Its metropolitan area has ca. 2.01 milions of inhabitants. It is the entrance gate and, together with Manaus, the most important city in the brazilian amazonic region. It is also known as Cidade das mangueiras (city of the mango trees) due to the amount of those trees found in the city.

History

The region of Bel m was originally inhabited by Tupinamb indians.

The city was founded on January 12, 1616 by capitain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco, who was sent by the Portuguese crown to defend the region against French, Dutch and British colonisation attempts. For this purpose, he built a fortress called Forte do Pres pio (currently called Forte do Castelo).

Initially, the city was named Feliz Lusit nia. Later it was renamed to Santa Maria do Gr o Par as well as Santa Maria de Bel m do Gr o Par , finally receiving its current name Bel m.

Distanced from the rest of the county and strongly linked to Portugal, Bel accepted Brazil's independency not before august 1823, almost one year after its declaration.

Between 1835 and 1840 Bel m witnessed the Revolta dos Cabanos also known as Cabanagem, a revolt considered as to have the most authentic popular participation in the country's history.

Due to the growing importance of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) from the end of the 19th until the beginning of the 20th century, Bel m became a very important marketplace. During this period many important buildings were constructed, such as Pal cio Lauro Sodr , Col gio Gentil Bitencourt, Teatro da Paz, Pal cio Ant nio Lemos and the Ver-o-Peso market.

Geography

1 27' south, 48 29' west. As of 2004, the population is 1.421 million, which makes it the 10th biggest city of Brazil. The mouth of the Amazon lies just to the north of the city.