Table 2

Historic economic cycles on the Northern Coast of São Paulo

Date

Activity

Before 1870

Sugar cane plantations

Brazilian rum

1870–1880

Railroad built between Santos and São Paulo

Coffee plantations

Manioc cultivated and commercialized

After 1890

Agriculture declined

Isolation: small-scale agriculture concentrated on manioc.

After 1950

Decline of price of agricultural products:

Activity concentrated on fishing: sand drums, weakfish [Sciaenidae], bluefish [Pomatomidae], mullets [Mugilidae], snooks, [Centropomidae], and shrimp, among others.

After 1980

Fishing and the increase of tourism and tourist-related activities.

State Parks*: prohibition of small-scale agriculture and of fishing in rivers.

Source: [7, 17, 29]

*environmental legislation, State Park of Serra do Mar (Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar).

Begossi Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2006 2:40   doi:10.1186/1746-4269-2-40