Aracaju

The land of present-day Aracaju was located in a sesmaria given to Pero Gonçalves by the Portuguese crown around 1602. The land consisted of 160 kilometres (99 mi) of coastline with small fishing villages. A village called Santo Antônio de Aracaju was recorded in 1699. It was located at the mouth of the Sergipe River at the Atlantic Ocean, and was founded by João Mulato, an indigenous Brazilian. The settlement saw little growth in the 18th century, and was part of the parish of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro do Tomar do Cotinguiba. The capital of São Cristóvão presented numerous difficulties as the capital of Sergipe, primarily its inland location. São Cristóvão had only a small port on a river, and was accessed only with small boats. As a result, large ships were unable to land in Sergipe. Government officials in Sergipe began a search for land for a new capital in the 1850s. …

The geographical area containing Aracaju is antipodal with the more famous Mariana Trench in northern hemisphere. Aracaju's climate is hot and humid, and the city experiences a tropical savanna climate. The average annual temperature is 26 °C or 78.8 °F and average annual rainfall is 1,695.3 millimetres or 66.74 inches. The hottest months Aracaju experiences are January, February and March, with temperatures averaging 27 °C or 80.6 °F, while the average highs are 30 °C or 86 °F and the minimum is 24 °C or 75.2 °F. The mildest are July and August, with temperatures averaging 24 °C or 75.2 °F, with a mean maximum not exceeding 28 °C or 82.4 °F, and at night the temperature drops to 22 °C or 71.6 °F. However, it may happen that the temperature gets warmer in "winter" and cooler in "summer", as in 2002. …

The economy is based on services and industry. The GDP for the city was R$13918124 (2013). In recent years, the city has been invigorated by major investors from both eastern Europe (especially from Belarus and Russia) and China setting to be a key city on the BRICS relations worldwide as well as a 'Mercocity' (adopted from Mercosur). The city has emerged as a good choice in low-cost tourism. Seen and recognized as one of the safest (63 murders per 100,000; No. 12 city in world; List of cities by murder rate) capitals in the Northeast region and the lowest costs of living in the country, more recently has focused its tourism business in creating quality accommodation, such as world-renowned hostels. Planned public transportation improvements were aimed at increasing the comfort and integration to the visitors users. …

Aracaju is served by Santa Maria Airport, a domestic commercial airport. It dates to 1952 and became fully functional in 1958. The airport is located in the Santa Maria neighborhood of the city and is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from downtown Aracaju. Aracaju is located on the northern segment of BR-101, a major north–south longitudinal highway in Brazil. It is also the easternmost point of BR-235, an incomplete highway which is projected to run from Aracaju west to Novo Progresso, Pará.