Curitiba (Brazil) Then and Now

Written By Idea Sharing on Friday | 11:30 pm

One theory is that the name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words kurí tyba, "many pine seeds" due to the large number of pinecones of Paraná pines in the region prior to its founding. Another version, also using words from the Tupi language, is that it originates in the combination of kurit (pine tree) and yba (large amount).

Map of the City of Curitiba, 1894. Highlighted in red for the trolley lines.

The first ten years of the 16th century had a war of conquest by Europeans (Portuguese colonists) against the indigenous peoples who inhabited the area of the city. Curitiba's birth is 29 March 1693, when its City Council was founded. At the end of the 17th century, Curitiba's agriculture was only for subsistence. Its main economic activities were mineral extraction. Waves of European immigrants arrived after 1850, mainly Germans (mostly from Russia), Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. In 1853, the south and southwest of the province of São Paulo were separated, forming the new province of Paraná with Curitiba as its capital.