Editing Alagoas (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Alagoas}}
[[Image:Museu de arte sacra do convento de Santa Maria (Marechal Deodoro, AL).jpg|thumb|right|Convent of Santa Maria, [[Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas|Marechal Deodoro]].]]
During the first three centuries of its history, Alagoas was part of the captaincy of Pernambuco, only becoming an independent captaincy in 1817.  As a reprisal against the [[Pernambucan revolt|Pernambuco Revolution]], the King [[João VI|John VI]] of [[Portugal]] ordered a vast portion of the territory of Pernambuco to be taken from it, most including its southern portion, one part was given to the captaincy of [[Bahia]], the other portion was made independent, creating Alagoas as a new Brazilian captaincy.

Initially, in the first years of the 16th century, Alagoas settlement went on slowly, however helped by Africans turned into slaves whose work urged the local economy. In the period of the 16th and 17th centuries, French pirates invaded its territory attracted by the commerce of [[Paubrasilia|brazilwood]].

Some time later, [[Duarte Coelho]], owner of the captaincy of Pernambuco, gave the control of the region back to the Portuguese, running the territory as part of his captaincy. He increased the number of sugar cane plantations and built some sugar mills, as well as founding the cities of Penedo and [[Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas|Alagoas]] – this last one originally baptized by Portuguese as Santa Maria Madalena da Alagoa do Sul (Saint Mary Magdalene of the Southern Lake), currently the historic heritage town of Deodoro da Fonseca.

In 1570, a second expedition ordered by Duarte Coelho and led by [[Cristóvão Lins]], explored the north of Alagoas and founded the settlement of Porto Calvo and five sugar mills, which two of them still endure, Buenos Aires and Escurial.

In 1630, the territory was taken by the Dutch, whose interest was to manage the commerce of sugarcane in most parts of the northeastern region of Brazil. As part of one of the wealthiest Brazilian captaincies, Alagoas prospered along with the [[sugar trade]]. They built ''Fort Maurits'' in Penedo, on the river São Francisco. However, the Dutch colonizers abandoned the territory after being defeated in 1646.

Decades before Alagoas was formed in 1817, its [[sugar industry]] had 200 mills, and agriculture also involved cotton, tobacco and corn plantations. With [[Independence of Brazil|Brazilian independence]] from Portugal in 1822, Alagoas became a [[Province of Alagoas|province]]. In 1839, the capital of the province was changed definitively from [[Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas|the town of Alagoas]] to Maceió, mainly due to the increasing growth of the city because of its port.