The Boomerang Box is traveling to Porto de Santos, the Port of Santos, on the southeastern coast of the country of Brazil. Santos is Brazil's leading port. But what did it take to make Santos such an important port?

We've learned enough about ports around the world that we can probably figure out the answer to this question without too much trouble. Let's see: what questions should we ask?

Well first, we know a port must have access to good transportation on land or sea or both to succeed. Does Santos? The answer to this first question is 'yes.' Santos is located on the island of Sao Vicente on the Atlantic Ocean. It is close to the mainland and Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo. Santos is a seaport with a good harbor for ships. And it is connected by rail to Sao Paulo and the Brazilian interior.

Second, we know that a port must have access to goods to trade. Does Santos? The answer to this question is also 'yes.' Brazil produces about one-quarter of the world's coffee, and the Port of Santos has been kept busy for over one hundred years shipping coffee beans around the world. (If your parents drink coffee in the morning, it is possible their coffee beans traveled through Santos!)

Because we know so much about the history of ports by now, we might ask a third question about Santos. Was it settled by European traders in the 1500s or 1600s as they explored the world in search of goods to trade?

You might not be too surprised to learn that the answer to this question is also 'yes.' Jesuit priests from Portugal settled in Santos and Sao Paulo in the mid 1500s. The port became a base for Portuguese traders, who sailed to Brazil to take Native American slaves and precious minerals back to Europe. In fact, the entire country of Brazil was a Portuguese colony until 1822. Railroad lines were built from the Brazilian interior to Santos in the mid 1800s. And coffee growing in the Sao Paulo area became a big business in the late 1800s, keeping Santos a very busy port even after Brazil won its independence from Portugal.

Like every port we've studied, the Port of Santos has changed over the years, from the 1500s to the 1800s to today. What can you learn about Santos' history? Can you draw what you think the port might have looked like at different times?

Even in the last 50 years, Santos has changed a great deal. A traveler arriving in Santos 50 years ago would have seen a very different place than the modern port of today. Cargo ships crowded into the port, just like today, but in the 1950s there were no computers or containers or cranes at the port. Green coffee beans were lifted onto ships in nets using big hooks on the end of ropes. Today, ships traveling to Santos carry their goods in containers like the Boomerang Box, and huge container cranes—rather than hooks and ropes—load and unload them.

Using your knowledge of ports and geography, use a map, atlas, or the library to locate and learn about these features of Brazil:

• Santos
• Sao Paulo
• Rio de Janeiro
• Brasilia (Brazil's capital city)
• The Amazon River
• Port of Recife

One of Brazil's most prominent features is the Amazon River. The Amazon stretches for 2,300 miles. Its entire length is navigable. And it drains huge portions of the country. Use an atlas, encyclopedia or the library to learn more about the Amazon River and its history and write a 1-2 page paper summarizing what you learn.

Check out past Trade Topics entries!