Why Brazil Built a City in the Middle of the Amazon

The Brazilian city of Manaus sits alone in the middle of the Amazon, and yet it still grew to become the seventh largest city in the country. So what allowed a city isolated from Brazil's road networks to grow to such a large size?
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[@nathancatalano2480]

It's important to say that Manaus's origin is not an isolated example in Brazilian history. Many of the early Portuguese colonial settlements were established first as military forts and garnisons to drive off European rivals from the region. Fortaleza, literally "fortress" in portuguese, Rio de Janeiro and Belém, the second biggest city in the brazilian Amazon after Manaus, all share this history

[@jackyex]

That's the origin of many cities, not only in Brazil but all around the world .

[@Tahoe756]

Wish it wasn’t there

[@Marvin-sj9lr]

@@jackyex I think its more specific to the new world (excluding sizable native cities like Tenochtitlan/Mexico City), while old world cities often started as villages, where the fortifications followed later.

[@luizfellipe3291]

Rio de Janeiro only exists because the French tried to conquer the region

[@Guido-Fawkes]

​@@Tahoe756V?

[@gabrielt.3181]

Basically, what happened to Manaus is the same thing that happened to cities like Anchorage or Phoenix. The area isn't super suitable for humans to thrive, but there are economic factors that are powerful enough to bring people there

[@KhAnubis]

The forces of economics make humans do weird things sometimes

[@FalconWindblader]

​@@KhAnubisEconomy is at its core, the science & phenomenon of resource management after all. Where resources are found, beings would flock to in no time, no matter how weird it'd seem in the natural world.

[@calebe9060]

I disagree, Manaus just aren't very logistically good because of the weather that rains a lot and is bad to build things and etc. But a equatorial forest is better for life than a desert of ice or sand. People could live from the giant fruits that grow there, the rivers give them infinit amount of fish and other sea food. They have infinite wood to build things...

[@DougGlendower]

Anchorage is far, far more habitable than Phoenix. :P

[@markonikolic7957]

What economic factors? Ok I get that Alaska has resources but what the hell is there in phoenix ?

[@presidenttogekiss635]

To be fair, Amazonas ALSO has a population similar to Mongolia, AND a similar distribution, with a giant city in the middle surrounded by nothing. Jungles and Steppes are more similar than they appear.

[@hotman_pt_]

steppes are easier to settle and expand

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

@@hotman_pt_But jungles have much more water

[@hotman_pt_]

@@thomasgrabkowski8283 yes, but there are no nutrients in the soil to feed any crops. You would need to fertilize the land, which is very expensive

[@Guarlaon]

"nothing" is litteraly millions of species of fauna and flora, indigenous tribes and so many things that people ignores

[@Carcaravoa]

​@@hotman_pt_não tem nutrientes no solo? Nitrato, fosfato, potássio, ferro, e etc são o que? A floresta germinou com técnica indígena como da terra preta e isso há milhares de anos. Não tem nada, cada uma...

[@fernandosacchetto5215]

There's one piece of the puzzle of Manaus's economic development that was left out of the video - the "Zona Franca de Manaus" (ZFM), or Manaus Tax-Free Zone, established in 1967, where there are practically no taxes at all on industrial production, imports and exports. This was made as a way to incentivize development in the region, and that's why lots of industries are located there.

[@MugroofAmeen]

It's actually impressive how a rubber-boomtown managed to grow to a industrial giant with millions of residents. Why didn't the same thing happen in the Northeast, anyway?

[@markonikolic7957]

Well I thought there was as reason why large companies like Samsung and Siemens would settle there

[@finalcut302]

@@MugroofAmeen The industrial policy was driven by Brazil's military, to reinforce control of the borders. The northeast was not considered so problematic from a defense standpoint. The weakest point in brazil's defense is considered to be the north, where the amazon is, specially the border with the french guyana. So the industrial policy made sense to bring people over there and develop industrial capabilities in there made logistic sense for the military.

[@braziliantsar]

​@@finalcut302 Especially considering it was in the Cold War, and even tho our relations with the french got considerably better (after the incidents before the military coup), we of course were still skeptical about their large presence in French Guyana. Also, 1964 was the same year of the foundation of the Farcs; another great concern for reforcing defense in the North.

[@lkslokinhow]

"healthy doses of federal investment and tax incentives" that is exactly what the Zona Franca is. He says that at 4:10. He just didn't went into the exact details.

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

That sounds like one of the craziest big cities to live in on the entire earth. It gives me similar vibes as like La Paz Bolivia, only for being remote instead of at a super high altitude. I love learning about cities like this!

[@klausmalzbier]

I live in Manaus since two months. It is truly a crazy city. :D You should come and visit.

[@meneither3834]

Perth, Honolulu and Ulamabatar are other exemples

[@leorusso2480]

Dude this city is HOT

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

@@leorusso2480 i bet! 😳

[@pedrolmlkzk]

If you ever live in Manaus you will start believing 25°C is cols

[@Denis-wm4iv]

as a simple Jamaican, I never knew there was actually cities like BIG cities inside the amazon rainforest, I thought it was ''empety'' with only wild life or tribes, like Siberia or northern Canada, this is mindblowing to me... looks like a great greey island in the middle of the endless green ocean, frankly saying, I never heard about Manaus before, besides Saint Paolo and The Rio and I dont know much Brazilian cities names though.

[@wilsondaguardamiranda834]

Pois é sao habitantes nativos daqui mesmo é mestiço com os portugueses alguns africanos.

[@editorenbici]

Peru and Colombia also have cities upriver like Leticia and Iquitos.

[@maelys8851]

There's also big cities in Siberia, still smaller than Manaus, but not that far off.

[@neezduts_]

@@maelys8851yep like novosibirsk or Chelyabinsk(moreso Ural region) or Vladivostok

[@geografisica]

Being from Jamaica you would probably need just few flight connections from Kingston to Manaus.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

Just a secret: almost all older brazilian cities were build in the middle of the jungle. Brazil had not only one but two gigantic rainforests: the Amazon and the Atlantic rainforest. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo were once parts of the Atlantic Rainforest.Deflorestation reduced it to just 5% to its original size.

[@eduardopupucon]

Mata atlantica não é "rainforest", uma porção dela é temperada e ainda tem uma parte de mata árida na caatinga.

[@calebe9060]

​@@eduardopupuconmas aí não é mais mata atlântica, se torna a vegetação de transição do agreste e o bioma caatinga propriamente dito

[@calebe9060]

Mas é mais difícil certamente a colonização na amazonia, já que a nossa floresta equatorial é muito mais densa que a atlântica

[@finalcut302]

well, following that logic, so was the whole of europe and north america at some point, lol

[@dias2264]

​@@finalcut302thanks for pointing that! Brazil's like the only place were big forests are still preserved, while european/usa forests went almost completely devastated. But for a lot of internet people the problem with forest devastation in the world is somehow caused by Brazil...?

[@arthurhastings.8983]

Around the 2:45 to 3:45 marks, i think there is a little misconception which implies the population of the State of Amazonas mostly utilize only boats, cars and ferries to travel among federal states or foreign countries located in Latin America close to the border with Brazil. In fact, the main source of transportation in and out of Amazonas is by air, specifically related to the "Eduardo Gomes International Airport", where brazilians whom are locals of the region and those originated from other States depart and arrive. Edit: The chained indigenous tribe individuals shown in the 2:16 mark aren't from the State of Amazonas or even Brazil, but from Uruguay. This requires more in-depth research, that's for sure.

[@taimunozhan]

The picture of the chained people is actually from the Peru, where local Amazonian indigenous communities were also enslaved and exploited in rubber plantations in the early 1900s. The picture was taken by American engineer Walter Hardenburg, who denounced the atrocities against local communities in the Amazonas in a book titled The Devil's Paradise. For some reason, that picture was used in the thumbnail for a documentary about the genocide of the Uruguayan Charrua people, which were mostly massacred in 1831 with survivors being forced to assimilate. As far as I know, there are no photographs of them, only engravings and there certainly weren't enslaved indigenous peoples wearing chains in Uruguay by the time photographs were a thing (it's not that Uruguayan elites were any better, it's just that they didn't have plantations that would benefit from that).

[@nicolasreinaldet732]

@@taimunozhan I dont remenber something about the last Charuas being sended to a human zoo in france.

[@lucasbatista1453]

“Before reentering Brazil through a state that doesn’t actually exist”. That was on point, sir! You really did your research! 😅👏

[@matheuss886]

3:28 it is so flattering to me as a Brazilian that such a small but neat piece of Brazilian meme lore has reached the most diverse array of content creators from other countries thanks to the internet.

[@u3u36]

Postou cringe fi

[@Science_Atrium]

​@@u3u36 Ele não falou nada demais

[@gymusen]

​@@u3u36lá vem os cara 🙄

[@rmc7847]

It is a nice city to visity, i have been there in january and was very nice to see a big city in the middle of a dense forest, and they still have a beach in the Rio Negro, close to the Rio Negro Brigde. By the way, below that bridge have some floating houses that people pay to swim with botos(pink dolphins). We also could see the river bend downwards, as if it were the end of the world,because Manaus is very flat. If cross the brigde you can even see were is raining. The historical sites is very fun to visit, the Teatro Amazonas have two guide tour, one in portuguese and another in english. the people who welcomed me told me that a lot of food in Manaus comes from the state of Roraima,that you can see it in the port of Manaus,close to the Municipal market, they have extreme good fish there by the way. The favelas in Manaus are called palafitas, the government is trying to solve their problem by building housing projects for people and transforming the old houses into parks around the small rivers that cross the city(which the locals call an igarapé, for then only the big rivers like amazon is call a river). The only advice i can give if someone want to go there is:bring a umbrella,the rain comes out from nowhere.

[@robertsouza1929]

Cool I live in Manaus

[@maellecampion6663]

It's not just Manaus, but there are also a few other cities like Las Vegas (USA), Urumqi (China), Alice Springs (Australia), etc where you'd always ask yourself, how on earth did these cities form in these areas with a really low population density?

[@danielgoncalvessantosbaldi8806]

Manaus is the only one among those you mentioned that is in the middle of a huge equatorial forest, and if you include cities that are in the Amazon of neighboring countries, Manaus is the largest city in this entire area, there is only Belém that competes with Manaus, but Belém is on the coast, at the mouth of the Amazon River, and therefore Manaus has a more strategic location, more centralized in the largest equatorial forest on the planet.

[@Hectopath2006]

I only know about Alice Springs because it was the only thing on google maps that happened to be smack in the middle of Australia

[@mariosergioribeiro499]

​@@danielgoncalvessantosbaldi8806Tem Iquitos no Peru com 500 mil habitantes é a maior cidade do mundo sem ligação por terra e Santarem 350 mil habitantes no Pará !!!

[@marco-ls9fm]

As a brazilian, i approve the Acre joke

[@rinotilde2699]

LOL

[@thiagoengbio]

Best comment!

[@josev.216]

Can you explain why did he say that I'm not into the brazilian lore hahaha

[@endlessgamer4121]

​@@josev.216Acre doesnt exist, it is an illusion.

[@corinnarust]

@@josev.216 Acre is the most "far" state from the "mainstream" cities (Brasília, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro), and has it's own timezone So, brazilian joke that "the country doesn't exist", "people use dinosaurs instead of cars", "internet is via vines", etc This meme had a lot of popularity aprox. 2010-2017, these jokes are decreasing, since the state is improving and they are offering super-high salaries for people to work there

[@Gabriel_Bento]

As a person who lives in Manaus/Amazonas, i feel very happy to see my city is being watched by so many people!

[@usaagima_8519]

Opaa

[@user-ou2hm6jh3s]

Hi there!

[@anacletwilliams8315]

Thank you.

[@luizcdocarmo]

E os trouxas monetizando o canal do gringo...

[@anacletwilliams8315]

@@luizcdocarmo Inveja é igual ácido. Corrói até a alma. Cuidado, Luiz do Carmo, cuidado...

[@linw2121]

You know its a great video when Khanubis talks about South America

[@Nigu_Flags]

It's a good video when KhAnubis talks about a place in the world

[@KhAnubis]

The Latin America videos I’ve been making seem to be the ones that get the most views

[@Nigu_Flags]

@@KhAnubis Ah, it's that. Gotta love a large demographic :)

[@arthurhastings.8983]

​@@KhAnubisNot many english-speaking channels make videos talking about Latin America in specific. That's why when recommended by the KZbin algorithm to users these videos significantly stand out. It doesn't necessarily mean they are well-informed though.

[@linw2121]

@@KhAnubisYeah I really enjoy your South America videos!

[@azirmandias4191]

Just clarifying, Manaus is not the single city in the middle of brazilian amazon, there are actually over a hundred cities here, Manaus only happens to be the larger one

[@braziliantsar]

Keyword, it being the capital city of the State of Amazonas

[@corey2232]

Why do you need to clarify that? The video literally says that.

[@roxellelamour3779]

Of course. But others are too small, to be considered about their economic factors.

[@viniciusbp2704]

@@corey2232 right xD

[@bellagothz]

Bruh don’t forget my city Belém

[@lucassilva463]

It's nice to share that, even tho they're a kind of a favela, but the habitations here, specifically those ones in the rivers, are called "palafitas". Favelas are even more considered in the context of the Rio de Janeiro. Kind regards from Manaus! ;)

[@limbicferret]

not really. the name for this poor urban gridding is indeed favela (slum). half of all you manaoaras is 'favelado'. sorry for saying, just the hard truth.

[@cls2518]

​​​@@limbicferretnot really. Favela is a word that is indeed translated to slum, but it has a regional touch and context that is lost in translation. So in Manaus we do have slums but we don't have favelas, we have palafitas and invasões (roughly translated as "invasions" since they are illegally occupied areas). Also, just as favelas, they are far from representing half our neighborhoods.

[@calebe9060]

​@@limbicferretTroll identified

[@calebe9060]

​@@cls2518Yes, the favelas are more a term for poor houses in mounts

[@MugroofAmeen]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't 'favela' specifically means 'slums built in hills' rather than regilar slums?

[@luizfellipe3291]

For starters: it is a joke that the state of Acre that borders Bolivia and Peru doesn't exist, but it sure does. It is also a joke that they ride dinosaurs instead of cars to work. It used to be part of Bolivia, but it was bought during the rubber boom. Brazil bought it from Bolivia to prevent a war, actually. Brazilian rubber extractors were going to that region of Bolivia illegally in very large numbers, much like what happened between USA and Mexico over Texas. The rubber boom eventually suddenly stopped in Brazil becouse some motherfuckers stoles Brazilian rubber tree splings and went to plant it on Indonesia or somewhere in SE Asia, idk

[@TrueBlueKangaroo]

Thank you, i was scouring google for any reference to the joke but this comment helped the most. Wildly interesting.

[@Heli0Jr]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wickham_(explorer)#Smuggling_of_rubber_seeds

[@raiogelato6921]

@@TrueBlueKangaroo Its Brazil's Wyoming or Alaska, the most isolated state, having a road inaugurated only recently.

[@dinkopausic6357]

Isn't Ederson from Acre?

[@luizfellipe3291]

@@dinkopausic6357 Who?

[@rodrigofx7413]

The Portuguese used an inhabited area to build the city. This happened in several other parts of Brazil, like São Paulo, for example. As for the fact that there are no points on the Amazon River, it is necessary to take into account two factors: the river's flow rate in drought is one and in rainy months, it more than doubles in size. Another factor is that the width of the river is 11 kilometers in drought but in flood it reaches over 50....

[@lazlo107]

A Bridge in the River would only take into account the flood season stats, therefor would be the Biggest Bridge in Brazil topping off the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge (whom stands alone in the leadership at 14.7KM long)

[@felipemonteiro6546]

​@@lazlo107The Salvador-Itaparica bridge doesn't even exist.

[@C0lon0]

Brazil has a bridge so long that it ends in the european union.

[@rodrigofx7413]

@@C0lon0 the oiapoque's bridge isn't so long....

[@lucasfontainha9053]

@@lazlo107that Salvador bridge does not exist and it’s not planned to be this lenght but actually slightly smaller than Rio - Niterói bridge (13km)

[@mauryeetss3561]

I was lucky enough to vacation here before. It’s kind of surreal coming down through the clouds on your plane and just seeing jungle as far as you can see. Just being in the city feels exotic. Hop on a boat down the rio negro, and before long you are deep in the jungle. You can even go to the place where the Rio Negro meets the Amazon River. There’s a distinct line where one side is dark blue water and the other is murky brown. It’s an amazing place.

[@rogeriopenna9014]

Manaus is the largest 7th municipality by population. Considering it the 7th largest city depends a lot on what you consider as a city. By urban area/metro area, Manaus fall way below, because it basically has no metro area. And cities like Porto Alegre, historically more important, rise. Porto Alegre is the 5th largest with 4.3 million people, followed by Fortaleza, Recife, Curitiba, Salvador and Campinas. Notice that Campinas is the second largest municipality in São Paulo state, and by metro area pop is larger than cities like Manaus

[@RonneWesley]

Porto Alegre is historically more important than Manaus? I guess not. Manaus history is definitely richer and reached international status during the rubber cycle in the Amazon. Only people from the Southern states would try to discredit the importance of northern cities.

[@u3u36]

​@@RonneWesleyforçou, porto alegre sempre foi uma das cidades mais ricas do Brasil.

[@robertsouza1929]

​@@u3u36Manaus é literalmente a quinta cidade mais rica do Brasil amor kkkkk

[@robertsouza1929]

Manaus continua tendo mais população,ter que incluír área metropolitana já mostra a dor de cotovelo kkkk

[@rogeriopenna9014]

@@robertsouza1929 nenhuma cidade do mundo é medida a partir da população do MUNICÍPIO, que é uma divisão administrativa/política. Pq eu teria dor de cotovelo de Manaus?

[@MrBudmonster420]

I was born in Manaus and still live here, this video taught me a lot about the history of my city. But, the video also made the city seem like it is only reachable by boat, which is not true. Manaus has 2 airports (1 for small planes only) and a lot of flights from south america to the US, stop in Manaus. Anyway, I thought this missing info was important but still a great video.

[@matheusalmeida9527]

Manaus is also a military strategic city. Brazil has 15k+ militaries there to protect the region from foreign ambition and Manaus is the HQ.

[@jucas3070]

Importante lembrar que o boom da borracha em manaus diminuiu por um caso de biopirataria onde um ingles juntou 90000 sementes de seringueira e levou para uma colonia inglesa com clima parecido com o do brasil

[@GermanoLisboa]

Kudos for mentioning the state that doesn't really exist, that is a research well done

[@carlosroque2089]

I live in Manaus and is very good to see you have learned very well the "situation" of the city. Excelent explanation.

[@mooseears9849]

Manaus exists for the sake of people like me who think to myself “Damn, I know the Amazon is hot, perpetually rainy, and with humidity rates of 120%, so, like, not the greatest place for human settlement. But at the very least there needs to be at least ONE city in this giant swath of forested land.”

[@Peizxcv]

I wanna see someone's road trip on BR-174 all the way from Manaus through the big loop to Brazilian core

[@paulosilasdesigner.oficial]

To reach the rest of the country, take BR 319

[@xmun2450]

the BR101 is bad enough

[@pixeldubsofficial]

​@paulosilasdesigner.oficial it's a dirt track which for most of the year turns to mud during to the rain and can take a week to travel.

[@mayzera]

Manaus' citizen here!! Great explanation, I loved the video. ❤

[@aleksasimovic2985]

Wow, I've been wondering about this city for a long time, nice video!

[@igor-yp1xv]

Nice video, thanks for covering Brazil. I've never been to Manaus but I LOVE açaí, usually eat it at least once a week. Your Portuguese pronunciation is very good!

[@calebe9060]

For the people that still thinks there are just tribes and wildlife in the amazon know that the portuguese people, when colonized Brazil, REALLY occupied the place, they developed it, and it continued when Brazil turned into a Empire, with a legitimate emperor son of the portuguese king. There are fortresses at a lot of places in the amazon, colonial archtecture in small towns in the amazon that are extremelly poor and subrecognized. They navegated basically all the amazon river till the XVIII century. I Live in Belém, the second biggest city of amazon with 1.5 M habitants and a metropolitan region of 2.5 M. Brazil has also the most populated semi-arid biome in the planet. The portuguese were no joke and amazon colonization was not different from the colonization of the rest of Brazil. The great difference is that, due the fact that the biome is basically composed by a infinite number of trees, entering in the jungle would be almost impossible, so they decided to settle towns just by the rivers and the shores.

[@6z0]

I got one of your videos recommended like 2 years ago but somehow lost your channel and forgot the name. So glad I stumbled upon it again, these are good videos.

[@tobirates916]

Great video, as always.

[@pedromendesrbd]

I went there last year, it's a beautiful city, although too hot. Air conditioning is not a luxury, rather a basic necessity. But it's worth it. And you can even see the forest from above at a platform in the city's botanical garden, or Museum of the Amazon.

[@death-istic9586]

Love your videos!❤😊

[@daniel2991]

The rubber demand died out in the 19th century, because the english developed a method to grow it in their Asian colonies, but during WW2, Japan took over their colonies and the demand for rubber came back to Brazil. The huge demand for rubber during the WW2 caused hundred of thousand brazillians to migrate to work in the Amazon forrest, they were called the rubber soldiers.They were called that, because their work conditions was so terrible, that their life expectancy wasn't much better than a front line soldier and many of them either died, got mained and even slaved. They are the unspoken heroes of the WW2.

[@leuris_khan2]

I live in Santarém, near Manaus

[@latitude23S]

Só nos gigantescos estados do N e CO 700km poderia ser considerado perto

[@leuris_khan2]

@@latitude23S hasdhahsdhds

[@HueWave]

Manaus guy here, i think that the main point itself was to have a outpost in the region to one. fend off the british/french corsairs that plagued shipping in the region and thus keep order, with said order also over the locals and neighboring nations populations who used the river around to move by, with the central government in rio at the time having their control over such a distant land, and two, to just have a hub to move/organize and cooperate larger logistics within the empire back in the day, and to this day it serves this purpose, as all resources, industry, production and economy of the whole region is sent to manaus, then to the rest of brazil and to the world itself, in that way the city makes sense.

[@VOID9558]

3:22 *THE ZOEIRA NEVER ENDS KKKKKKK*

[@usaagima_8519]

Wow, I'm from Manaus, thanks youtube for recommending me this video

[@WeirdAwesomeGeography]

Great video! I always wondered about this. The Amazon is so fascinating

[@robertsouza1929]

I live in Manaus

[@KomradeCPU]

those were some beautiful aerial shots from Manaus

[@StufffTV]

What an interesting place to learn about, Brazil is so immense and a place with so many different things to explore

[@cachecow]

I've seen some interesting stuff on Manaus fighting it's way to build into the Amazon, and the animals in the region, particularly the sloths

[@worldinsights930]

There is this strong perception that Manaus has always been an isolated city. It hasn't. Up until the mid-20th century, ships consist the main transport worldwide. The Amazon River, even at their lowest records, is pretty much navegable even for large-sized ships all year round and doesn't have any significant falls, unlike São Francisco River in the Brazilian northeast. By the late 19th century, Manaus was far more integrated to the world than cities like Belo Horizonte, which sits just over 600km from the sea (insignificant distance for a large country such ours). Manaus had been the hub of the rubber extraction until the British smuggled out some seads to British Malaya, which has a similar climate and jungly vegetation, putting an end to Manaus monopoly over this commodity. But this isn't the only reason for the city's decline. Malaria and other diseases, not geographic 'isolation", were the bumps on the road for Manaus for most of the 20th century.

[@ezp721]

Hello from Brazil! Thanks for show our country! 👍👍👍

[@williansouza8724]

i’m from manaus, and this video is very accurate. it still pains me that i can’t go basically anywhere without taking a plane or ferry. i’ve been to Roraima, the state to the north of Amazonas, but that’s about it. i really wish we were connected to the rest of the country by rail, but i think that’s impossible. manaus is basically 50% favelas. there are a few planned neighbourhoods here and there, but even those are dotted with informal housing where there was forest before. the government is awful, and the only thing it does is band-aid the problems of the city. because of the unregulated growth, there are only 4 forest covered places: around UFAM (the federal university), Sumaúma State Park to the north of the city, MUSA also to the north (it’s that huge square of green) and Mindu Park, which is very small. Mindu Park lies on both sides of the Mindu, a small river that runs through the city, and is horribly polluted. it stinks so bad, i can’t take it. the city also doesn’t have enough trees in the streets, and because of that it gets awfully hot in the winter. like 40°C hot. public transportation is terrible and it only has buses, which is ludicrous for a city with more than 2 million people. Manaus is also one of the most dangerous state capitals :D i know i seem very negative, but the truth is that i actually am and i despise this city. '-' if you come here, don’t spend much time in Manaus, go to explore the real attraction of the state of Amazonas: the Amazon!!!

[@marcelohjsakura]

O problema de Manuas são os grupos criminosos, parceiros do PT, que existem por aí!

[@thediaryofnapoleon]

Não esperava ver um manauara por aqui também kkk abraços 🤝

[@Science_Atrium]

​@@thediaryofnapoleonSou também também mas cresci em Brasília kkk

[@nataliearaujo3095]

Colega, também sou daqui e discordo que 50% da cidade seria só favela, vou falar minha percepção como alguém que roda a cidade inteira como babá plantonista e trabalho em muitas famílias de classe média alta a ricas. Os bairros residenciais de luxo e de apartamentos parecem ter uma menor quantidade de aptos e casas, mas eles eles ocupam uma área muuuito grande, com bastante vegetação inclusive (Alphaville que o diga), enquanto que bairros com pessoas de menor poder aquisitivo (sei lá, ouro verde por exemplo, a última vez que passei nesse bairro eu era criança então pode tá diferente) tem mais casas em menor área, tudo muito junto, e tbm conheço outros bairros sem ser a trabalho, só aqui em Manaus já morei em 11 casas (contanto com Boa vista e Santarém 17, graças ao meu pai com alma de cigano), diria que a cidade tem área de uns 35% de favela, se considerar bairros tumultuados como favela (tipo alvorada, ouro verde, compensa, cidade nova, mas mesmo nesses bairros tem algumas partes com casas boas), eu considero todas as colônias como favelas, embora a maioria das casas sejam de tijolos e tenham acesso a energia e água, como são bairros com muito tráfico e pobreza extrema e violência, pra mim já é favela. Minha percepção é que a maior parte da cidade é de bairros de classe média baixa e classe média "média", e devem ser os maiores em densidade populacional tbm, o tanto que tem de carro nessa cidade não é de gente rica obviamente, minha família sempre teve carro, e nunca chegou perto de ser classe média alta (afinal se fosse, nem como babá eu estaria trabalhando kk apesar de eu amar crianças e cuidar delas ter a ver com a minha formação de fato, é desgastante trabalhar pra rico, só trabalho porque preciso no momento), então assim, essa grande quantidade de carros pertencem tudo a pessoas classe média "média" né não? E essas obviamente não moram em favelas, em segundo lugar acredito que os maiores bairros seriam os bairros ricos porém ele só são grandes em área e contanto com a área comercial, tipo Adrianópolis e Vieiralves (porém são os menos populosos); e em terceiro lugar viriam as"favelas", os locais com palafitas são bem menores que as colônias por exemplo. Mas a única colônia que já fui foi a Antônio Aleixo, que parece literalmente outra cidade, parece estar separada de Manaus já que é depois do distrito industrial. A única região de Manaus que acho que nunca fui, olhando no Mapa seria a Asa Azul, nem sabia que existia até surgir um trabalho de babá pra lá, mas era longe de mais pra mim, e pelas fotos do google não consegui distinguir que tipo de bairro é, mas pareceu grande, se ele for tipo uma colônia, então aí realmente vou concordar com você em partes, pq na real acho que Manaus tem bairros pobres, porém bairro pobre é muito diferente de uma colônia ou de uma favela paulista e carioca por exemplo, já estive no Rio e a extensão delas é enorme, não tem comparação com as de Manaus. Esse assunto é interessante, vou perguntar da minha amiga que é formada em geografia pra ver o que ela acha, se eu lembrar de volta aqui conto o que ela acha kk

[@manoelizidroizidro380]

Cara, eu vivo em Manaus ja fázem 70 anos, e essas aberrações que vc díz a respeito dessa cidade não são tão verdadeiras assim. Como amazonense que sou, devo admitir que vc é um ingrato e mal informado a respeito de Manaus... Vc sabe que a cidade não é assim, mas quer que os outros pensem que é.

[@christianwestling2019]

I had no idea oceanliners could go all the way up to Manaus. Do cruise ships go that route? That sounds like a pretty neat ride.

[@miketackabery7521]

Ocean going ships go all the way to Peru, the city of Iquitos, on the Amazon.

[@josianedias5761]

Every year, Transatlantics dock in Manaus with tourists.

[@donttellthem2280]

3:26 Love the little insight about Acre. It's not much but it is indeed very appreciated.

[@Miguelitojones1]

the sheer refusal to pronounce that amused me quite a bit as a Lusophone. when people mispronounce stressed and nasal vowels it irks me a bit, but I do appreciate it when some effort is put in

[@KhAnubis]

Fun fact: I actually had another take where I pronounced the name of the fortress, but I though it would be funnier if I just said "uh... this"

[@Miguelitojones1]

worth it lol

[@revinhatol]

@@KhAnubis SOW zho-SE

[@HarvestStore]

Great video.

[@VoidUnderTheSun]

The most shocking information to me here is definitely that the Amazon is not crossed by any bridges. That is incredible.

[@raiansantos5464]

Só em rios pequenos

[@JM_RedCoat]

What a great video explaining the city! I've always question why it existed so isolated, since I have a Brazilian friend who lives there, and how it managed to become very popular for many industries

[@robertsouza1929]

I live in Manaus the city is so big that we don't feel isolated and have others city passing the bridge

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

The industrial boom that caused Manaus' population to grow and stay this big (and also caused most of it's many problems) is due to a near 100% tax examption for industries and business installed in a 10000 kilometer square area around it. There are some 600 reasonable sized bussiness around there because of this. This policy was enacted in 1967, for 30 years, but has been reinstated up to 2073. It also helps that naval shipping can come from the ocean rigth up to the industrial basin to load, pretty much tax free.

[@diogomm710]

As Acre is becoming known for not existing I fear someone creates it from scratch while we're oblivious to it

[@miketackabery7521]

🤣🤣🤣

[@deez26]

brilliant video earned a sub

[@GabrielTorres1974]

As a Brazilian I can only say: good job!

[@jifj9517]

I loved the video and your pronunciation is awesome! The facts are true, but I've noticed that the majority of people when will talk about Manaus only show the downtown (centro) part, even if Manaus is away bigger than this. Would be nice show others parts of the city (I mean, we have 2 million people here). However, nice material. A big hug from Manaus :)

[@OtavioFesoares]

It’d be nice if you made a video about the Brazilian city of Recife, whom’s Dutch occupation and eventual expulsion led to the Dutch occupation of Manhattan!

[@tonynight894]

Even I, a Brazilian who lives in the Amazon region, ask myself this question, hugs from Brazil

[@TudodaVida]

You explain Manaus better than probably 90% of Brazilians would do

[@Science_Atrium]

Ofc

[@yoshiro566]

Vira lata kkkkk

[@Science_Atrium]

@@yoshiro566 Ele falou alguma mentira? Sou de Manaus e não sabia de tanta informação

[@sinnersloschen]

Mentiu em nada. Como Manauara, já perdi a conta da quantidade de asneira que ouvi vindo da boca de brasileiros sem a menor ideia da complexidade das formações urbanas do Norte, e até vindo de gente com "formação universitário". Até a mídia nacional faz um péssimo trabalho expondo conceitos amazônicos pras demais regiões. Estrangeiros ao menos não partem de conclusões preconceituosas de imediato ao supunhetar o que tem por aqui, a completa ignorância (no bom sentido) deles os protege de vim com um "Aí chove TODO dia mesmo é?" ou "O pessoal anda de cara pintada na rua mesmo é??".

[@premierm.1503]

Interesting!😮

[@foodbag312]

I remember being on a night flight from Mexico City to sao Paolo and being very confused about the huge city out the window when I thought there would be nothing but darkness.

[@danielgoncalvessantosbaldi8806]

You've probably seen Manaus

[@rabanal_josh64]

Loved it. Do El Alto (Bolivia) next, please

The Amazon is the longest river in the world, period. With or without a bridge.

[@matheusperalva9794]

Não, não é. O Rio Amazonas é considerado o "maior rio do mundo", não o mais longo. É o "maior" em vazão de água, mas em extensão é o segundo mais longo. O rio Nilo tem o título de mais longo rio do mundo.

[@HistoricalWeapons]

I hitchhiked there by motorbike. You can drive there just depends on seasons

[@abacaxi.maldoso]

Most people in the comments are Brazilian just like me, and today I learned more about this distant place, could you make a video about Rio Branco, Acre?

[@Asterius2384]

Curiositie: the manus city was built after the defeat of manaós confederacy that was a confederation of various tribes in midle of amazon against portuguese, they were supported by dutch end the principal fort of manáos forces was in current city of manaus.

[@Guarlaon]

nice video

[@diegomata3624]

Bro, you really included the internal joke about Acre existence, nailed it!

[@Snipekas]

Manaus quite literally means conjuring in Finnish lol

[@robertsouza1929]

Really?cool

[@someadcstuff7670]

lol thats unexpected

[@fiude]

I'm from Manaus and this video is very accurate. I heard that Brazil make Manaus a fiscal heavy to population the area for military propose.

[@Righteous1ist]

Jungle city, very cool. Looks like it needs some modernizing though.

[@thomaswilis4682]

I feel like an important point that should have been talked about is the establishment of the "zona franca", which is the free trading zone in Manaus. It is the reason Manaus keeps being relevant and economically competitive. You mentioned it in passing, but for such an important aspect of the city, at least a quarter of the video should have gone into explaining it. Makes the video seem half done.

[@mariocoutinho125]

It's not the seventh largest city in Brazil, it's the seventh largest STATE CAPITAL. The distinction is very important, we have many large cities.

[@jotapeuy]

Nice one, at 3:29 😁

[@Hession0Drasha]

Build canal from the rio plata to the amazon, turn manaus into tropical chicago 😊

[@asnakx1386]

lol the acre joke hit me hard i wasn't expecting it

[@clidenorjr7928]

The great majority of workers extracting latex from “seringueiras” where originally from Ceará state in the northeast of Brazil that emigrated to the Amazon basin as a co sequence of the economic boom during that period. This is all documented with robust evidencies.

[@usaagima_8519]

As someone who was born in Manaus, but really wants to leave this he'll hole: Manaus is not really that remote of a city, just needs more connections... When I went to USA (Orlando and Miami) or when I went to Portugal, the hot weather didn't even tickled me.... Sometimes I think that Manaus really is the closest city to the sun

[@renangoncalves8760]

Thanks, im living here 😊

[@bragagd1618]

3:27 "Through a state that doesn't exist" You surely did an excellent research.

[@cuscuzatomico7971]

my man really expected us to leave an entire state with no capital 💀

[@RoGamg]

Udhanjee is a big businessman in manaus who is doing every bit of effort for popularizing the city

[@mysteriousDSF]

I have a friend who lives there and she works for a high profile tech company. It sounds like a dream life to me, live in an always hot and humid environment (which is paradise to me) but work in an air-conditioned office

[@islanoliveira]

Bro, hot and humid is one hell of weather.

[@caseclosed9342]

So it’s like Florida?

[@joao0luiz]

​@@caseclosed9342 the climate in Florida doesn't even compare to the Amazon

[@mysteriousDSF]

@@islanoliveira I love it especially if I have an air-conditioned house and an air-conditioned workplace.

[@grandmasteryoda6717]

the weather in Manaus is absolutely awful, silly gringo

[@dantass.]

Bring more videos about Brazil

[@imguimoreira]

It's very important to remember that this story that Acre does not exist is just an internet meme, ok? Your video is amazing and full of well done research, I love to see people from other countries talking about Brasil with such precision, but Acre DOES EXIST!

[@lazlo107]

Never heard of that place, nor someone who went or (alledgedly) came from that place. This is the same crazyness to say that Celso Portiolli DID NOT had any involvement with 9/11

[@imguimoreira]

@@lazlo107 I (alledgedly) have been there before the pandemics and I can (alledgedly) say it exists 🤣

[@miketackabery7521]

🤣🤣🤣

[@nuck477]

Acre doesn't exist

[@Gabe_95]

3:25 you even told the joke that the state of Acre doesn't exist, well done! LOL

[@u3u36]

Brazilians on KZbin for anything mentioning brazil: "As a Brazilian...'

[@keboonplumeria5266]

Interesting. Portuguese also build a port here too, lobg ago... Fortaleza de Muar. It is in Malaysia

[@talyssonkrigor]

I can't believe that Manaus was once richer than Tokyo at the time of rubber extraction…

[@nataliearaujo3095]

Olha, você pronunciou o nome Manaus de maneira certa, e Amazonas também foi bom. Como moradora daqui, digo que as favelas são menores do que a de outros estados, como do Rio de Janeiro por exemplo, já estive lá e as de Manaus nem se compara, fora que aqui ainda existe muita casa de madeira nesses lugares, mas geralmente essas palafitas ficam ao redor dos igarapés

[@savannah115]

I, an Alaskan, when you were talking about how remote this town is: "Doesn't seem that bad to me". And then you literally called it the Alaska of the Amazon.😂 Edited to add that I do NOT trust all those huge corporations wanting hubs in the middle of the Amazon.

[@peterlynch285]

Essas corporações foram incentivadas pelo governo. Isso foi interessante para fixar à população em Manaus e diminuir a exploração da floresta dando trabalho para as pessoas.

[@braziliantsar]

You're alaskan, you wanting them or not is your problem and doesn't matter. Of course, we need to strive for more ambientalist measures, but Manaus is a keypoint in our economy.

[@Hashisland9940]

​@@braziliantsar Amazônia deve se separar do Brasil, nós cansamos de ser escravos do nordeste, sul e sudeste

[@glennr9913]

Very informative, yet a bit hard to follow.

[@revinhatol]

Santarem, Para could have been the state capitol of fledgeling Tapajos if it weren't for the "NO" vote in the 2011 plebescite.

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

Well, adding to the public spending roaster 1governor, 1 vice-governor, 3 senators, 6 suplemnts, IDK how many congressman, double theyr number in suplemnts, A WHOLE NEW STATE JUDICIARY SISTEM WITH ALL THE 6 COURTS NEEDED, all of the state's Secretaries, theyr vice-secretaries, theyr subordinates, the list goes on, and on and on... to a state that is not in the best of financial situations even before the split, let alone after losing a substantial part of its tax income, does not seem to be feaseble. OR SURVIVABLE They would be under the largest public debt OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY even before existing for real.

[@lucas.dillmann]

I'm a brazilian and this video got my like in the exact moment our internal joke (that Acre doesn't exist) was used at 3:25.

[@Rynewulf]

Man people really went ham for rubber and latex.

[@AlexanderPR2]

I live here in Manaus and it is a city like any other capital in the rest of the world. There is good infrastructure here and we are not isolated from the rest of the country, this city never was in fact. The only reason there are no roads is because of the forest. Since its foundation, the "roads" have been rivers and currently planes are a vital means of transport for goods and people due to their speed. The situation in Manaus is similar to that of countries like Taiwan, Japan, etc., which depend much more on ships and planes than on roads.

[@victordeluca7360]

3:27 Nice Acre roast lmao

[@owen1607]

“Uncontacted” tribes actually being descendants of former rubber plantation slaves who presumably escaped or were freed is… I mean it makes so much more sense than being truly uncontacted but it’s also sad