São Paulo (The Great Brazilian Empire)

he São Paulo Province is one of the 27 seven federal unities of Brazil. It's situated in Southeastern Brazil, and borders with the provinces of Minas Geraes, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, e Campo Grande. It's divided in nineteen counties, and 378 townships, ant it has an area of 248,222.363 km² (95,839.2 sq mi), the equivalent of 2,9% of the country's territory, beiing a bit larger than the United Kingdom. Its capital is the city of São Paulo, and its current president is João Dória.

With more than 45 million people, or circa 22% of the Brazilian population, it's the most populous province in Brazil, the third most populous political unity in South America, and the most populous national subdivision in the American continent. The Paulist population is one of the most diversified in the country, and descends from Italians, which started to emigrate to the country in the late 19th century, and from Portuguese, which have colonized Brazil and installed the first European settlements in the region, from native American peoples, from African peoples and from migrants from other regions of the country. Other great immigration flows, like Arabs, Germans, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese have also had significant presence in the local ethnical population.

The area, which now corresponds to the Paulist territory was already inhabited by native peoples since circa 12000 b.C. In the early 16th century, the region's coast started to be visited by Portuguese and Spanish navigators. Nevertheless, only in 1532, Martim Afonso de Sousa would found the first European settlement - the village of Saint Vincent, in today's Santos County. In the 17th century, the Paulist expeditioners intensified exploration in the colony's interior, which ended up expanding Portugal dominion in South America. In the 18th century, after creating the São Paulo Captaincy, the region starts to gain political power. After independence, São Paulo turns into a great agricultural producer, producing coffee, especially. During the late 19th century, the province starts its industrialization, and its population turns into one of the most urban in the Empire.

No século XVIII, após a instituição da Capitania de São Paulo, a região começa a ganhar peso político. Após a independência, durante o Império, São Paulo começa a se tornar um grande produtor agrícola (principalmente de café), o que acaba por criar uma rica oligarquia rural regional, que iria se alternar no comando do governo brasileiro com as elites mineiras durante o início do período republicano. Sob o regime de Vargas, o estado é um dos primeiros a iniciar um processo de industrialização e sua população se torna uma das mais urbanas da federação.

Subdivision
São Paulo is the second Brazilian province in number of townships, with 378, after Minas Geraes (379). Initially constituted by only ten townships, it had its division altered through time with the creation of new townships.

The province is divided in nineteen counties: the Capital County, the Santos County, the Parahybuna County, the Bananal County, the Lorena County, the Guaratinguetá County, the Taubaté County, the Jacarehy County, the Braganza County, the Mogy Mirim County, the Campinas County, the Constitution County, the Itu County, the Itapetininga County, the Iguape County, the Itapeva County, the Clear River County, the Franca County and the Araraquara County.