Macapá, Amapá
| Macapá | |||
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| Municipality | |||
| The Municipality of Macapá | |||
Macapá equator
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| Nickname(s): "A Capital do Meio do Mundo" ("The Capital of the Middle of the World") | |||
 Location of Macapá in the State of Amapá |
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 Macapá
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| Coordinates: 0°2′2″N 51°3′59″W / 0.03389°N 51.06639°WCoordinates: 0°2′2″N 51°3′59″W / 0.03389°N 51.06639°W | |||
| Country |
 Brazil
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| Region | North | ||
| State |
 Amapá
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| Founded | February 4, 1758 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Clécio Luís (PSOL) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Municipality | 6,407.12 km2 (2,473.80 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 12 m (39 ft) | ||
| Population (2010 census) | |||
| • Municipality | 397,913 | ||
| • Density | 62/km2 (160/sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 499,166 | ||
| Time zone | UTC-3 | ||
| Postal Code | 68900-000 | ||
| Area code(s) | (+55) 96 | ||
| Website | www |
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Macapá is a city in Brazil and the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region. It is located on the northern channel of the Amazon River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The city is on a small plateau on the Amazon in the southeast of the state of Amapá and has few land connections to other parts of Brazil. The equator runs through the middle of the city, leading residents to refer to Macapá as "The capital of the middle of the world." It covers 6,407.12 square kilometres (2,473.80 sq mi) and is located northeast of the large inland island of Marajó and south of the border with French Guiana.
Macapá is a corruption of the Tupi word macapaba, or "place of many bacabas", the fruit of the local palm tree. The Spaniard Francisco de Orellana claimed the region in 1544 and called it Nueva Andalucía (New Andalusia). The modern town began as the base of a Portuguese military detachment, stationed there in 1738. On February 4, 1758 Sebastião Veiga Cabral, the illegitimate child of the military governor of Trás-os-Montes, Sebastião Veiga Cabral, founded the town of São José de Macapá, under the authority of the governor of Pará, Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado. The fortress of São José de Macapá was first laid out in 1764, but took 18 years to complete, due to illness among the Indian workers, and numerous escapes made by black slaves. Macapá was elevated to city status in 1854.
Macapá gained international notoriety in December 2001 when international yachtsman Peter Blake, from New Zealand, was murdered while anchored on his explorer yacht Seamaster in Macapá port. According to Business Insider, Macapá is the 45th most violent city in the world, with 32.06 homicides per 100,000 people.
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Wikipedia