Maragogi was initially a small village called Gamela. In 1887, it was granted the status of a town and adopted the name of Isabel, to honour the Brazilian Princess who signed a law ending slavery in Brazil. Later on, in 1892, it was named Maragogi after the river that runs alongside the town. ‘Maragogi’, according to some historians, comes from ‘Marahub-gy’, or river of the Marauba tribes.
Dutch History
Both the states of Alagoas & Pernambuco are known for maintaining an historical relationship with The Netherlands. In 1624 an invasion in the rich Salvador failed so in 1630 the Dutch conquered Pernambuco and occupied the area for the following 24 years. In 1636 Count Maurits van Nassau, cousin of William of Orange, was named Governor of the Dutch colony, known as Pernambuco. Until today, the seven years under his command are known as the years of progress. Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, was the first systematically planned city in the western hemisphere. Under Dutch influence, it also became the first city in the southern hemisphere with a large research area. It was also the first city in the Americas to have a synagogue. Even the first South-American parliament is formed during The Dutch Period. The inhabitants of Maragogi were closely involved in the battle against the Dutch ruler. In some areas of Barra Grande and São Bento (both located in Maragogi) lots of battles were fought while the Dutch were sailing to Porto Calvo, the capital of the sugar cane industry in those days. The Maragogi inhabitants succeeded twice in preventing the Dutch coming ashore.
All in all, the Dutch did not last for long in the Pernambuco and Alagoas area, otherwise maybe the Brazilian people of nowadays would have been wearing ‘wooden shoes’ instead of their favourite Havaiana flipflops. Some of the remains of Recife’s Dutch Period are a touristic sight nowadays, for example the Fort Orange on the isle of Itamaracá, 60 km north of Recife. Nowadays Maragogi is known for its impressive coral reefs and its beautiful natural pools which are one of the worlds most visited natural-phenomenoms.