HISTORICAL STAGES OF THE VARZEA SETTLEMEN TS IN THE AMAZON

This article refutes the thesis that agricultural vocation of the varz ea of central Amazonia has continued harmoniously since pre-Columbian times. In a historical approach, which includes everything from the ea rliest contacts to the present, the different stages of the settlement of this great region are examined. We address the evolution of the en vironmental exploration patterns from the pre-conquest period, which i s characterized by continuous settlement along the river's banks, thro ugh the inexorable decline of the native populations and their culture s during the colonial period, when the government attempted to gather the Amerindians together and failed. We end with contemporary evolutio n. The article emphasizing the Careiro Island's region, near Manaus, s hows that the aboriginal patterns were disregarded when the contempora ry agricultural patterns were totally rebuilt after the rubber crisis.