The coffee cycle () was a period in Brazil's economic history, beginning in the mid-19th century and ending in 1930, in which coffee was the main export product of the Brazilian economy. The coffee cycle succeeded the gold cycle, which had come to an end after the exhaustion of the mines a few decades earlier, and put an end to the economic crisis generated by this decadence.
Coffee had been brought to Brazil in 1727, but was never produced in large scale, being cultivated mostly for domestic consumption. Its production lagged far behind that of other products. Coffee's rise was only due to a favorable internal and external scenario that made its cultivation advantageous.
Coffee production developed rapidly throughout the 19th century, so that by the 1850s it was responsible for almost half of Brazil's exports. The center-south region of the country was chosen for the plantations because it offered the most appropriate weather conditions and the most suitable soil, according to the needs of the coffee plant. The first large cultivated region was the Paraíba Valley, and the work in the plantations was done with slave labor. With the decline of production in this region, it shifted to the west of São Paulo, where it found its second great cultivation area. At this point free labor, especially that of European immigrants (mostly Italians) who were arriving in large numbers in Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, had replaced slave labor.
The coffee cycle left deep marks in the country, and its consequences are still perceptible today. It was during the coffee cycle that the state of São Paulo achieved the political and economic primacy it has today. Coffee also gave a strong impulse to industrialization, railroad construction and urbanization.
Background
Mining decline and economic crisis
In the first two centuries of the colonial period, Brazil had an exclusively agricultural economy, and there was always one major product that was the center of the economy. This was the case during the cycle of brazilwood, sugar and cotton. This scenario only changed in the 18th century with the discovery of gold and diamonds, initiating the so-called gold cycle. From then on, agriculture lost the importance it had. Although it was not an agricultural product, the same pattern was evident – gold became the main product of the colonial economy, until its decline. This occurred in the second half of the 18th century, a period that became known as the "agricultural renaissance". The same products as before were planted again, except for coffee, which in the first two centuries did not even exist in Brazil. This return to agriculture occurred mainly for the following reasons: The depletion of the gold deposits due to the quantity and speed at which gold was extracted; The rapid development of European society throughout the 18th century; The increase in economic activities and trade relations in the world in the same century, heralding the Industrial Revolution; and, later, the opening of Brazil's ports, which allowed it to trade with countries besides Portugal, encouraging an increase in agricultural production.
The end of the gold cycle also generated an economic crisis, during which the purchasing power of the population was much lower than during the golden age of mining. It was a long crisis, which would only end in the following century, during the regency period, with the rise of coffee, which would take the place of gold as the main product of the Brazilian economy. Coffee also solved the "independence crisis". Around the time of Independence, there was a crisis characterized by a lasting stagnation of exports.
External scenario that propitiated the cultivation of coffee
Coffee had been cultivated in Brazil for some time, since it was brought to the country in 1727 by Francisco Palheta. Since then, the product had spread throughout the national territory, but it was not cultivated commercially; it was mainly for domestic consumption. The coffee culture was far behind that of sugar and cotton and, besides this, the product did not have great importance in world markets and was difficult to plant. Because the coffee tree is a delicate plant that needs a lot of care, it only lives well in certain temperatures, it needs regular rainfall and appropriate soil, besides taking four or five years to grow and produce the bean.