Ilheus and Its Progression: Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon

Ilheus and its Progression: Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon

Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon, by the author Jorge Amado, dates back to an early 20th century Brazil, in the city of Ilheus. Here, we are presented with two main characters, Mundinho Falcao and Nacib. Mundinho Falcao is a young man from Rio de Janeiro, who moved to Ilheus and enriched through exporting of materials. He had as a goal to accelerate the development of the city, ameliorate the ports and overthrow Bastos, the current ruler back then. Nacib was a Syrian man, owner of a local bar, who later in the story, falls in love with Gabriela, whom he first hired to help him as a cook.

Starting with the colonization of the Portuguese, we see that Brazil undergoes several economic cycles throughout the passing years. With time, new products come to emergence and, with it, the exercise of trade of raw materials takes place, having it as one of the main supporters of the economy at the time. Therefore, there would eventually be a decline on both demand and prices, which consequently lead to crises in the economy. Long after the trades of captaincies, slavery, and sugar cane, Brazil became also a huge exporter of coffee and cacao, two products that turn out to possess great value to the country, and having its production and growth take place in the previously mentioned city of Ilheus. So, with the appearance of new “natural resources”, the cycle would restart all over again.

During that century where the story is portrayed, we could see other cities in the country that were stagnant, had no industries or companies to be developed, thus causing no income of revenue and, consequently, leading to a lack of progress. Colonel Ribeirinho, mentioned in the plot, states that Ilheus “was a good place to wait to die in” (Jorge Amado, pg. 16), also mentioning the lack of pavement, ports for incoming ships, and businesses. The city was taking the same path as many others in the country, who were lead to bankruptcy.

With the cacao boom, Ilheus benefited enormously. As the demand began to increase, immigrants from all over started moving into the city to partake in this new “business opportunity” that was arising and reviving another economic cycle for the country. Almost a barbaric region, the city of Ilheus was set to a revolutionary change that would bring about development ever before reached. Ilheans engaged in this production and could see, before their eyes, the economic growth that was taking place. And, as a result, with the income produced, government expenditure went towards reformations of the city, improvements that were long desired and necessary, such as roads, infrastructure, etc. Also, the private sector of the city was remodeled, with the reestablishment of old businesses and their upgrade, new and more modern houses, luxuries that can be bought with money.

This came about to give the people of Ilheus a sense of progress, of evolution, of development. The city once known for its dullness was now taking a different path in its history. All of this brought the need for a new headquarters of the Commercial Association. Even though already existing before such prosperity, the “cacao era” ended up having this renovation done, having it become a more “progressive, dynamic, influential factor” (Jorge Amado, pg. 212) in regards of what was taking place in the town. The increasing number of industries and services required a more appropriate administration in regards to the same.

Another emphasis on progress that is depicted right in the beginning of the story is regarding Nacib’s situation: his cook had left him to live with her son in Rio de Janeiro, one day before he had an important dinner for a group of people. With that, he started eagerly looking for other people that would provide such a service and take her spot, but was having much trouble finding what he needed. He asks a friend, Joao Fulgencio, a bookstore owner, for help, and the same replies by saying that as demand increases, labor becomes scarce and wages go up. We take from his response that, if the demand is increasing, it means more opportunities are being developed, more work is being produced, restating the idea that advances were being made.

Consequently, together with the economic panorama in a constant change, so was the social aspect going the same way. A sense of prosperity, of success, of growth came upon the town, bringing immeasurable satisfaction. Dr. Ezequiel Prado mentions that Ilheans had a strong sense of identity with Ilheus, which was one of the main reasons that allowed for progress to take place. To reinforce his view, he would say that the rich men from the town, who gained from those lands, should have part of their earnings invested back into the city, thus creating this social notion of what was necessary for the continuation of such advancement.