Yes,Coffee plays an essential part inthe history of Brazil. The plant, originally from Ethiopia, wasfirst brought to the country Brazil by French settlers whoestablished themselves in the state of Pará in the early 18thcentury. Thriving in the ideal conditions provided by the climate,the coffee fields spread from the North of Brazil along thecountry, concentrating in the areas along the shore. During thisperiod, sugar plantations represented the primacy economic activityin the country and coffee was merely a luxury. Nobody could haveimagined at the time that it would become the major player inBrazil's vibrant history of even greater importance than NewOrlean's Sugar rush or the Irish potato famine.However, by 1820, coffee representedthe most exported product from Brazil, after the sugar cane startedto lose importance in the international markets. The productionpeaked when the coffee plantations gained the fertile soils of Valedo Paraíba - a region that makes up part of São Paulo and Rio deJaneiro states.