After the Portuguese established foothold on the coast of Brazil they naturally started to look into the interior. A group of adventurous explores, a wild bunch of ruthless types namely from Sao Paulo were in quest to enslave as many of the Indios, the indigenous Indian tribes, as they could find. By early 17th century they discovered that the Indians were not lasting investment. Prone to diseases of the white settlers Indians died in droves and they were not also the hardest of workers.
As slave trade was well under way from Africa and ship after ship of black slaves arrived at the shore of Brazil, the Bandeirantes turned their attention to search for gold, silver and diamonds. By late 17th century Bandeirantes found gold in what became the State of Minas Gerais. And vast deposits were discovered indeed, included diamonds.
Soon five prominent gold mining towns were established in Minas Gerias – Tiredantes, Sao Joao del Rei, Congonhas, Mariana and the jewel of them all, Ouro Preto. Diamantia, quite a distance north and away from the rest, became the diamond capital of not only the New World but rest of the world until diamonds were later found in South Africa.
Do not miss a chance to travel in Brazil away from the beaches of Brazil, as the journey constitutes a unique glimpse of Brazil history. Minas Gerais and the former gold mining towns are filled with scores of Brazil’s landmark structures. While Portuguese left a significant footprint throughout the world and much of their influence evolved into eclectic style, the Portuguese Baroque as represented beyond Europe stands in a category of its own.
By mid-19th century Ouro Preto grew to population of over 100,000. During the height of gold mining boom Ouro Preto witnessed construction of elegant squares and magnificent Baroque churches. Today Ouro Preto retains the crown of possessing the best of Portuguese colonial architecture and as such has been declared UNESCO World Heritage site.
Thousands of slaves were brought to work the mines and to build a road to coast to shuttle the bullion to the old Portugal. But by late 18th century the gold rush of Minas Gerias was over and most of the once thriving gold mining boom towns fell into oblivion. After gold came sugar cane and later coffee, in the last few decades soy beans but the legacy of Portuguese Baroque is still very much in evidence as 18th century was truly the era of prosperity for the Portuguese when shiploads of gold were sailing to Lisbon.
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