gold rush of Colonial Brazil
The Gold Rush of Colonial Brazil was one of the most influential events in the history of both Brazil and Portugal. ... Thanks to the gold that was found in the 1690’s in the Minas Gerais region, Brazil and Portugal benefited in many ways. New people came to Brazil, bringing with them their ideas and their cultures. Brazil’s port cities benefited especially from the gold rush. But, as quickly as the gold rush happened, it had fallen apart. In a span of about one hundred years, Brazil’s gold production had gone from next to nothing, to over 350,000 ounces a year in the mid eighteenth century, then back to a relatively small amount by the end of the same century . ... Why did the gold production just disappear as quickly as it had appeared? ... To understand the gold rush of Brazil fully, you have to take a look at how it had begun. Portugal had begun to explore Brazil around the mid- 16th century. The Portuguese wanted to find gold and other precious metals just as the Spanish had found both in their territories of Mexico, Peru, and New Grenada. People would land in Sao Paulo and take expeditions to the interior of Brazil, hoping to find gold or silver or some kind of shiny metal. The first known discovery of gold was in 1560, but it was not until 1674 that the Royal Crown gave encouragement to people to try and find gold . In 1694, gold was found by two separate people, not sent or paid by the Portuguese Government, in the same region . This started what was to be known as the gold rush. The gold rush of Brazil was no doubt a profitable one. In the 18th century, Brazil produced over 1.4 million pounds of gold . The growth of the gold mining was helped my several factors. ... Slaves were used to separate, mine, transport, and wash the gold.