BRAZIL: Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás

Received thanx to Claudinei.

The origins of the town of Goiás are closely related with the history of the more or less official expeditions (bandeiras), which left from São Paulo to explore the interior of the Brazilian territory. One expedition, under the command of Fern. Dias Pais, explored the region of Minas (1673-81), and another expedition, under the command of Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva, explored the region of Goiás (1682), finding some gold. However, the discoveries at Minas were far superior and, from 1700, attracted a vast number of people; the population of Brazil went from 80,000 to over one million in a few years. As a result of wars in the coastal regions, attention was again drawn to the interior; in 1718, gold was found in Cuiabá (the current capital of Mato Grosso), and three years later the son of Bartolomeu Bueno discovered gold in Rio Vermelho, where he was nominated the superintendent of the mines of Goiás. One year later he established the settlement of Santana, and a chapel was built there in 1729.

In order to guarantee better control of the mines of Goiás, the Portuguese authorities decide to reinforce the regional government. In 1739, the governor of São Paulo chose Santana, which took the name of Vila Boa de Goiás. The mining village was thus doubled in size by adding to it a small administrative quarter. In 1748, Goiás was chosen as the headquarters of a new sub-district; its first governor was Dom Marcos de Noronha (1749-55), who transformed the modest village into a small capital. Amongst the first constructions was the Casa de Fundição (1750) for the control of gold, the governor's palace (1751), and the military barracks (1751). Under his successors the town continued being improved, including the construction of the Casa de Câmara e Cadeia (1761), improvement of the roads and streets, building of the fountains of Carioca and Chafariz de Cauda, and opening of a theatre (1772-77). The governor Luis da Cunha Meneses (1778-83) planted trees, improved the street alignment, laid out the public square of Chafariz, and opened a slaughterhouse (1778-83). He also had the urban master plan prepared (1782), providing the town with a structure that has survived till the present day.

In 1770 an inevitable decline in gold mining began and Goiás entered a long period of stagnation. It retained its status as a capital, but remained far behind Rio de Janeiro, and so further progress was arrested. In 1935-37 its administrative status was removed but the townscape remained intact. In 1950 IPHAN, the conservation authority of Brazil, listed its principal churches and the barracks, and in 1951 the Casa da Câmara, the palace, and the main areas in the centre. The inauguration in 1960 of the new capital city of Brazil, Brasilia, gave the region a new impetus. Since the 1980s Goiás has been revitalized with some new constructions. Fortunately, the entire centre area was listed by IPHAN for protection in 1978.